Pupil Premium

• The attainment of the students who attract the funding
• The progress made by these students
• The differences in attainment between disadvantaged students and their peers.

PPG is allocated to the Academy for students who have either registered for Free School Meals at any point within the last six years (£955 per student), Looked After Children (£2345 per student) and children of services personnel (£310 per student).

For the academic year 2020/2021 28.4% of students of Monkwearmouth Academy students are eligible for PPG and we received £201,505 in funding.

Publish date: October 2020
Review date: October 2021

The current academic year 2020-2021

At Monkwearmouth Academy we are aware of the need to ensure that all day to-day teaching  meets the needs of each student, rather than relying on interventions to compensate for teaching that is less than good is central. This is line with recent research from NFER into the most effective ways to support disadvantaged students’ achievement. It is for this reason that some resources are targeted towards whole school teaching and learning strategies, whilst closely tracking and monitoring the progress of the disadvantaged groups.

Some of the main difficulties faced by disadvantaged students that pertain to the Academy are identified below, although this list is not exhaustive and some of difficulties are not unique to those who are disadvantaged.

• Some students struggle to attend regularly and can be persistently absent. This reduces their school hours and causes them to fall behind.
• Some students face significant challenges socially, emotionally and mentally and this can have a detrimental impact on their own and others learning. They can need wide ranging pastoral support.
• Some students struggle to manage their behaviour and this can interfere with learning.
• Some students have low levels of literacy, comprehension and oracy levels on entry into year 7. This can, for some students, slow progress made in subsequent years.
• Some students struggle with organisation and independent work at home and need support.
• Some students with high prior attainment need additional help to achieve the higher levels e.g. GCSE (7+)
• All students need access to a high quality of teaching to enable them to succeed in life.
• Some students have low aspirations and do not understand the purpose of their education, limiting their own potential.
• Some students struggle to access remote learning or have insufficient space to study.
• All students need exposure to cultural capital to help them enrich their learning and motivate them to want to widen their life experiences.
• Systems need to react swiftly to student issues to ensure they do not underachieve.
• Some students face challenges in terms of being equipped for lessons or being able to get to school.
• Some students do not have access to a healthy and balanced diet which van impact on their level of concentration and general wellbeing.

Teaching priorities for the current academic year 2020-2021

• Quality first teaching across the whole curriculum including during after school tutoring.
• Activities that consolidate knowledge and skills as part of a coherent learning experience, the purpose of which is understood by pupils.

Targeted academic support for the current academic year 2020-2021

• Numeracy and literacy interventions are provided across the key stages for disadvantaged pupils.
• Support mechanisms are in place so that disadvantaged pupils don’t underachieve.

Wider strategies for the current academic year 2020-2021

• Support to improve attendance and behaviour where these are barriers to a student’s learning.
• Engaging families that are hard to reach.
• Changing the culture and widening personal horizons so that high aspirations are evident.

Monitoring

Teaching – Robust processes for monitoring teaching and learning are in place.  CPD opportunities are provided to ensure staff are aware and can use current pedagogical thoughts.

Targeted support – Deployment of staffing is monitored to ensure intervention is most effective. Data is accurately produced and analysed to identify the right students who need help.

Wider strategies – Partnerships with agencies are accessed to appropriately to ensure positive attitudes towards education are encouraged, whether that be in terms of attendance or delivery of wider cultural experiences.