What is the Pupil Premium?
The Pupil Premium provides additional funding on top of the main funding an Academy receives. It is targeted at students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as students from less deprived families.
Since September 2014, the premium will be worth £935 and goes to students who are currently registered for Free school Meals (FSM) and those who have received FSM in the past six years (known as Ever6/E6). Students in care, even for one day, also continue to qualify for the Pupil Premium.
How the Pupil Premium is spent is monitored closely with all Academies/schools accountable for the impact of the money spent. At The Excel Academy we pride ourselves on utilising the Pupil Premium to support our students with a specific focus on Literacy, Transition, Behaviour / Attendance and Achievement, maximising the life opportunities for all students.
Why is there a pupil premium?
Students who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their Academy / school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. In 2009-10 GCSE statistics showed that around a third of students who have been on Free School Meals in the previous six years achieved five or more A*- C grades, compared to more than two thirds of their fellow students.
How many pupils at The Excel Academy are eligible for the Pupil Premium?
Currently 33% of students at The Excel Academy are eligible for the Pupil Premium
How will the impact of the spending of the Pupil Premium be measured?
The Excel Academy demonstrates unwavering commitment to closing the attainment gap. We target interventions forensically and have robust tracking systems in place to establish what is making a difference and what is not.
To monitor progress on attainment, measures will be included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of students covered by the Pupil Premium. At The Excel Academy, the usual cycle of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of the cohort’s attainment, will be used to inform student progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention.