Pupil Premium Funding

Our School’s Vision

Our collective intention, upheld by all staff, is to provide high-quality teaching for all, enabling children to become confident readers, writers and mathematicians whilst also gaining a wide breadth and depth of knowledge across the curriculum. We want our pupils to be curious, driven and aspirational, with excitement and passion for everything they experience and do.

At Exwick Heights, we are dedicated to ensuring that all children achieve this goal. We all aim to provide educational equity and social justice for every pupil including the most disadvantaged in our school community.

Free School Meals

In state schools in England, all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically receive free school meals under the Universal Free School Meals Scheme. However, some children may be eligible to receive income-related Free School Meals in Key Stage 2.

 

Your child may be able to get free school meals if you receive any of the following:

  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

 

Parents and carers can check whether their child is eligible for Free School Meals on the Devon County Council Citizens Portal or call the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019.

 

Families in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 should also apply for Free School Meals because, if eligible, the child would also benefit from further funding given to the school, referred to as ‘Pupil Premium’.

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium funding is additional funding given to schools to help them raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. It is given to schools to support any child who receives Free School Meals (or has received Free School Meals in the past six years).

 

Pupil Premium Plus funding is given to schools to support children who have been looked after by the local authority for one day or more, have been adopted from care or have left care.

How does Exwick Heights use the Pupil Premium funding?

Pupil Premium funding is used at each school’s discretion but must be shown to enhance pupils’ learning. Typical barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils can include: less support at home; a lack of confidence; language and communication difficulties; and a lower attendance at school. The challenges vary and there is no “one-size fits all”. At Exwick Heights, we reflect on the challenges seen in our own school setting whilst applying recommendations made by the Department of Education and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

 

We focus primarily on ensuring high-quality education through continued professional development and targeted intervention. However, we are also acutely aware of the role that social capital, aspiration and self-perception play in a child’s academic progress. We therefore also use our funding to reduce the cost of trips and residentials, whilst paying, in full, for any extra-curricular clubs and music tuition that our Pupil Premium children may wish to participate in. By participating in a wide range of experiences, beyond those at home, our pupils see themselves as capable and adventurous pupils who can aim higher than they previously expected. We monitor and review the impact of our funding regularly, adapting, expanding or ceasing any strategies as required.

What is Service Pupil Premium?

Service Pupil Premium (SPP) is additional funding for schools designed to help with pastoral support for children who have one or more parent/ carer serving in HM Forces or has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence. Click here for more information. 

More Information or Further Support

For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium. If you would like any support in applying for Free School Meals, please contact our Disadvantaged Student Leader, Miss Emily Baxter via admin@exwickheights.devon.sch.uk

 

Each year, we publish how we spend our Pupil Premium. We are currently within the second year of our three-year Pupil Premium Strategy.