Pupil Premium – Churston Ferrers Grammar School

The Pupil Premium is additional funding provided to the school by the Department for Education to enhance the education of the most socio-economically deprived students. Allocation of funding is made based on the number of disadvantaged students who meet the following criteria:

Students in receipt of free school meals (FSM) or have been within the last six years (FSM6)
Children in care (LAC)
Students who have at least one parent in the Armed Forces (SPP).

Context

These criteria are the main measure of deprivation available to schools and the link between these criteria and school underachievement nationally is very strong. The academic abilities of our students are above the national average and this is reflected in our results. Schools receive Pupil Premium funding to support their eligible pupils and narrow the attainment gap between them and their peers.

As of the financial year 2023-24 the Pupil Premium is £1035 per FSM/FSM6 pupil, £2530 per LAC pupil and £335 per child of a service family. Schools are free to spend the funding as they see fit but they are accountable for ensuring that it is used to support pupils from low-income families and the other target groups.

Our Vision

At Churston our ultimate aim is to ensure that every student, regardless of disadvantage, is able to reach their potential as a young person academically, emotionally and socially. In order to do this we are committed to the following objectives:

To maintain the current situation of no negative attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students.
To provide extracurricular opportunities and experiences for our young people, in spite of financial difficulties, to ensure their personal development.
To support disadvantaged students through the admissions process and transition to secondary education.

To achieve these objectives we will:

Develop high quality teaching and learning through a programme of continual professional development for all staff, in order to improve levels of attainment and progress.
Provide targeted support through bespoke tuition
Provide access to a full range of enrichment opportunities.

Churston recognises that no single intervention strategy can provide a complete solution to the complex educational issues in any school environment and therefore a multi-faceted approach is used to ensure we offer the best possible opportunities for all our pupils to succeed, using evidence from external resources such as the Sutton Trust’s EEF Toolkit.

We have applied Pupil Premium funding to achieve our objectives; developing a comprehensive learning experience, providing additional support where necessary, and by extending enrichment and outreach opportunities. Should students/parents who wish to apply for support from this fund will need to complete the School Support Fund application form.

Furthermore, central to Churston Ferrers Grammar School’s ethos, is the encouragement of excellence in academic, sporting and cultural fields whilst promoting positive self-esteem within a caring community. Providing financial support to socio-economically disadvantaged pupils to facilitate their full access to enrichment opportunities is one way in which we aim to fulfil this philosophy. Facilitating one to one careers interviews to encourage aspiration and motivation has been identified as a significant driver for social mobility and therefore also forms a key part of our commitment to disadvantaged students.

Finally, as a school, we are fully committed to encouraging all pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to attend Churston Ferrers Grammar School. Pupil Premium eligibility is taken into account in the School Admission Code. Furthermore, the school is committed to encouraging pupil premium eligible pupils from local primary schools to apply to take the entrance examination.

Churston Ferrers Grammar School’s Pupil Premium Team

All staff at Churston Ferrers Grammar School are fully committed to closing the attainment and progress gaps between students eligible for Pupil Premium and their peers. We see it as our moral duty to ensure that disadvantaged children are given the best opportunity to make outstanding progress.

Key staff with specific responsibilities for leading improvements in outcomes for disadvantaged students are:

Pupil Premium & Student Support Fund Liaison: Jo Denham: joanne.denham@churston.torbay.sch.uk

Social Mobility and Pupil Premium Lead: Mark Glew available at: mark.glew@churston.torbay.sch.uk

School Governor responsible for Pupil Premium: Angela Harris available at: angela.harris@churston.torbay.sch.uk

Our school Pupil Premium strategy and review of the impact of our Pupil Premium strategy can be found by using the link below.