What is Pupil Premium?
Pupil Premium is additional funding provided by the Department of Education to enhance the education of students who have been entitled to Free School Meals over the past six years, Looked After Children and those whose parents are in the Armed Forces.
At Foxford Community School, the achievement of all of our students is at the core of everything that we do, but this funding enables us to further enhance the quality of experience for students both in and beyond the classroom.
Catch up Premium 2020-2021
Foxford receives a ‘catch up’ premium for students who have not reached the expected level in literacy and/or maths when they finished primary school. The funding is used to ensure these students have small group tuition and one to one mentoring with Student Support Mentors so that they catch up with their peers quickly.
The entire cohort completed a STAR test through In CORE subjects at the beginning of the year, which supported identifying students’ reading ages and required intervention. Following this, the weakest student went on the Lexoniks programme and had small group support in Literacy and Numeracy. A whole tutor group also had extra literacy lessons weekly for the year. Resources created were specifically designed to embed good reading strategies through a variety of texts to allow better comprehension and build confidence. All students made good progress and showed increased levels of confidence, skill and enjoyment with reading.
In addition, all students were CAT tested so we could ensure the correct interventions were in place for their need.
In English and Maths there was additional spending on support specifically to support in Year 7 lessons. All students engaged with Hegarty maths.
Free School Meals
Entitlement to Free School Meals are processed as part of Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support claims by the Benefits Service. Free School Meals are a statutory benefit. Applying for a free school meal could raise up to an extra £1320 per annum for six years for your child’s school (funded by central government). This can help to fund valuable teaching and learning support for your school (and is still paid to the school even if your entitlement ceases). All children in Reception to Year 2 automatically receive a free school meal. However, if your family also meets the eligibility criteria to enable a free school meal to be awarded (see below), it is important to make an application in order that your child’s school can receive this pupil premium
Free school meals are available to children of families who are in receipt of:
- Income Support
- Jobseekers Allowance (income based)
- Employment and Support Allowance (income based)
- Guarantee Credit (the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit)
- Universal Credit (UC)
- Until 1 April 2018, all UC claims were eligible for free school meals, however,
- From 1 April 2018, UC claims will only be eligible for free school meals if the total net earned income is under £7,400 per year OR if the child was eligible for a free school meal on 01/04/18
- Where the child was eligible for a free school meal on 01 April 2018, they will remain entitled to a free school meal regardless of any change in parental income until they finish the phase of education they are in (primary or secondary) as at 31 March 2022
- Any child who becomes eligible for a free school meal between 01 April 2018 and 31 March 2022 will remain entitled to a free school meal regardless of any change in parental income until they finish the phase of education they are in (primary or secondary) as at 31 March 2022
- Support under part V1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have a total annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
Parents receiving Working Tax Credit for four weeks after their employment finishes are entitled to free school meals during that period. This also applies to parents who start working less than 16 hours per week (please seek advice about this from the Benefits Agency)
Children who receive Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance in their own right are also entitled to receive Free School Meals
To apply for Free School Meals Link to apply