Pupil Premium
The government introduced the pupil premium gin April 2011. This grant, which is additional to main school funding, is given to schools by the government as a way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers. Schools can decide how the pupil premium is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.
At CCJ, our pupil premium spending is approved by the headteacher and the governing body, who then monitor its impact to ensure that it is spent effectively. The premium premium funding is allocated per financial year (April to April) but the spending strategy spans an academic year (September to September). In recent years, the school has received approximately £75,000 of pupil premium funding. Our pupil premium governor is Paul Graham.
Mr Desmond, our deputy headteacher, is the pupil premium champion for the school and he works with the SLT, governors, staff, children and parents to ensure that our children receive the best from CCJ.
Context:
- Approximately 17% of the school are entitled to pupil premium funding.
- We have close links with our partner Infant school and how they provide for their pupil premium families.
- There are currently no known forces families within the school.
- The DHT and HT work together to run the pupil premium virtual school and work with the SENCO, family link workers, EWO, school nurse and identified pupil premium governor to develop a whole school approach to pupils entitled to PP.
- PP progress and attainment is the responsibility of the whole team. The SLT, class teachers and teaching assistants all work hard to meet the needs of the whole child as well as accelerate progress and target gaps.
- The schools monitoring cycle looks specifically at PP children and their progress/attainment as well as non-PP children. This monitoring includes work with the governors.
Coffee Mornings
We regularly invite our families into school for coffee, cake and a chat. We have a different theme each term and welcome your ideas for future topics. The pupil premium champion leads each coffee morning with the support of different staff members who come in to talk about their subject or specialism.
We also send a regular newsletter to parents, detailing support that is on offer in school and in the wider community. You can read the latest copy here.
The Whole Child
We closely track the needs of each pupil with a focus on Equity, Engagement and Excellence.
Equity: Are the child's basic need met? Can we offer therapeutic support? Do external agencies need to be involved? Are the barriers to learning removed?
Engagement: Can we enhance the aspirations of our children? Do they have enrichment opportunities? Are they able to experience all that we wish them to?
Excellence: Is attendance and punctuality as high as possible? Can we remove any barriers to low attendance? Are parents engaged and supportive at home and school? Are academic interventions focused and impactful?
CCJ University
CCJ University is our initiative to inspire children to develop a love of learning outside the classroom. At CCJ, we encourage and celebrate participation in extra-curricular activities in and outside of school. The impact of these activities is proven to be positive which is why we’re committed to creating a level playing field of opportunity and opening up access to children of all backgrounds.
Barriers to Learning
We believe that the needs of every pupil differ and this is equally true of Pupil Premium children. However, when we look at an individual child, the following barriers will be considered and if it is felt that they are a barrier for an individual, we look for strategies to overcome or diminish the barrier.
Barriers to learning may include:
- poor attendance and increased number of broken weeks
- lack of funding to access clubs, trips and residential camps
- lack of parental engagement and support for home learning
- poor social skills
- poor communication and language skills
- low attainment or progress within reading, writing and maths
- low self esteem or 'feeling different' due to older uniform etc
- ensuring pupils have regular meals and a balanced diet
- poor motivation and lack of aspiration
Measuring the Impact
To ensure that the funding is effectively used, we monitor and review the impact of the strategies on a regular basis. The Pupil Premium spending and impact report breaks this down further for each academic year. Some of the methods that we use to measure the impact include:
- termly pupil progress meetings with every teacher to discuss the progress and barriers of every child
- staff training opportunities as a whole staff
- sending the PP lead on PP conferences
- speaking with other local schools to share best practice and assess ourselves against the toolkit
- PP review with the local authority
- analysing data for progress and attainment
- speaking with pupils about their learning
- meeting with parents to look at how the support has helped their child
- monitoring attendance and broken weeks
- TA intervention analysis at the end of each term
Applying for Free School Meals
If you think you may be entitled to free school meals and the other benefits outlined on this page, please use the link below to check the criteria and make an application. If you require any help or support with this, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Available support:
Foodbanks
It is a challenging time for many families at the moment with costs increasing and we can source food bank provisions through Christ Church and through the East Bristol Food Bank. Both of these can deliver to your door. If you think this is something you might need support with please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Mrs Osborne is the best contact for this pippa.osborne@sgmail.org.uk or phone the school on 01454 866516 and we will be able to support you with next steps.
Debt support
Given the current situation, many families are struggling financially and are taking on increasing debt. If this is something you are worried about, please use the following links to help.
Christ Church Downend CAP (Christians Against Poverty): Christ Church have been working in partnership with Christians Against Poverty since 2009 when they opened their CAP Debt Centre. Since then they have helped hundreds of clients and their families on their journey out of debt. Contact Leyla on 07530 900957 or email Leylafellows@capuk.org.
Step Change Debt: A full debt help service is available across the UK. Online support is also available via its debt advice tool where you can create a budget and get a personal action plan with practical next steps. https://www.stepchange.org/
Mental health support for children and young people
Mind You
2020 has been a strange year for us all and the school closures earlier this year as well as the current restrictions have often been scary and confusing for children and young people. However, there are lots of resources available online to help young people look after their mental health. Please visit http://sites.southglos.gov.uk/mind-you/coronavirus-covid-19-useful-information/ Alternatively, if you need help and support or are worried about someone, advice is also available via Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership’s 24-hour helpline, please call 0300 3031320.
One You
Social distancing and self-isolating is challenging for everyone, which is why it’s so important for us to look after our mental health as well as our physical health at this time. One You have lots of advice and tips on how to maintain your mental wellbeing during this difficult time online. Visit https://oneyou.southglos.gov.uk/stress-less/ Alternatively, if you would like to speak to someone to find out what support is available, call 0333 577 4666 available from 11am-7pm Monday to Friday, 12pm-6pm Saturday and Sunday or email communitysupport@southernbrooks.org.uk.
South Glos Parents and Carers:
South Glos Parents and Carers are a supportive community of parents and carers who work to improve services and support for SEND children, young people with additional needs and their families. From the original 3 members in 2009 the community now has 1187 parent carer members. Their Facebook page created in 2009 now has 1,730 followers. Visit www.sglospc.org.uk/ for more information.
CCJ have been awarded the Pupil Premium Quality Mark
Quotes from the Pupil Premium Quality Mark assessor report:
"The example set by senior leaders is inspirational and the tone set; aspirational. Staff are diligent in their observation, analysis and recording of pupil need and want; with concomitant interventions and activities swiftly put in place. The regularity and thoroughness of monitoring and review ensures that what is working is continued and what is not working either replaced or reconfigured. The regard given to developing the whole child ensures that life enhancing experiences are offered to all with particular and careful further enhancement offered to those pupils with vulnerabilities; no matter what they might be.
Leadership and ownership are encouraged and developed in both staff and pupils. Staff, no matter what their designation, feel confident to play their part in the development of pupils; acting as part of a team, taking individual responsibility and embracing leadership of: an activity, intervention or innovation. Pupils are offered numerous opportunities to develop team responsibility skills and to display leadership with staff careful to identify those pupils who do not always put themselves forward in order to find ways to let them shine.
Whole school issues are identified and raised by all staff; ensuring: bottom up, top down and peer to peer commitment and engagement. This shared and distributed leadership style has encouraged innovative practice and meant that trialing approaches and sharing successes and failures is applauded, encouraged and learned from. The number of curriculum and delivery methodologies being implemented by the school testimony to the mantra that constant striving and looking for improvement are key to the ongoing development and ultimate happiness of the pupils.
The breadth of experience and expertise amongst the governors of the school is admirable; allied to their commitment to see that pupils thrive, not only academically but emotionally, culturally and spiritually this makes a powerful combination. Parents/carers are very well supported; with the school and staff finding ways to offer flexibility in: time, place, environment and approach to maximise parent/carer access both to staff and, support & guidance mechanisms and materials.
The school's desire to see every pupil have: a breadth of experiences, a sense of self worth, high levels of aspiration, a can do attitude and a smile on their face coupled with the determination to help them achieve academically is totally admirable and absolutely right". April 2019
