At Ridgeway Secondary School we believe that all our students, regardless of their circumstances, deserve the very best opportunities. With this is mind, we pride ourselves on ensuring that our disadvantaged students follow the same broad and balanced and challenging curriculum that the rest of our student body enjoys. A bespoke package of support, tailored to individual needs, enables all our learners to overcome any potential barriers to their learning.
While high quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, we also recognise the importance of enrichment and extra-curricular activities to overcome the disadvantage gap in cultural capital and therefore we ensure our pupil premium students have access to the absolute best school experience, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Pastoral care at Ridgeway plays a crucial role in the academic success and overall school experience of all students. With an extensive pastoral team of heads of key stage, our student and family support worker, SENDCo, teaching assistants and a dedicated staff member that oversees the provision for our LAC and most vulnerable students, we can ensure that all our students, regardless of circumstances are supported and nurtured.
For the last two years, we have chosen to integrate parts of our Pupil Premium strategy with the ‘Catch-up Premium’ strategy to enable us to focus our use of finances on the right students and the most effective provision.
Therefore, our strategy focuses on three key areas:
Teaching
- High-quality teaching for all
- Effective diagnostic assessment
- Supporting remote learning
- Focusing on professional development
Targeted academic support
- High-quality one to one and small group tuition
- Teaching Assistants and targeted support
- Academic tutoring
- Planning for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Wider strategies
- Supporting students’ social, emotional and behavioural needs
- Planning carefully for adopting Personal Development curriculum
- Communicating with and supporting parents
- Supporting parents with students of different ages
- Removing barriers to learning by supporting with learning resources
- Subsidising experiences outside of the classroom
How we use our pupil premium:
- One to one, or small group teaching assistant support
- One to one, or small group revision sessions
- Study skills sessions
- Provision of relevant learning resources which may include: revision guides; art, DT supplies; printing/photocopying; study related equipment
- Cost of curriculum/field work trips
- Individual counselling from school counsellor
- Individual mentoring from Lifespace mentor
- Provision of careers advice (IAG) to any students highlighted as requiring further guidance
- Instrument lessons
- Duke of Edinburgh award scheme
- Extra-curricular trips
- School led tutoring (NTP)
- Target setting and reward programmes for key groups (Aspire at KS3 and Unlocking Potential at KS4)
We appreciate that the needs of each student and each cohort can differ greatly and therefore each year we carefully review out Pupil Premium Strategy to tailor our approach on a variety of evidence gathered from rigorous and robust quality assurance strategies including student voice, staff surveys and feedback and attainment data.
The information below outlines how we use the Pupil Premium funding to support the learning of children within our school, as well as how to apply for Pupil Premium funding if you think you may be eligible.
Ms J Powell is the strategic lead for Pupil Premium and will happily answer any questions you may wish to discuss.
Eligibility criteria
A child may be eligible for free school meals (FSM) if their parents are in receipt of any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit, provided the parents are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
- Working Tax Credit run-on, which is paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax credit
- Universal Credit – for those applying on or after 1 April 2018, their household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits they get)
Children may also get FSM if they receive any of these benefits directly, instead of through a parent.
This is explained on the GOV.UK website.
Contribution-based benefits
Contribution-based JSA or ESA are not eligibility criteria for FSM in their own right.
However, claiming contribution-based benefits doesn’t prevent someone being eligible for FSM on the basis of receiving one of the other benefits listed above.
If someone is in receipt of even 1p of income-based JSA or include-related ESA, they’re eligible for FSM. That mean, for example, someone receiving equal amounts of income-based and contribution-based JSA or ESA is still eligible for FSM.
The Department for Education (DfE) confirmed this for us.
Who does it apply to?
- Students who are eligible for Free School Meals.
- Students who were eligible for Free School Meals during the past 6 years. This category is known as Ever6.
- Students who are officially in care and classed as ‘Looked After’.
- Students who are adopted.
- Students who have a parent in the armed forces.
A school’s grant allocations are based on the number of eligible pupils recorded on the January 2020 census.
If you think you may be eligible for Free School Meals please contact Worcestershire County Council.
These methods of application are quick, easy and allow parents to utilise their existing account set up initially to apply for a school place. Over 95% of Warwickshire parents apply for a school place through the online facility, and it was decided to incorporate other services through the online portal.
For more information in general about Pupil Premium, please visit http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium
The conditions of grant for pupil premium allocations in the 2020-2021 financial year, published by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Education Funding Agency (EFA), explain that five categories of pupils are eligible for funding:
| TYPE OF DISADVANTAGED PUPIL | PUPIL PREMIUM PER PUPIL 2021-2023 |
| Pupils in year groups reception to 7 to 11 recorded as ‘ever 6 FSM | £985 |
| Looked after children (LAC) | £2410 |
| Post-LAC | £2410 |
| Pupils recorded as ‘ever 6 service’ children, or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence | £320 |
