‘Love one another, as I have loved you’

Pupil Premium

Helping Every Child to Flourish

Pupil Premium is additional funding provided to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

At St Nicholas Catholic Primary School, we have high aspirations for every child. Guided by our mission to “Love one another”, we are committed to ensuring that every pupil has the opportunity to achieve, participate and flourish. We know that disadvantage does not look the same for every child. Our approach is responsive to the needs of our pupils and families and is based on identifying barriers carefully rather than making assumptions about what a child may need.

Understanding Our Community

Knowing our community is central to deciding how Pupil Premium funding is used.

St Nicholas serves a culturally diverse community in an area of significant socio-economic disadvantage. Our current strategy identifies language and communication, attainment, mathematical fluency, access to first-hand experiences, wellbeing and wider deprivation as important potential barriers for disadvantaged pupils.

These challenges are not assumed to apply to every pupil. Staff know children and families well and work to understand the individual barriers that may be affecting learning, attendance, wellbeing or participation.

Our Approach

High-quality teaching is at the heart of our Pupil Premium strategy. Our strategy is informed by evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), alongside assessment, monitoring and our knowledge of the St Nicholas community.

Our provision can be understood through three connected areas:

High Quality Teaching

The most important way we support disadvantaged pupils is through excellent teaching every day.

We invest in developing staff expertise and ensuring pupils have access to an ambitious, inclusive curriculum. Particular priorities within our school include language and vocabulary, phonics and reading, writing and mathematics.

Our approach includes strong speech and language provision and investment in the quality and consistency of phonics teaching. Previous and current strategies have also invested in additional teaching capacity and assessment-led support to strengthen classroom provision.

Targeted Academic Support

Where assessment identifies a particular gap or barrier, pupils may receive additional targeted support.

This may include support for speech and language, phonics, reading, writing or mathematics, delivered individually or in carefully selected groups.

Language is particularly important within our school. Our Pupil Premium strategies have consistently identified communication, vocabulary and oracy as potential barriers, particularly for younger pupils.

NELI, speech and language provision and other targeted academic support are used where appropriate, with provision selected according to children's starting points and identified needs.

Wider Strategies

We recognise that children's achievement is influenced by much more than what happens during a lesson.

Our Pupil Premium strategy therefore also considers barriers relating to attendance, wellbeing, confidence, access to experiences and participation in wider school life.

This has included support such as Catholic Care, MindMate, nurture provision, first-hand experiences and financial support for trips and residentials.

Our aim is to ensure that financial circumstances do not unnecessarily prevent children from benefiting from the rich experiences and opportunities available through school.

Language and Reading

Developing strong communication, language and literacy is a particularly important part of our approach.

Our strategies have repeatedly identified language, vocabulary and oracy as potential barriers for disadvantaged pupils, alongside reading and writing in our current strategy.

This links directly to our wider whole-school language and reading provision. Pupils benefit from high-quality phonics and reading teaching, explicit vocabulary development and speech and language support, with additional intervention where assessment shows that it is required.

Our aim is to ensure that children develop the language, knowledge and reading skills needed to access the whole curriculum.

Pupil Premium, SEND and EAL

Some disadvantaged pupils may also have SEND and/or speak English as an Additional Language (EAL).

We do not consider these needs in isolation. Our current strategy specifically identifies improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils who also have SEND or EAL, alongside close monitoring of whether targeted provision is making a difference.

Our wider Inclusion systems help staff build a complete picture of each child and identify the barriers having the greatest impact.

Being eligible for Pupil Premium does not automatically mean a child needs an intervention. Having EAL does not mean a child has SEND. Support is matched to identified need.

Wellbeing, Attendance and Belonging

For children to flourish academically, they also need to feel safe, supported and that they belong.

Our strategy therefore prioritises children's wellbeing and resilience through our pastoral provision and partnerships, including Catholic Care, MindMate and nurture support where appropriate.

Attendance is also monitored closely, with our strategy setting high expectations for the attendance of disadvantaged pupils. We also consider disadvantaged pupils' representation in pupil voice and extracurricular activities, helping us evaluate whether children are participating fully in school life.

Experiences Matter

We believe children should have opportunities to experience the wider world, develop interests and build the knowledge that supports their learning.

Our Pupil Premium funding has therefore been used to broaden access to first-hand experiences and reduce financial barriers to enrichment. Previous provision has included activities such as Bikeability, ballet, music tuition, educational visits and residential experiences.

These experiences are not an “extra” to children's education; they can contribute to children's language, knowledge, confidence, wellbeing and understanding of the curriculum.

How Do We Know It Is Making a Difference?

We don't measure the success of Pupil Premium simply by asking “What did we spend the money on?”

We consider “What difference did it make?”

Leaders monitor disadvantaged pupils' attainment and progress alongside wider information about attendance, wellbeing, participation and individual barriers. Targeted interventions are reviewed to establish whether they are working and whether pupils are progressing.

This allows us to adapt provision and direct resources towards the areas where they can have the greatest impact.

Working in Partnership with Families

Parents and carers are important partners in helping us understand children's experiences and any barriers they may face.

We encourage families to speak to us if circumstances are affecting their child's learning, attendance, wellbeing or ability to participate fully in school life. Conversations are treated sensitively, and support is considered according to individual circumstances.