Pupil Premium
What is Pupil Premium?
Pupil Premium is funding given to schools in addition to the regular budget; its purpose is to raise achievement for those eligible and to close the gap in attainment, which is historically evident in National Data, between disadvantaged children and their peers.
Schools have been given the freedom to spend the Pupil Premium Grant as they wish in order to best support the raising of attainment for the most vulnerable pupils and in order to continue our aim of closing the gap in attainment between those eligible for PPG and those who are not. At times this may mean that money is spent on specific eligible individuals, as dictated by their needs, but may also mean that money is spent on wider school issues, for example staff training, which will lead to school improvements and consequently benefit these children.
In Bexley Borough, the decision has been taken by the Local Authority that all money allocated for children who are looked after by Bexley (i.e. in care) will be held centrally by the Local Authority and given to individual schools to support children as necessary. This allocation will be made through discussion between the school and the local authority and will be used to improve outcomes as identified in the child’s Personal Education Plan.
The principle behind the Pupil Premium Grant reflects the ethos of Hook Lane School where we are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum by providing a range of teaching and learning opportunities for all our children. We always aspire to eliminate barriers to learning and progress and to closely match our provision to each child’s individual needs. The money provided by the Pupil Premium Grant supports us in this aim.
What are the barriers to learning?
At Hook Lane we eliminate barriers to learning and progress for all our children, thereby closing gaps between groups of children in a number of ways:
- All pupils receive quality first teaching with differentiated support in order to achieve their individual targets and to help them to achieve to the best of their ability.
- All pupils are given access to a range of opportunities across and beyond the curriculum, which they may not otherwise be able to access.
- We are committed to working alongside our families and provide parents/carers with support to help their children at home.
- Those children who are vulnerable to underachievement are given quality, timely support in order to ensure that their progress remains consistent.
Who is eligible for the Pupil Premium grant?
- Children who are registered as eligible for free school meals or who have been eligible at any point in the last 6 years.
- Children who are in the care of the Local Authority, who have been adopted or who are subject to Special Guardianship Orders.
- Children of Armed Forces Personnel.
Your child may be eligible for free school meals (FSM) if you receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided that you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income that does not exceed £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit
Please ask the school office if you think that you may be entitled to FSM. Registering for FSM does not mean that your child has to have school dinners if they do not wish to.