Since 2011, schools in England have received ‘pupil premium’ funding from the Government. This money is intended to be used to support children and families in school, particularly those entitled to Free School Meals. It is hoped that the money will help schools to improve their academic standards and engagement and wellbeing in children and families.

From September 2012, schools are required to publish how they are using this funding.

At our school, we are spending the money in the following ways:

• Staffing and resourcing our free Breakfast Club, to enable working parents to leave children safely and attend work
• Each class is given a contribution towards their ‘trips and visits’ fund, to allow teachers to take children out of school and provide them with rich learning experiences beyond the classroom
• Funding for specialist Music teachers to come into school to work with our older children

The Early Years Pupil Premium has trained two staff members in an intervention called ‘Early Talk Boost’ whereby children are working in small groups on a weekly basis for a term to help with their Communication and Language skills. The premium has also helped with the purchase of two ‘5 minute boxes’ where children practise letter and number recognition/formation through multi-sensory activities.