Pupil Premium Plan 2023-2024 (3 year plan)
Pupil Premium Plan (including ‘Recovery/Catch Up’) 2021 - 2024 (3 year plan)
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2021 to 2022 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 |
Pathways School |
Number of pupils in school |
57 |
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils |
81% |
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers |
2021-2024 |
Date this statement was published |
September 2023 |
Date on which it will be reviewed |
September 2024 |
Statement authorised by |
Tasha Roby |
Pupil premium lead |
Tasha Roby |
Governor / Trustee lead |
Katie Johnson Chair of LGB |
Funding overview
Detail |
Amount |
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year |
£29,625 |
Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year |
£0 |
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 |
£29,625 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
At Pathways School, we aim for all disadvantaged pupils to achieve recognised qualifications, including GCSE English and Maths, by the end of KS4. This means throughout their time at Pathways School they need to make rapid and accelerated progress. Whilst the school has had a number of challenges, which were made more significant through the pandemic, this aspiration remains because we know that it will have the greatest impact on pupils’ life chances. Our current strategy is focused on: developing our teaching so that all pupils’ learning improves; using targeted academic support, such as interventions and booster groups to improve attainment; and other strategies which focus on improving behaviour and wellbeing. Our aim is for the balance of these strategies to ensure that disadvantaged pupils have the best possible chances of success. |
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
Challenge number |
Detail of challenge |
1 |
Disadvantaged pupils generally attain less well in reading; they do not read often enough outside of school and find comprehension tasks challenging. Pupils’ limited experiences impacts on their vocabulary and understanding. |
2 |
Disadvantaged pupils generally have other social care needs and therefore many come into school hungry or having had an inappropriate breakfast. |
3 |
All of our disadvantaged pupils are on the SEN register and have EHCPs in place. Their primary need has been identified as SEMH. This poses other barriers to learning; some come to school dysregulated; some have social and communication barriers; and some have low self-esteem and/or low aspirations for themselves. |
4 |
Erratic attendance due to changing or challenging home circumstances. |
Disadvantaged pupils potentially have other undiagnosed learning needs that have previously been masked. |
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6 |
Disadvantaged pupils tend to have less access to activities and opportunities outside of school to enrich their lives and raise their career aspirations. |
Intended outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
Intended outcome |
Success criteria |
Improve reading by the end of KS2 and KS3, focusing on pupils' decoding, their enjoyment of reading and their comprehension. |
Pupils will make accelerated progress in reading so that the disadvantaged pupils make at least 18 months progress in their reading age. |
EHCPs clearly summarise a pupils needs and as a result they are well supported to meet their outcomes. Pathways School has an established positive culture to support pupils with their SEMH needs that is routed in a trauma informed approach. Pathways School is therefore recognised as a trauma informed school. |
Pupils have speech and language needs clearly identified and support in is place for this. Staff have all been trained in trauma and the impact this has on pupils as well has have a bank of classroom strategies to use to support pupils. Thrive sessions are running as an intervention to support this.
|
Attendance is above national average for special schools |
Attendance is at least 85% with persistent absence below 20% |
Identified social and emotional barriers to learning are addressed for individual pupils.
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Pupils with identified needs will be supported to overcome barriers to learning and make good progress socially, emotionally and academically. No pupil will start school feeling hungry. |
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.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: £ 12,500
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
Quality First Teaching through effective support, including through planning, monitoring and coaching |
We want to improve all pupils’ access to Quality First Teaching through effective support and development for all teachers, recognising that ‘the quality of teaching is the most powerful school level influence on student outcomes’ (Muijs & Reynolds 2011). This element of the strategy includes: weekly support with planning from school leaders; ongoing support through appraisal, on tours, 1:1s and other monitoring activities. This is based on research and ongoing work with Ambition Institute through a trust-wide bespoke Teacher Educator Programme and the Early Career Framework. |
Challenge 1, 3 |
High quality CPD |
Improve all pupils’ access to Quality First Teaching through high quality CPD, focusing on teachers’ understanding of cognitive science, curriculum design and effective pedagogy. |
Challenge 1 & 3 |
Phonics (RWI) (£3,000)
|
A whole school phonics approach is an effective way of ensuring that early reading development is successful (EEF toolkit), and is indicated by the proportion of children achieving the expected standard in the Y1 Phonics Screening Check. The school has invested in Read Write Inc, and will work with other trust schools to develop and embed the practice. Initial screening of KS2 and Y7 showed that 0% of pupils reached the expected standard at the end of Y1. |
Challenge 1 |
GL Assessment (£3,000)
|
A whole school reading approach that compliments and builds on from RWI is an effective way of ensuring reading skills continue to be developed to ensure pupils are making accelerated progress towards their reading age. Initial screen showed 67% of pupils are in need of urgent intervention. |
Challenge 1 |
SaLT specific assessments, training and input (£6,500)
|
Pupils at Pathways have a number of undiagnosed communication and language difficulties. A specialist SaLT will provide assessments and both generic and specific input so that pupils are better supported and can therefore meet their academic and EHCP outcomes. They will also deliver half termly CPD and liaise with the allocated SaLT TA to embed practice across the school. |
Challenge 3&5 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £ 5,500
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
Book Talk additional sessions (£2,500)
|
To improve reading specifically, reading booster groups are being planned and delivered with specific pupils following the implementation of Book Talk. These sessions take place before and during school and provide pupils with additional opportunities to develop their decoding, fluency and comprehension skills. |
Challenge 1 |
Y11 Tutoring (£3,000)
|
To support Y11 pupils to achieve functional skills or GCSE qualifications a 1:1 tutor program will be implemented. These sessions with take during the school day. |
Challenge 1&2 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £ 11,625
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
Breakfast Club (£3,125)
|
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the school has identified an increasing number of children who are arriving at school hungry, having not eaten breakfast. There is strong evidence of the impact of hunger on learning, and therefore, we are determined to ensure that no child at Pathways School starts their day feeling hungry through the provision of a free breakfast club. This will provide all pupils with the chance to start their day positively, and to engage in other activities related to learning and wellbeing. |
Challenge 2& 4 |
Enrichment Opportunities (£3,000)
|
Through discussions with pupils it is apparent that lockdown has substantially decreased their engagement in clubs and activities as well as reduced their access to experiences to support career choices. Through well planned, purposeful enrichment activities pupils will have access to a wide range of activities that develop their health and wellbeing as well as give them an insight into potential careers. Enrichment opportunities will include swimming as we believe all pupils should leave Pathways with a basic understanding of water safety and being able to swim at least 25m.
|
Challenge 4&6 |
Work Experience Opportunities (£2,000)
|
To further develop pupil engagement and increase aspirations in regards to future career paths work experience opportunities with the local community will be available for pupils. All Y11 and Y10 pupils will have had the opportunity to participate in at least a one week placement or equivalent. |
Challenge 4&6 |
Attendance (£3,500) |
To further increase our students outcomes we have a key focus on attendance, as without good attendance to school, rapid progress cannot be made. We have invested in BDSIP attendance advisory service to best support our students and their families tackle any barriers to attendance. |
Challenge 4 |
Total budgeted cost: £ 29,625
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year 22/23
Pupil premium strategy outcomes
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2022 to 2023 academic year.
Pupils will make accelerated progress in reading so that the disadvantaged pupils make at least 18 months progress in their reading age.
Pupils have speech and language needs clearly identified by the SaLT team and this has allowed identified strategies to be put in place for this. Staff have received TIP training and the impact this has on pupils. In addition, they have received training and guidance of classroom strategies to use to support pupils in a trauma informed way. Thrive sessions are running as an intervention to support the students SEMH needs.
Attendance is at least 85% with persistent absence below 20%. Pupils with identified needs will be supported to overcome barriers to learning and make good progress socially, emotionally and academically.
Impact so far (23/24 school year)
Key successes:
Key successes: Three students who previously were on 1.5 hours a day in September have now increased to full time. One student who was on 2.5 hours in September is now attending full time. One student has increased from 1 hour a day in September to 5 hours. One student has increased from 4 hours to 5 hours.
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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 |
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Service pupil premium funding (optional)
For schools that receive this funding, you may wish to provide the following information:
Details |
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How did you spend your service pupil premium allocation last academic year? |
n/a |
What was the impact of that spending on service pupil premium eligible pupils? |
n/a |