Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium at Samuel Ryder Academy
The government provides additional funding to academies and schools, known as Pupil Premium, to help reduce inequalities and attainment gaps among students who receive free school meals or have done so in the past six years. This funding aims to support these students in achieving their full potential.
How Samuel Ryder Academy Uses the Pupil Premium
At Samuel Ryder Academy, we believe that all students, regardless of their background, deserve the opportunity to succeed. We use the Pupil Premium funding to provide targeted support and additional resources to help students who are eligible for free school meals or have been in the past.
Our Approach
Our approach focuses on three pillars that we believe are important for all students:
- Aspiration - It is our desire for all students to be aspirational and as a school community it is our role to provide students with the opportunities and exposure to aim high. We will support our pupil premium students especially with tailored options meetings, careers support, meaningful work experience placements and targeted interventions where appropriate.
- Belonging - Ensuring that all of our students have a true sense of belonging to our school values and the entire community is imperative. Enabling opportunities to represent these values and the school is an integral component of gaining a sense of belonging. The key focal points linked to belonging for our pupil premium students are centred around identification of need, mentoring and supporting engagement with opportunities the school has to offer.
- Cultural Capital - There are a range of opportunities at SRA to enhance cultural appreciation and develop student character. We want all students to fully immerse themselves within the varied, extra and super curriculum that is on offer and we feel that no student should be at a disadvantage. With this in mind we have created the ‘opportunities fund’ for our families and this can be accessed below to apply for additional financial support:
Samuel Ryder Academy Opportunities Fund Request Form: https://forms.office.com/e/8qW05c7Dig
Review Documentation
Please refer to the Pupil Premium Strategy statement for a detailed breakdown of how we allocate Pupil Premium funding across various initiatives at Samuel Ryder Academy.
Eligibility for Free School Meals
Children in year 3 and older: if you believe your child may be eligible for free school meals, please contact Hertfordshire County Council to apply or check their eligibility. You can find more information and the online application form here.
Children in reception, year 1 and year 2: all receive a universal infant free school meals. Pupil Premium funding is also available for children in these year groups. To find out if you are eligible for this funding, you need to register for Universal Infant Free School Meals (reception, year 1 and 2) on the Hertfordshire County Council website here.
Principles at Samuel Ryder Academy
- We ensure that learning and teaching opportunities meet the needs of all pupils
- We ensure that the needs of all of learners are carefully monitored and assessed on a regular interval in particular the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils
- We ensure that appropriate provision is in place for those students who belong to vulnerable groups
- In making provision for socially disadvantaged students, we recognise that not all students who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals
- We use the Pupil Premium funding to support any student or group of students who the academy has identified as socially disadvantaged
- The type of provision will depend on the identification of the need for the priority student or group of students
Pupil Premium Provision
All pupil premium students have access to:
- High quality teaching in the classroom
- Support from a Form Tutor, Head of Year, Key Stage Lead and Student Services Manager
- Support in accessing extra – curricular activities which require extra support and funding
- A number of targeted intervention programmes
Pupil Premium provision map
We track the provision for each child on the Pupil Premium through a provision map where we record how the students are supported. These include:
- LSA support received in class
- Small intervention group work or 1 to 1 sessions within Inclusion
- Participation in the social skills group
- Small classes in core subjects
- Access arrangements
- Support from external agencies (counselling, targeted youth services, TAF, Links support and outreach work etc.)
- Attendance at clubs; sports and music etc.
- School trips
- A number of targeted interventions
- Free revision guides
- Cooking ingredients
- Free material for Art and Design and Technology lessons
- Participation in the G&T enrichment days
- Help with transport costs
Provision targeted at year groups or across year groups
The following provision is in place to support the barriers that some of the children and young people face. The type of the intervention is dependent on the primary need of the students that is identified using standardised profiling assessments. The students are baselined at the start of each intervention programme and the impact on the completion is measured through specific assessment tools.
Basic School Equipment / ICT Equipment
- Pupil Premium students receive IPads at a reduced rate
GCSE English and Maths revision days Year 11
- The days are staffed and organised by staff at Samuel Ryder Academy
Revision Materials and Equipment
- All year 9, 10 and 11 Pupil Premium students are given revision materials free of charge or at a reduced rate
- Summer revision packs for these students to support their learning
- Mathematics packs provided
- Relevant pieces of subject specific equipment provided
Support for End of Year School Events
- Pupil Premium funds are used to enable these students to take part in the community celebration events at Samuel Ryder Academy, for example attending the school prom and various trips and other events
Support for School Trips
- Trips at a reduced rate for all disadvantaged students
Music Lessons
- Music lessons, exam costs and sheet music are offered free for this group of students who wish to participate
- One to one music lessons at a reduced rate
Learning Support Assistant’s (LSA’s) in Class
- Many disadvantaged students benefit from LSA support in the classroom to ensure they participate fully in lessons and supported to access the concepts covered in the lessons
- Joint planning by the LSAs and teachers- identified LSAs attached to individual faculties
- Delivery of targeted intervention by identified LSAs
Mentoring
- Students have access to a range of mentors in school: the mentor is a member of staff that the CYP has a positive relationship with
Food Ingredients
- The ingredients are purchased for disadvantaged students who take part in hospitality lessons
Targeted support
Cognitive interventions
- Talking Partners - a targeted intervention to support the communication skills of students
- One to One reading / spelling / handwriting / numeracy
- Small group lessons in the Learning Zone
- The impact of all interventions are measured using specific psychometric assessments and further actions are identified
Access to enrichment days for the more able G&T PP students
- Gifted and talented and more able students in all year groups are given the opportunity to take part in enrichment days / trips
Behaviour for learning
- Like Skills group in year 7 and 8 to support the social and emotional aspects of learning
- Nurture Group in Primary to support social skills
Mastering memory and fine motor skills
- Students who have difficulties with working memory or fine motor skills are supported using one to one specialised programme
Learning portraits
- Through setting up the Learning Portraits all members of staff acquire an in depth understanding of the CYP and the strategies to support them- these portraits are child cantered and allows CYP to voice their concerns and how they what they would like the support to look like
Emotional support
- Counselling
- Brief Therapy
- Play Therapy
- Roots and Fruits
- Anxiety Mapping
- Family worker to support the family
Library materials for the most able and to support struggling readers
- In year 7 and 8 the library has purchased additional materials to enable those struggling with or reluctant to read, engage more fully
- Age appropriate books are available for all group of CYP
Transportation costs
- Transport costs are covered to allow some Disadvantaged students and their parents / guardians to travel to and from school for evening meetings such as Parent’s Evening, Residential Trip ,Options Meeting or to help with visits to Universities etc
Data analysis
- Regular analysis of data by the Head of Inclusion, all Heads of Faculties and Heads of Years to track, monitor and identify underachievement and implement necessary intervention
- Regular meetings to discuss provision and support
Attendance
- In house attendance improvement officer to support the families and the students
- Regular meetings with both parents and students
- Home visits
External agencies
- Utilisation of external professionals to run sessions for students in Key Stage 4
- Partnership with Links academy
- Support from EP
- Close liaison with family support workers
