This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2023 to 2024 academic year) funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.
It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school.
School Overview
Detail
Data
School Name
Strood Academy
Number of pupils in school
1327
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils
32.93%
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended)
2023 – 2026
Date this statement was published
September 2023
Date on which it will be reviewed
September 2024
Statement authorised by
Mr Jon Richardson
Pupil premium lead
Mr Sav Fantania
Governor / Trustee lead
Tajinder Gill
Funding Overview
Detail
Amount
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year
£355,005.00
Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year
£94,668.00
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable)
£0
Total budget for this academic year.
If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year
£449,673.00
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
At Strood Academy, we are committed to providing an inclusive and nurturing learning environment where all our students can thrive academically and personally. We recognise the importance of addressing the needs of disadvantaged students and are dedicated to using Pupil Premium funding effectively to support their educational progress.
Our Vision and Aims:
Our vision is to ensure that we promote social justice through excellent outcomes for all.
- Raise Achievement: We will use Pupil Premium funding to raise the attainment and progress of disadvantaged students across all key stages.
- Close the Attainment Gap: We are committed to closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their non-disadvantaged peers.
- Improve Well-being: We will support the social, emotional, and mental well-being of all our students, with a particular focus on those eligible for Pupil Premium funding.
Our Strategies:
To achieve our aims, we will implement the following strategies:
- High-Quality Teaching: We will ensure that all teaching staff are equipped with the skills and resources needed to provide high-quality teaching, including personalised support for disadvantaged students.
- Targeted Support: We will provide additional academic and pastoral support for eligible students through small group interventions, one-to-one tutoring, and mentoring programs.
- Curriculum Enrichment: We will offer a broad and enriching curriculum, including extracurricular activities, to enhance the learning experiences of our disadvantaged students.
- Parental Engagement: We will actively engage with parents and guardians of disadvantaged students to foster a strong home-school partnership and encourage involvement in their child’s education.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: We will regularly monitor the progress of disadvantaged students and evaluate the impact of our interventions to adjust our strategies accordingly.
- Reporting and Accountability: We will report on the impact of our Pupil Premium spending in our annual report to parents and the school’s governing body. We are committed to transparency and accountability in how we use Pupil Premium funding.
This statement will be reviewed annually to ensure it reflects the evolving needs and circumstances of our students.
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
Challenge Number
Detail of Challenge
Academic Challenges
1
The literacy and numeracy skills of disadvantaged pupils are much lower compared to their non-disadvantaged peers, preventing disadvantaged pupils from making progress.
2
Disadvantaged pupils make less progress compared to their non-disadvantaged peers in most subjects and this includes English and maths.
3
Low aspirations and self-esteem. To raise the aspirations of disadvantaged pupils, they need to experience a wide range of enrichment opportunities to broaden their horizons. This includes trips and visits.
External Challenges
4
Attendance of disadvantaged pupils is lower compared to their non-disadvantaged peers. As a result there is a loss of learning, which has a negative impact on their levels of progress.
5
Many disadvantaged students do not have access to the materials needed to support their learning. This may include: IT/internet access at home, revision books and basic equipment.
6
Some disadvantaged pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs that have a negative impact on their well-being and academic progress. They also face difficult challenges in their lives due to lack of stability, role models and access to necessities.
7
Parental engagement has always been a challenge, especially attendance to parents’ evenings. Parents of disadvantaged pupils can have a positive impact on their child’s progress if support and workshops are provided.
Intended Outcomes
Intended Outcome
Success Criteria
To improve student attainment for disadvantaged students through high quality teaching and learning.
- The quality assurance of lessons will show effective teaching and learning with evidence of highly effective teaching over time. This will be monitored through observations, learning walks, Record of Progress folders and student voice.
- The attainment gap diminishes between disadvantaged and others. The 2024 attainment score will show an improvement from 2023 and inline with national average (non-selective schools in Kent).
- Higher expectations of disadvantaged students will show that disadvantaged students are making equivalent or better progress compared to their non-disadvantaged peers and have improved ATL scores over time.
To effectively use data tracking points to identify disadvantaged students for interventions.
- Effective data analysis will result in interventions being allocated to disadvantaged students that need it the most. The quality assurance and tracking of interventions will show progress of disadvantaged students.
To improve the literacy, oracy and reading scores of disadvantaged students so that the gap diminishes between disadvantaged and their non-disadvantaged peers.
- Years 7 and 8 disadvantaged students will show improved reading scores. The gap diminishes between disadvantaged and their non-disadvantaged peers.
- Observations, learning walks and students’ work illustrate that all teachers consistently model and promote high standards of literacy.
- There is a consistent approach to the teaching and marking of literacy across the curriculum.
To increase the number of disadvantaged students accessing extracurricular activities, trips and experiences.
- Enrichment activities will develop cultural capital within students and increase well-being.
- Opportunities for disadvantaged students to visit higher education establishments will increase the number of students at KS5 and numbers attending university.
To reduce attendance gap for disadvantaged students.
- Improved attendance of disadvantaged pupils across all year groups.
- Persistent absence is in line with non-disadvantaged peers.
To improve resilience and engagement of DA students.
- Behaviour log shows a reduction in the number of behaviour incidents for DA students and an increase in the number of merits.
To increase parental engagement.
- Increase in parental satisfaction in parents’ evening survey.
- Increase in parental attendance to parents’ evenings across all year groups.
To improve metacognitive, self-regulatory and study skills of disadvantaged students.
- Observations and learning walks show that all teachers are effectively modelling metacognitive and self-regulatory strategies.
- Improved rates of independent learning.
- Reduction in the attainment gap between DA and their non-DA peers.
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium (and recovery premium funding) this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Total budgeted cost: £ 449,673
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: £99,673
Activity
Evidence that supports this approach
Challenge number(s) addressed
Quality first teaching: -teacher and subject leadership CPD implementation 2023-2025
Senior leaders, subject leaders and external consultants work alongside the teaching team to embed expertise in teaching and learning.
1. High-quality teaching | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3
Curriculum quality
Additional opportunities offered without charge for PPG pupils (outdoor education, individual music tuition, extra-curricular clubs and school trips)
1, 2, 3
Embedding assessment for learning strategies and feedback 2023-2025
Consistent, timely and accurate feedback enabling children to make progress. Feedback | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3
Meta-cognition and self-regulation
CPD sessions for staff to understand the impact of developing meta-cognitive
thinking about children. Staff harvest a culture of meta-cognitive thinking.
Metacognition and self-regulation | EEF
(educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £ 200,000
Activity
Evidence that supports this approach
Challenge number(s) addressed
One-to-one tuition
One-to-one tuition delivered by a qualified teacher to accelerate progress in English and Maths. One-to-one tuition | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Small group tuition (including teacher and TA led sessions)
Small group tuition in core subjects particularly in phonics, reading and mathematics. Small group tuition | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) Teaching Assistant Interventions | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £ 150,000
Activity
Evidence that supports this approach
Challenge number(s) addressed
After-school learning/study club
Provide structured ‘home learning’ routine in school settings outside of the normal school day. Children supported with completing homework, have an adult listen to them read (develop fluency) and to be read to (vocab development).
Extending school time | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Parental engagement and home learning
Embed quality of home communication and home learning.
Parental engagement | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
1, 2, 3, 4, 7
Wellbeing and confidence support
Learning Mentor programmes of work. TA interventions. Staff training. Social and emotional learning | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
3, 4, 5, 6
Attendance
Regular communication, provision of transport, support meetings. Office Manager leadership.
3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Behaviour
Learning Mentor programmes of work with target pupils. Senior leader and pastoral support.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help the Department for Education identify which ones are popular in England
Programme
Provider
English and Maths 1 to 1 and 3 to 1 tutoring.
My Tutor Programme.
English and Maths small group tutoring.
My Own Tutoring.