PUPIL PREMIUM STRATEGY UPDATE
OCTOBER 2014
Schools receive pupil premium funding in order to raise the achievement of disadvantaged students and to
reduce the gap in attainment between them and their peers. For the financial year 2014/15 pupil premium
funding is £935 per child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years and £1900
per looked after child. We have received £439,281 for this financial year as 44% of our school qualify for the
funding. Details of how we use the funding are contained in our July 2014 update document previously
published but this document shows of the impact of our strategy on our 2014 GCSE results.
Closing the Gap Statistics - Provisional Results 2014
97 of our year 11 students last year qualified for pupil premium; this equated to 43% of the year group.
Thresholds
Result PP
Pupils
Result Non
Gap
PP Pupils
Comments
Last year's
gap
5+ A*-C Incl. E & M
42%
67%
-25%
1% bigger than
last year
-24%
58%
71%
-13%
4% Less than last
year
-17%
English A*- C
64%
79%
-15%
8% bigger than last
-7%
year
Maths A*- C
68%
80%
-12%
Same as last year -12%
EBacc
8%
20%
-12%
3% -less than last
-15%
year
3+ Levels Progress Eng (KS2KS4)
76%
85%
-9%
10% less than last
-19%
year
3+ Levels Progress Maths (KS265%
KS4)
81%
-16%
2% bigger than last
-14%
year
Average point score in English
38.4
42
-3.6
1.2 pts less than
last year
-4.8
Average point score in Maths
35.5
41.1
-5.6
0.3 pts less than
last year but still
nearly a grade
-5.9
English AND Maths
A*- C (Basics)
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difference
The gap at 5EM is high but considering the volatility of this year’s results nationally and given the fact that
we are in line with national for the whole cohort we are hopeful that our pupil premium students will be
close to national average for non pupil premium students and thus we will have reduced that gap.
In the same vein we are confident that due to our whole cohort being above national average at 3 levels
progress in English we are expecting our pupil premium students’ results to be above national non pupil
premium as last year’s national for other students was 74%; as a consequence we will have significantly
reduced that gap. Our gap between our pupil premium students and national non pupil premium students at
3 levels progress is difficult to estimate until national figures are published in Raiseonline in December. We
have been 14% away from national for non pupil premium for the past 3 years.
Examples of the impact of our pupil premium staff on our
hard to reach students
These case studies detail the support which was in addition to the students’ regular class teachers.
English pupil premium tutor’s examples:
Student 1
Working level in English at the beginning of year 11 = D
GCSE result = A
Student 1 was a school refuser and often absent, resulting in him being moved to set 2 to do IGCSE, when I
first started support. He also had limited confidence in this own ability. Through in-class and intervention
support, his self-confidence and attendance steadily increased. He improved his focus, resulting in improved
listening, as well as being able to apply what he had learned. This resulted in him achieving a good speaking
and listening performance and coursework upgraded to A. His preparation for the written exams showed a
mature approach to study and reflected how far he had come. He was able to show his clear understanding
of the literature texts studied and articulate his knowledge within his written responses. He became
confident when reading texts and able to analyse the content effectively.
Student 2
Working level in English at the beginning of year 11 = C
GCSE result = B
Student 2 responded to guidance given on how to plan and use writing techniques, resulting in improving his
working level. His final piece of coursework gained an A grade. He improved his range of vocabulary;
techniques used and produced a well structured, fluent piece of work which resulted in increasing his overall
coursework level to B grade. Due to a range of pastoral and behavioural problems, student 2 was no longer
attending English lessons. I gave him separate one to one teaching so that he was able to continue with his
English studies up to the exam.
Student 3
Working level in English at the beginning of year 11 = D GCSE result = C
Student 3 improved her chances of exam success by improving her final coursework grade to B. She showed
how mature and sensible she could be in discussion through her excellent speaking and listening exam
result. Her use of vocabulary and sentence structure became more fluent and reflected her greater
understanding. This was also aided by building her sense of self-worth and focus towards her future.
Maths pupil premium progress advocate’s examples:
Student 4 - KS2 Level 3a GCSE result = C
Student 4 was weak. He founds maths difficult. Student 4 was invited into school over the Easter break for
two one hour 1:1 sessions with me. He attended both days and these sessions boosted his confidence.
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Student 4 also attended revision sessions over the May half term break. Student 4 achieved a C in GCSE
Mathematics. This equates to more than expected progress from KS2 to KS4.
Student 5 - KS2 Level 4c GCSE result = C
Student 5 lacked confidence in her abilities. Her attendance to school throughout years 10 and 11 was poor
and this impacted on her progress. I decided to mentor her and she built a good relationship with me.
Student 5 regularly stayed after school until 5pm working with me. Student 5 came to school over the Easter
break for two one hour 1:1 sessions. In her next assessment she was close to a D and she started to realise
that she was not bad at maths and she could achieve at least a C. Student 5 continued to work hard and
attended extra sessions with me over the May half term break. Student 5 achieved a grade C and was close
to a B.
Student 6 - KS2 Level 3a GCSE result = C
Student 6 found maths difficult. She struggled to grasp concepts because her number skills were poor.
Student 6 came to school over the Easter break and spent 4 hours with me. We focused on key grade C
topics and Student 6 started to realise she could actually do well in maths. This boosted her confidence and
in the assessments that followed Student 6 was scoring full marks on these questions. She started to move
from a grade E to a grade D and she achieved a C in the actual exams.
Student 7 - KS2 Level 4b GCSE result = C
Student 7 was a school refuser. He struggled with friendship issues and had low self-esteem. Student 7
lacked confidence in his abilities. I mentored Student 7 and realised he was actually very good at maths. I
did some extra maths work with him during mentoring sessions and built a good relationship with him.
Student 7 started to attend lessons more and was even taking extra work home. Student 7 came in over the
Easter break and did two one hour 1:1 sessions with me. He dictated what he wanted to do during the
sessions and chose three grade B topics. Unfortunately, Student 7’s attendance to school after Easter was
poor. However, he did achieve a grade C and the Results Plus analysis shows that he scored full marks in the
questions on the topics he worked on over the Easter break.
Examples of the Impact of Department Bids for Pupil
Premium Funding
English – payment of staff to come in on Saturdays and holiday study plus and subsidised trip to Poetry
Live
In addition to the department achieving above national results for the whole cohort these two pupil
premium students’ achievements stand out:
Student A (11y3) entered Year 7 below a level 2, is pupil premium, School Action Plus and EAL. Very difficult
to engage and motivate as he struggled to grasp the work, but managed to achieve a B grade.
Student B (11y4) arrived with no prior data. She is SEN and pupil premium but managed to achieve an A
grade.
Maths - payment for staff to come in for holiday study plus sessions
In addition to the department achieving above national results for the whole cohort pupil premium funding
was used to pay staff for Easter and May half term sessions. The sessions were well attended by students,
including pupil premium students and the majority of those who attended the sessions made at least three
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levels of progress. Set three students were invited in for one to one/two to one sessions during the Easter
break and this had a significant impact on the results of these students. (C, L, A, K, G, R, J, and A all made 4
levels of progress).
Science – use of the pupil premium tutor to work with individual students to improve controlled
assessment performance
The PP tutor provided support and guidance to Year 11 students in the following Science groups: 11X Sets 2,
4 and 5; 11Y Sets 2, 3 and 4 during the Spring term and first half term of the Summer term to ensure that
Year 11 students were able to complete GCSE Controlled Assessments to improve their grades or to catch up
on assessments that have been missed due absence. The Controlled Assessment component is weighted at
25% of the overall GCSE grade in the Core and Additional Science courses and the following are examples of
how securing the highest possible grade for the students’ coursework supported them achieving their
highest possible grade in the final GCSE qualification.
Edexcel GCSE Core Science Controlled Assessments.
Biology 1: Reaction time.
Name of Student
GCSE Grade achieved in Controlled Assessment
Student C
B
Student D
B
Student E
B
Student F
B
Student G
C
Student H
C
Student I
D
Student J
E
Student K
C
Student L
D
Student M
C
Chemistry 1: How the size of a jar determines how long the candle remains alight.
Name of Student
GCSE grade achieved in Controlled Assessment
Student N
B
Physics 2: Investigating Friction.
Name of student
GCSE grade achieved in Controlled Assessment
Student O
C
Student P
C
Student Q
C
Student R
B
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Student S
C
Student U
A
Geography - support with funding for Norfolk Residential Field Trip
Benefits of the trip for students who wouldn’t have gone without the subsidy provided by PP funding were
as follows:




Students engaged in their learning of new geographical concepts and skills needed for their
controlled assessment worth 25%, and 2 final exam papers, especially mapping skills paper worth
25%. They learned and applied practical concepts – this has shown to be a strength in the exam
analysis – especially with foundation students. Higher students benefited from the deeper learning
of concepts and were able to apply depth to their GCSE answers – backed with real life experience.
Students who engaged in the fieldtrip found their summer Controlled Assessment data collection
easier to grasp and often supported the students who did not go to Norfolk and they increased their
understanding further by teaching others.
Students who attended were more likely to attend study plus and extra revision sessions later in the
year and students built relationships with staff, teaching and non teaching and fellow students; both
improved and supported their learning on their return.
Students’ social skills were tested and many had never been away – this experience and the safe
environment provided allowed students to grow both educationally and socially – building confident
young learners.
Art – payment of staff to come in on Saturdays
Study plus sessions on a Saturday morning (Pupil premium strategy) were very well attended and this had a
significant impact on the overall achievement in art. 87% of pupil premium students gained an A*-C grade in
art. The attainment gap and 3 levels of progress gap between pupil premium students and their peers in art
were both low at -10% and -9%.
PE - The PE department used pupil premium funding to put on extra weekend classes to support pupil
premium students. Funding was also used to buy revision guides for pupil premium students.
The PE department tested the students before the intervention strategies and after.
94% of pupil premium students who attended at least 1 session made an improvement between tests.
The following are examples of individual pp students’ achievements:
Student V was targeted a grade D and achieved a C
Student X was targeted a grade D and achieved a C
Student Y was targeted a grade C and achieved a B
Student Z was targeted a grade C and achieved a B
Student A1 was targeted a grade A and achieved an A*
Music – funding used for music lessons for pp students
Music lessons are seen as a middle class activity, available only to those who can afford it, however, those
students who are entitled to pupil premium funding last year were offered a range of opportunities to have
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instrumental and vocal lessons. This made music lessons accessible to all, narrowing the achievement gap,
and gave the students a creative output as well as the opportunity to develop desirable skills for future
careers and academic applications. Last academic year, a number of students had singing lessons funded by
pupil premium. Four students took Rock School grades (Trinity and Guildhall) which equate to GCSE grades:
Name
grade
GCSE
equivalent
Student B1
Grade 5 distinction
A*
Student C1
Grade 5 pass
B
Student D1
Grade 3 pass
E/D
Student E1
Grade 3 pass
E/D
All the above students had one hour a week lessons for a year and two of them incredibly achieved a grade 5
qualification, equivalent to A* and B. This shows the positive impact on those year 11 students and gave
them another qualification to add to their CVs. Student B1 has gone on to study Performing Arts, and so
having this opportunity has helped to develop her performing skills ready for her career path.
Food – funding for Saturday classes
Targeted support was offered to all students, with extra Saturday classes particularly targeting PP students.
For all those students who attended regular Saturday sessions this helped them to improve their coursework
grade, thus improving their overall grade. As a department, the gaps in attainment and progress are positive
in favour of pupil premium students: Attainment gap at A*-C = 8 % in favour of PP
4 levels progress gap = 17% in favour of PP
Performing arts – funding used for subsidies for theatre trips
Pupil premium funding was used to ensure that all students had access to theatre trips and this experience
was beneficial to their own performances. It was notable that all students who took part in extra-curricular
performances gained merit grades or above in their final qualification. There were no pupil premium
attainment or progress gaps in the performing arts’ results.
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Karen Corcoran October 2014
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