In September 2015 there were 101 students in school who fell into one of these categories (Year 7 - 17, Year 8 - 7, Year 9 - 30, Year 10 - 30, Year 11 - 17). This represents around 14% of the entire school population. This cohort changes regularly as family’s financial circumstances change.

In addition we receive a further one-off payment of £500 per year for any new Year 7 student who achieved below level 4 on the Key Stage 2 Reading and/or Maths test.

The Department for Education makes clear that the total Pupil Premium funding received by the school should be used to support the academic achievement of Pupil Premium students as a whole. At St Benedict’s our overriding aim is to ensure that all students reach their potential both academically and socially and, to this end, Pupil Premium funds are used to support the curriculum and curriculum enrichment opportunities to ensure that all is done to help engage students in school life and raise overall attainment.

Funds are used in a variety of ways to provide additional support, intervention and opportunities for all students, but with a special focus on those receiving free school meals.

Some examples of support and intervention that have taken place include:

• One to one intervention in English and Maths to GCSE students
• Small group intervention lessons for GCSE English and Maths students
• Additional Student Support Worker and LSA posts
• Additional revision sessions in a range of subjects
• Reduced or free access to school trips
• Supporting transport or uniform costs
• Purchase of additional equipment, resources and revision materials
• Remission of charges for instrumental tuition
• Supporting public GCSE Art exhibition
• Writing workshops with national newspaper journalist
• Supporting successful transition into Year 9

Pupil Premium students in 2016 scored over half a grade higher in their GCSE’s than they would have done if they had gone to an average school.

 The progress of Pupil Premium at GCSE over time

In  the  academic  year  2015-16,  the  gap  between  PP  and  non-PP  students  in  acheving an A*-C in both English and Maths was 6% and well below the national gap of 27%. Although  this  gap  has  widened  for  the  academic year  2016-17  it  still  remains  below the  national  average  gap  for  the  last  four  years  that  we  have  data  for.  We  await  the statistcs for the national gap for the academic  year 2016-2017 so as to be able to put our own gap in context of the national picture.

Improve progress and attainment

This  is  the  key  principle  of  Pupil  Premium.  We  want  every student to  have  the  opportunity  to  make excellent progressand realise their full their considerable potential. Our aim is to remove any barriers to learning and offer targeted support and advice to improve the knowledge, skills and understanding of the curriculum.

Enrich students’ lives through new opportunities and a creative curriculum

We want every student to have opportunities outside ‘classroom’ learning and to develop a variety of life skills that will help them to be socially aware and develop confidence. We want studentsto have high aspirations and learn to be comfortable in a range of environments and circumstances.

Encourage excellence

We  want  to  offer  behavioural  and  social  support  and  reward  consistent  excellence  and  sustained improvement to create safe and supportive learning environments for all students.

Ensure there is no hardship that hinders learning

We  want  all students  to  have  all  of  the  equipment,  uniform,  resources  and  technology  they  need  to succeed in education. We want pupils to feel safe on the journey to and from school at school, as well as at school and have excellent attendance and punctuality.