Pupil Premium and the Use of Public Funds for Curriculum Recovery
Pupil premium strategy statement
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2023 to 2024 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.
Detail |
Data |
School name |
The Marlborough Science Academy |
Number of pupils in school |
1366 (1113 yr 7 – 11) |
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils |
21.4% (239 students) |
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers |
2024-25 |
Date this statement was published |
December 2024 |
Date on which it will be reviewed |
December 2025 |
Statement authorised by |
Annie Thomson |
Pupil premium lead |
James Griggs |
Governor / Trustee lead |
Clare Hawkins |
FUNDING OVERVIEW
Detail |
Amount |
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year |
£236,250 |
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) |
£40,000 |
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 |
£276,250 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
STATEMENT OF INTENT
At the Marlborough Science Academy our objective is for all students to be able to enjoy their education, to achieve the best possible outcomes and be prepared for life beyond school, regardless of their background, underpinned by our values. Our ongoing and ever evolving commitment to ensuring the equity of provision in the pursuit of academic excellence and for all our learners continues, resulting in International recognition as a school of Inclusion and opportunities.
We are absolutely focussed on all students being treated equally and that there is a whole school emphasis on all children being valued and respected. We use our PP funding so that all children and families who need an extra helping hand in removing challenges are supported.
It is our mission to remove as many challenges to learning as possible for all our students in the classroom and focus on the things that we can control to improve life chances. We know that some of the factors for securing positive outcomes for students are building positive relationships and then ensuring they receive the highest quality teaching. We aim to ensure that every student has the support to be emotionally ready to learn when they enter our school. We aim for our staff to have the highest aspiration for every student regardless of the socio-economic hardships they may face. We are committed to every student having access to all the equipment and resources they need so that no student’s learning experience is different from their peers. We are also committed to offering a wider learning experience that supports their social, emotional and cultural development. We want every student regardless of challenges, demographics or socio-economic background to have the courage to strive for excellence in all of their future endeavours.
We know that the current social climate is having a disproportionate impact on financially deprived families and our poverty protection lead has been instrumental in supporting our community. We continue to support students with the greatest needs through our Inclusion and Family workers to ensure that learning always plays an important part in their lives regardless of circumstances, reinforcing the ethos "If I let you off, I let you down".
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
Challenge number |
Detail of challenge |
1 |
The engagement of some students and their parents when learning has not been their priority for a myriad of reasons |
2 |
Narrowing the learning gap of PP students to ensure they achieve in line with their peers and staff training to ensure high quality teaching and use of the PP funds is a priority. |
3 |
Poor mental health and wellbeing of a number of PP that causes reduction in their attendance and for them to fall behind academically |
4 |
Attendance of some PP students in school |
5 |
Poverty protection for families in need |
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 |
Progress of PP students to be in line with their peers. |
At KS4 Progress 8 of pupil premium students to be in line with the national average or better and to exceed the progress 8 score of pupil premium students nationally. At KS3 PP students making progressing in line with or exceeding their peers. |
Open up PP funding in an accountable way to encourage input and creative ideas across all faculty areas. Continue to close the attendance gap of PP students to be in line with their peers. |
The number of subject specific interventions in the school is increasing and the intention is to continue to increase these, as well as promote the inclusion of PP students within the school scholars programme. Attendance of PP students to match the attendance of non-PP students and to exceed national average. Current PP attendance is 6% below that of their peers |
Ensure that students have positive levels of wellbeing, are confident and able to achieve in their learning, and that our Poverty protection scheme run by our poverty protection lead is available for all. | To ensure that financial difficulties faced by families does not become a challenge for students’ success and wellbeing. Investment in students support such as life coaching and aspirational projects. |
Improve reading, oracy and the comprehension skills of students at KS3 particularly those identified as having the weakest reading skills. | Pupil premium students narrowing the gap in their reading age at the same speed or faster than their non-PP peers. To support this and to increase funding efficiency the school has purchased a three year licence for the accelerated reader programme to be reviewed mid-year. |
Improve parental engagement and buy-in to the school through attendance at parents evenings, meetings, events and support with the home school partnership. | Increased parental attendance at consultation evenings, learning evenings and parental engagement events, for which we are currently exploring the method by which this is measured. |
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. We ensure all staff are engaged in supporting our disadvantaged students and reflect the pupil premium outcomes and actions required in both staff and middle management meetings.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: £ 85,350
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s)addressed |
Employ two assistant teachers who through targeted support enhance the learning of pupil premium and SEND students |
The EEF Guide To The Pupil Premium |
2 |
Provide all Pupil Premium students with revision guides and other learning equipment to ensure they have access to the same resources as their peers, monitor their use and ensure students the benefits to this technology. |
The pupil premium: how schools are spending the funding successfully (Ofsted) |
2 |
Employ a school based attendance officer to work with persistent absentees, and support with parental engagement specifically linked to school attendance. |
The EEF Guide To The Pupil Premium |
4 |
To employ additional staff in the core subjects to decrease class sizes and allow time for additional oracy and numeracy work within the faculties. |
The EEF Guide To The Pupil Premium |
2 |
To utilise INSET to provide PP specific training for all middle leaders which can then be disseminated through faculty meetings as part of a three year initiative of CPD. |
The EEF Guide To The Pupil Premium |
2 |
Individual faculty bids for projects and resources to enhance the learning of PP students and develop input from parents regarding extra curricular opportunities |
The EEF Guide To The Pupil Premium |
2 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £ 40,900
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
Accelerated Reader Secondary Reader Programme |
EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit |
2 |
Implement Tutoring including NTP programme for PP students who are underachieving/need support to reignite their learning |
EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit |
2 |
Provide enrichment for PP students through the Scholar programme to broaden their curriculum and provide further engagement. |
EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit |
2 |
Provide every PP student with the equipment and learning resources including chromebooks and other ICT equipment they require to ensure they can fully access their learning |
EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit, DFE Guidance For Pupil Premium: Pupil Premium Effective Use & Accountability
|
2 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £150,000
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
Rapid deployment of School Intervention and Inclusion Officer to students identified as having mental health and wellbeing concerns | NFER: What are the most effective ways to support disadvantaged pupils’ achievement? (Nov 2015) |
3 |
Deploy School Family Engagement Officer to work with our most vulnerable, struggling and hard to reach families, and to manage the poverty protection scheme to support those in need. |
EFF Teaching and Learning Toolkit, The EEF Big Picture |
1/5 |
Breakfast Club for targeted students to ensure they have a healthy breakfast and regular positive adult contact and role modelling |
DFE Policy Paper – Pupil Premium (June 2021) |
3/5 |
Full funding of educational visits for PP students and support for other trips, visits and music lessons. |
The EEF Guide To The Pupil Premium
|
2 |
Targeted and timely intervention by School Attendance Officer to respond to student absence |
NFER: What are the most effective ways to support disadvantaged pupils’ achievement? |
4 |
Hold parental engagement events to build sustainable relationships with hard-to-reach parents and carers. |
The EEF Big Picture |
1 |
Total budgeted cost: £ 276,250
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year
Pupil premium strategy outcomes
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
- Using 2019 progress measure the Progress 8 of the pupil premium students from their exam results in 2024 was below the national average and below that of their non-peers showing there is still a gap to close. The percentage of students achieving both 4+ and 5+ in English and Maths was also below that of their peers in 2023.
- Pre-covid the attendance gap between PP and non-PP students closed considerably, with PP attendance rising from 88% to 92%. During the academic year 2023-2024 the attendance gap between Pupil premium and non-pupil premium students was 6% showing that we still have a gap to close in attendance.
- In all recent learning reviews and book-looks reviewers have been unable to differentiate between the books from PP students and non-PP students showing the pride they are taking in their work.
- Testimonials from the families working with the School Family Worker show that she is having a profound impact in the lives of our most hard to reach families and thereby improving the life chances and impact of the young people in the families. Her work has directly improved the living conditions of several families and she is liaising with the local MP to support poor housing.
- In the Morning Readers programme the PP students are closing their reading age gap at the same rate as their non-PP peers. The average reading age in year 7 is currently 11.01 and in year 8 it is 12.02.
- The number of Faculty interventions run during the academic year 2023-24 primarily for students who were Pupil Premium has significantly increased and in the last year the progress 8 gap between PP and non-PP students has reduced by 0.19
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 |
Aspirational workshops for students of all ages |
Commando Joe |
Covid Catch Up Premium Funding
The Marlborough Science Academy is committed to shaping futures and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to succeed. Our aim is to support the re-engagement of students and bridge any gaps in learning following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. In addition, to ensure that we are able to continue to provide all students access to their future learning and that any partial closures have a minimal effect on learning and wellbeing.
Please click on the link below to view a copy of our Covid Catch Up Premium Report: