Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium at St Thomas More Catholic Academy

This is additional funding of up to £935 to support your child’s education. The aim of the additional funding is to provide all pupils with fair and equal opportunities to achieve and excel in all areas of the curriculum.

School Success with Pupil Premium

The school was inspected in May 2017 by OFSTED, achieving ‘Good’ in all aspects. Ofsted recognised the successful provision that the school makes for disadvantaged students.

‘The school also makes effective use of the pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Leaders do a detailed analysis of the issues that prevent pupils from fulfilling their potential and draw up plans to ensure that the funding is spent to address these issues successfully. The school monitors closely the impact of these plans and records show that disadvantaged pupils benefit from them, both in terms of progress and personal development.

The progress of disadvantaged pupils, like that of other pupils, is improving. The trends for current pupils in key stages 3 and 4 show that the support the school provides for disadvantaged pupils allows them to make progress that is increasingly in line with other pupils. The overall progress of disadvantaged pupils in 2016 was good.’ – OFSTED May 2017

The school was inspected in a Pupil Premium Review in November 2019, which recognised the improvement in provision and outcomes for disadvantaged students.

“The academy is on journey of improving outcomes for all students at all levels with an emphasis on disadvantaged students through changes to procedures and raising the profile of Pupil Premium students to ensure that there is ownership and accountability at all levels… The Principal, the leadership team and staff were honest and outward-looking regarding the academic progress of disadvantaged students in comparison to other students within the academy and that the profile of Pupil Premium students has been raised significantly over the last 18 months in all aspects of monitoring and support to ensure positive outcomes.

From all discussions, there is a strong drive and commitment to improve the outcomes for PP students and all staff show a clear passion and determination to get the very best outcomes for students.” – Statement from the PP Review, November 2019

This year Pupil Premium students have achieved many positive results in their GCSEs (August 2020). These results are in line with the new GCSE grading 1-9 system, and show significant improvement in the basics compared to the previous academic year’s results. This is due to the focus on quality first teaching, curriculum sequencing and the wide range of strategies and interventions that have taken place to support disadvantaged students.

• 65% of Pupil Premium students achieved standard passes in English and Mathematics. This is a huge increase on last year’s results.
• 37% of Pupil Premium students achieved strong passes in English and Mathematics. This is also a huge increase on last year’s results.
• Pupil Premium students achieved an Attainment 8 score of 45.3, which is also a huge improvement on last year’s results.
• The average point score that Pupil Premium students achieved in the English Baccalaureate has improved in comparison to last year.

Who is eligible for the Pupil Premium?

Pupils are eligible for the Pupil Premium if certain criteria are met. These are:

• Ever 6 Free School Meals Children- children who have been eligible for free school meals in of any the last six years
• Looked after Children in the care of the local authority
• Children who are no longer looked after by the local authority due to adoption, guardianship or residence order
• Children of families where one or more parents is, or has been, in the Armed Forces.

The funds are used to support the pupils in a variety of ways including academic and non-academic areas. A detailed financial plan is produced each year outlining the different ways in which funds are allocated to support education. These are explained in full on the Pupil Premium Strategy 2020/21 which is available on our website.

How do we use Pupil Premium Funds at our school?

• Additional support in making academic progress- smaller class sizes, staffing, educational equipment.
• Assistance with Uniform and stationery, where required.
• Provision of dedicated academic and pastoral staff to promote the academic progress of disadvantaged students.
• Assistance with the finance for educational visits.
• Provision of bespoke enrichment opportunities and residential experiences for disadvantaged students.

What to do next?

If your child does qualify for the Pupil Premium, you will receive a letter regarding this. A link to the letter is also available on the school website, please see the Pupil Premium Information Letter.

• Please liaise with your child’s Student Support Officer or Head of Year regarding particular support that you may require and how the school assist your child to fulfil their potential.
• If you think that you may be entitled to receive the Pupil Premium for your child please contact the school office. We will provide you with a form to complete as well as guidance on the completion of the form. Further information is provided with the link to the eligibility for additional funding letter.
• If your child is in receipt of the Pupil Premium then you will have received a letter outlining further details of how the funding is used. Additionally, a link to the financial plan for the year ahead is available on the website alongside an evaluation of the financial plan from 2019/20.

Eligibility for Additional Funding- Pupil Premium Letters

• Pupil Premium information letter
• Eligibility for pupil premium funding
• Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2018-19
• Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2019-20

The document below detail the Pupil Premium Plan for St Thomas More Catholic Academy:

• Pupil Premium Strategy Statement STMCA 2020-23
• Pupil Premium Policy