Context of the school

Houghton on the Hill CE Primary School has 210 pupils, in seven classes and ranges from FS to Y6. We are a Leicestershire school but a high proportion of children (approx. 50%) come from out of our catchment area, including local villages and within the city boundary. The school’s admission number is 30.

Our school community is diverse in social and cultural terms. 51% of our pupils are boys, though this varies between year groups. 38% of children are from minority ethnic backgrounds. 13% are on the SEN record. Currently 7% of pupils are in receipt of FSM (Pupil Premium money is used to support 8% of pupils). At Houghton, we believe that children are entitled to an education that offers quality, breadth of experience, a standard of excellence and a sense of community.

What is Pupil Premium Funding?

Does your child qualify for Pupil Premium funding?

All Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a Universal Free School Meal (often referred to as UFSM). If you are in receipt of certain benefits, you may be entitled to Free School Meals (FSM). No wonder everyone is confused, and some parents miss out!

The difference is that if you are entitled to FSM there are other means of support that you can tap into. Once you are in receipt of benefits related Free School Meals  our school will receive additional funding (Pupil Premium) to help and support you through your child’s education. The school will also receive extra support to deliver a fully inclusive and accessible education for all of our pupils. You can apply for Free School Meals at any time while your child is at Houghton on the Hill Primary school

Primary Schools receive £14580 additional funding per Pupil Premium Child and £2570 if they are Pupil Premium Plus.

How is the money spent?

This has been spent on:

• Quality First Teaching for Reading, Writing and Mathematics
• LSA support for classes to enable teachers to lead on targeted interventions
• Additional hours to support children in class
• Morning booster classes to promote skills
• Subsidies for residential trips
• School milk scheme
• ELSA support
• Interventions and pre-teaching
• Swimming lessons
• Gardening Club
• Subsidising sports clubs both during and after school
• Additional resources such as equipment, uniform

A significant proportion of Pupil Premium funding has been and continues to be spent on providing quality first teaching (including rapid intervention and effective feedback) from teachers and support staff and small group and individual intervention and pre-teaching outside the main Maths and English lessons.

Objectives of Pupil Premium Expenditure

Our key objective is using the pupil premium grant to narrow the gap between pupil groups. As a school, we have a good track record of ensuring that pupils make good progress. Historically, levels of attainment are lower for FSM children nationally. This is not the case in all of our year groups, but varies considerably between cohorts. Through targeted interventions, we are working to eliminate barriers to learning and progress.

Click here to see our full PUPIL PREMIUM STRATEGY STATEMENT for 2021-2024

The DfE has given us the freedom to use the Pupil premium as we see fit, based upon our knowledge of our pupil needs. “It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.” However, we are accountable for the use of this additional funding.

Key Principles

Building Belief: We will provide a culture where: staff believe in ALL children, there are “no excuses” made for underperformance, staff adopt a “solution-focused” approach to overcoming barriers, staff support children to develop growth mind-sets towards learning.

Analysing Data We will ensure that: All staff are involved in the analysis of data so that they are fully aware of strengths and weaknesses across the school. We use research such as EEF Guidance to support us in determining the strategies that will be most effective.

Identification of Pupils

We will ensure that:

• ALL teaching staff and support staff are involved in analysis of data and identification of pupils
• ALL pupil premium children benefit from the funding, not just those who are underperforming.
• Underachievement at all levels is targeted (not just lower attaining pupils).
• Children’s individual needs are considered carefully so that we provide support for those children who could be doing “even better if…..”