Subject Lead: Mrs Taunton-Johnson

The Pupil Premium is an allocation of additional funding provided to schools to support specific groups of children who are vulnerable to possible underachievement. These include pupils who are entitled to Free School Meals, those looked after by the Local Authority or adopted from Local Authority care, and children of armed service personnel. The intended effect of this funding is to accelerate progress and raise attainment, 'closing the gap' between this group and their non-disadvantaged peers.

At Meadlands, Pupil Premium funding is used to enhance and create further learning experiences for pupils from Nursery to Year 6. Details of our provision and desired outcomes for this group can be found in the Pupil Premium Strategy documents, below. We dream big at Meadlands, and our dreams for our children in receipt of PPG funding have resulted in excellent outcomes that ensure they are well prepared for the next stage in their education:

OFSTED 2016. “Teachers identify early those children who need extra help to keep up with their peers and provide well-planned support. Differences between how well groups of pupils learn are small in most year groups and increasingly diminishing…Differences between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others are diminishing by the end of Year 2 and have disappeared by the end of Year 6.”

Cathy Clarke, School Improvement Partner, 2018. “National SATs (School Assessment Tests) are completed at the end of Year 6. The results demonstrate that PPG funding is having a direct impact on children’s outcomes. We can demonstrate that the gap is closing. Practice to support PPG pupils at Meadlands is strong and effective.”

Although statutory end-of-year assessments happened in the academic year 2021-2022, there is no published or comparative data. In 2022 our results were as follows:

• EYs:  100% (1 of 1) achieved the GLD
• Year 1 100% (3 of 3) passed the Phonics Screening Check.
• KS1: 17% (1 of 6) achieved the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths in Year 2. 17% (1 of 6) achieved the expected standard in reading. 50% (3 of 6) achieved the expected standard in writing and 67% (4 of 6) achieved the expected standard in maths.
• Year 4: 57% (4 of 7) achieved 100% on the Multiplication Check. Although there is no pass mark, 88% (6 of 7) achieved 80% or higher.  
• KS2: 25% (2 of 8) achieved the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths in Year 6. 88% (7 of 8) achieved the expected standard in reading. 63% (5 of 8) achieved the expected standard in writing and 75% (6 of 8) achieved the expected standard in SPAG.  63% (5 of 8) achieved the expected standard in maths.

Statutory end-of-year assessment scores have not been published since 2019, due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019 our results were as follows:

• EYs: 100% (2 of 2) achieved a good level of development, which compares to the national average of 74%.
• KS1: 83% (5 of 6) achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in Year 2, which compares to the national average of 69% for non-disadvantaged pupils. 75% (3 of 4) passed the Year 1 phonics check.
• KS2: 67% (6 of 9) achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in Year 6, which compares to the national average of 70% for non-disadvantaged pupils. The progress score for this group was +4.5 in reading, -0.5 in writing, and +4.3 in mathematics, indicating that pupils make stronger progress than the national average (0.0) in reading and mathematics, and indicates the gap is closing but weaker progress in writing.

Each year we review our PPG provision and outcomes. We use this to inform our future goals and to determine how we use our allocated funding. For further information regarding our current funding allocation and plan for disadvantaged pupils, please refer to the above PPG Strategy documents and associated audit reports below:

In addition to the PPG expenditure documents, please see below the Catch Up Funding Planned Expenditure document which is a result of the Government's grant following the disruption to the academic years 2019-20 and 2020-21.