Pupil Premium at Valley Gardens Middle School

We believe that irrespective of background, all children are entitled to high quality teaching in a nurturing environment, which is intellectually stimulating and challenging.  We aim to raise the confidence, ambition and attainment of our disadvantaged children, making sure they fulfil their potential in their academic subjects and that they join in every aspect of the wider life of the school.

By really knowing our pupils who qualify for Pupil Premium funding, we are able to provide for their individual needs. Support is provided in a number of ways; through additional support sessions, the provision of quiet reading time, inclusion in bespoke reading programmes and some 1:1 support sessions.  We also try to provide additional opportunities through trips and visits throughout the year, such as book shop visits, music trips, visiting speakers and careers advice.

The impact of any additional support is carefully monitored and reviewed to evaluate effectiveness and ensure we are meeting pupil need.

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is the additional funding that schools receive to support groups of pupils who may be vulnerable to underachievement for a number of reasons.  The pupils who are eligible for this funding are:

• Pupils who receive free school meals (or have at some point during the last 6 years);
• Children who are looked after by the local authority;
• Previously looked after children (adopted children);
• Children of armed service personnel.

The funding is provided to schools to use in a variety of ways to raise attainment of disadvantaged pupils.    At Valley Gardens, we have a small cohort of Pupil Premium pupils. In deciding how to spend our Pupil Premium grant we use the best research evidence available from organisations such as the Sutton Trust and EEF, The Rowntree Foundation and Ofsted,  to help us to create individual plans for each of our disadvantaged learners.

It is important to note that the pupil premium and the recovery premium  for this year are not ring fenced funding for individual pupils and it is for the school to decide how best to use the collective money to raise the achievement of eligible pupils. At Valley Gardens Middle, we consult with the young people concerned to establish what actions would best help their progress. At Valley Gardens, our current Pupil Premium strategy is weighted towards Key Stage 2 to enable pupils to achieve as highly as possible by the end of Key stage 2 and sustain this through Key Stage 3, so that they are secondary ready.

If your child is eligible for  Pupil Premium  and you would like to find out more about what we offer, or discuss what we can provide, please either contact the school office on  0191 917 6667 or email Lynn Kerr, who is our Assistant Headteacher and Pupil Premium lead ([email protected]).

If you think your child may be eligible for Pupil Premium funding, but is not currently receiving it, or that they may be eligible for free school meals, please contact Lynn Kerr or the school office, who will be happy to help.

Pupil Premium Numbers in Valley Gardens Middle School

Developments for 2024-25

We will be working throughout the year to continue to develop and extend our support for our disadvantaged pupils,  to fill any learning gaps and further the cultural, social, emotional and academic development of our pupils in the following ways:

• Streamlined monitoring of our PP pupils to enable us to identify any areas where we may be able to support.  This could be in small group academic sessions, or at times through extra-curricular or enrichment provision.  These are all areas where we intend to extend our provision through the year.
• Close work with subject leaders and use of subject data and diagnostic assessments to allow us to identify specific learning gaps and so create bespoke and personalised support.
• Exploration of ways we can further support attendance if this becomes a concern or a barrier to progress.
• Embed the enhanced  focus on reading  through the use of Accelerated Reader and continued use of Reciprocal Reading in KS2 and KS3 support sessions.  We cascade reading information from our assessments to staff to help in planning lessons.  We have library lessons in English where pupils can change their books and read to staff.  The library is open every lunchtime and used for events such as author signings and literary workshops.
• Improved transition projects with cluster schools to make sure progress is maintained for Year 8 and Year 5 pupils.
• Increased career guidance through the use of Unifrog and a specific careers focus in the curriculum and within PBL.  This will include an increase in the number of outside visitors who come into lessons to discuss career choices and increased careers advice from our careers lead in school.
• Extended Arts involvement through the development of specific music groups and  music experiences.  Additional Art and Writing groups are also being explored.
• Extended and diversified cultural capital and enrichment opportunities for pupils.

Below is our spending plan and strategy for raising the attainment and progress of our pupil premium pupils in the academic year 2023/24.  This will be updated during the Autumn Term

2024-25 Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

Pupil Premium Strategy Review 2023-24

The documents below shows information about the school’s use of the pupil premium from 2022:

2023-24 Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

Pupil Premium Strategy Review 2022-23

2022-2023 Pupil Premium Strategy Statement