Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium Grant is additional funding from the Government that enables our school to further support children's learning if they qualify.

Bedford Borough Council now provides auto-enrollment for this and school will be informed if you are entitled. This is a valuable grant, as in addition to your child receiving free school meals, the school is provided with additional funding that supports your child to achieve their potential.

Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011. It is a Government initiative that provides additional funding to schools.Those pupils entitled to Free School Meals (NOT universal free school meals) and those who are Looked  After by the Local Authority are entitled to receive a Pupil Premium Grant (PPG). 

A premium has also been introduced for children whose parents currently serve in the armed forces. This service premium is designed to address these pupils' emotional and social well-being. The Pupil Premium supports these pupils in reaching their potential by accelerating their progress.

All members of staff and governors accept responsibility for those pupils recognised as 'disadvantaged’ and are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs in a caring environment. As with every child in our care, a child who is considered to be ‘disadvantaged’ is valued, respected and entitled to develop to his/her full potential, irrespective of disadvantage/need.

We believe that all children are entitled to achieve their full potential and should be allowed to acquire the knowledge and skills relevant to adult life in a rapidly changing world. They should be encouraged to develop their independence and self-respect with a positive learning approach. 

The qualifying benefits to receive free school meals are:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit, and your annual gross income does not exceed £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit) Universal Credit (during the initial roll-out of this benefit)
• If you think you may qualify but need support in applying, please come to the school office. 

It is up to each school to decide on its own priorities and where the money should be spent. However, children receiving pupil premium funding grants are monitored each year using a provision map. The teaching staff, the SLT and the Local Governing Board monitor their attainment and progress.

 Appropriate intervention strategies are selected according to the individual needs of the child. Our aim is to fully maximise this opportunity and make sure each eligible child has this extra funding and that it is used to make a difference to their progress.

How is the funding used at Ravensden CE Primary Academy?

​The school has decided that it would be best to support the child from two angles: academic support and wellbeing and social support. We will do this by investing the majority of the pupil premium into direct learning support such as TA support through in class focus. However, we understand that children could also benefit from support with non-teaching activities such as Playtherapy and Drawing and Talking Therapy. 

We also allow parents to use a proportion of the funds to help with uniform costs, school educational visits and enrichment activities. Therefore, parents may apply to the head teacher to spend up to £200 of the funding in these areas. For example, some parents would like to spend it on music lessons or residential trips, while others prefer to use it for uniforms and school shoes. Let us reassure you that all this is treated completely confidentially in school.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium