Use of Pupil Premium
We believe that every school has a duty to ensure that each individual child is entitled to the best possible chance of achieving their potential. Consequently, we have a full plan to ensure that we use our Pupil Premium funding to address national inequalities between the achievement of those children who are eligible for free school meals or are children in care when compared to their peers.
Our Pupil Premium money is granted to our school based on the number of students who are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) or those children who have been continuously looked after for more than six months.
It is our responsibility to allocate this funding in the best possible way to break down barriers to learning and to secure the best possible progress for every child.
Context
Pool Hayes Academy is situated in Willenhall, Walsall. According to The Indicies of Deprivation Statistical Release [1], a document developed by the government, last published in 2015, Walsall is one of the most deprived Local Authorities in England, with 21.9% of the population living in deprived households. 48% of our students are classed as ‘Disadvantaged’. According to the Census Summary Report, released in 2011, 6.8% of adults reported unemployment compared to 4.4% across England and Wales [2].
Barriers to Learning
There are many barriers that our disadvantaged students may face. By identifying and understanding these barriers, we can act to overcome them.
- Literacy and Oracy – Low levels of literacy act as a barrier to accessing the secondary curriculum.
- Social and Emotional needs – understanding how to deal with emotions as well as social skills and interactions are a common barrier.
- Confidence, resilience and self-esteem – Many of our students struggle to persist through challenges they face. They often lack confidence and have low self-esteem, meaning that they do not access learning effectively.
- Aspiration – Understanding options available to them and knowing that they have opportunities and choices.
- Home Learning – Many of our students have no access to a space to learn at home. Bedrooms are often shared and there are no facilities to learn. This impacts on completion of homework, revision and independent learning.
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/465791/English_Indices_of_Deprivation_2015_-_Statistical_Release.pdf
[2] www.walsallintelligence.org.uk/WI/navigation/download.asp?ID=361
