Pupil premium and catch up premium

The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers.

Strategies to Raise the Attainment of Pupils supported by the Pupil Premium Funding

2020/21 Pupil Premium Allocation: £ 207,235

Hermitage Academy has had a Pupil Premium Grant allocation of £ 207,235 for the academic year 2020-21. This funding is given with a specific remit of diminishing any differences between disadvantaged students and those who are not disadvantaged. Hermitage Academy is working to support disadvantaged students in all areas of their education from the moment that they arrive in school. Our aim is that every disadvantaged student will achieve at least as well as their peers and have every opportunity to excel.

Some disadvantaged students face many and complex barriers during their education which make effective learning very difficult. Other students have very specific needs and still others, have few barriers at all. Below are some of the main difficulties faced, although it must also be said that the difficulties encountered are not unique to those who are disadvantaged.

The main barriers faced by eligible students in 2020-2021 are:

Some struggle to attend regularly and of these some are persistently absent.
Some students struggle to manage their behaviour.
Some students need extensive pastoral support for a variety of reasons.
Some students struggle with the increased complexity of organisation with a secondary environment and increased demands for independent work.
Some students face significant challenges in their lives and have social, emotional and mental health needs that prevent them from learning.
Some students need additional adult support to help to enable them to fully achieve their potential both during the school day and after school with managing homework.
Some students need individual tuition and/or teaching in small groups to enable them to achieve.
Some students have little aspiration for the future and are in need of additional adult support and additional careers guidance so that they do not limit their own potential.
Some students have low levels of literacy and numeracy which impedes their learning and their confidence.
Some students lack access to the internet and the use of computers to support their studies.
Some students lack space to study with adult support.
Some students need to experience a wealth of enrichment experiences in-order to widen their horizons and unlock future opportunities.
School uniform can cause significant challenges for some families.
Some students do not have access to a healthy diet which impacts on their general well-being. Some do not participate regularly in sports and need proactive, individual support in order to overcome barriers.
All pupils need the highest quality of teaching in every classroom.

Pupil Premium strategic plan for expenditure received 2020-21

In light of the above data and understanding of barriers to learning, the total allocation to support pupils for 2020-21 will be spent as follows:

The list below of overall spending categories is not exhaustive. Exact details of pupil premium spending may be so specific to one student’s needs, that this cannot be published here. For this reason, a summary of overall spending in different areas is provided.

Cost Area	Estimated cost
The Laurea Centre (Areas 1,3,4,5,6,11) The ‘Laurea Centre’ is a place of safety, support and challenge. All pupils are welcome to the centre. The purpose of the centre is to enable pupils to gain confidence and to access learning. There is a clear focus on increasing the resilience of pupils, building their self-esteem and also enabling them to develop those skills that will enable them to learn effectively in the classroom environment. The Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral Care) leads a team of trained staff in the support of pupils with social and emotional needs. They work individually with pupils and design therapeutic intervention to support their needs and build resilience and self-esteem. A school counsellor works onsite for 4 days per week, providing a bespoke Social, Emotional, Behavioural & Welfare Programme which includes 1-1 & small group support and professional development for staff. The specialist attendance officer works closely as part of the Laurea team and with Heads of Year in supporting families to ensure their children attend well.	£ 71,000
Behaviour Management – (Area 2) For a whole range of reasons some pupils struggle to accept boundaries and manage their own behaviour. Extensive support is provided by multi-disciplinary teams led by the Deputy Headteacher for behaviour. Bespoke support, mentoring and guidance is provided to those who have particularly challenging social and emotional needs.	£ 44,000
Curriculum Programmes – (Areas 6, 7, 9) Mentoring by senior staff is provided for pupils who need this additional guidance on a regular basis in order to engage effectively with learning. The academy seeks to provide 1 to 1 tuition in all subjects where this is an identified need. For some pupils this is planned on a regular basis and for others, it is managed by each department according to needs as they arise during the year. Small group support to focus on addressing specific needs of pupils is planned where needed in different subject areas. Bespoke Year 11 revision support is provided in all subject areas and is tailored to the individual needs of the students. English / maths teachers provide small group support for literacy and numeracy from Year 7 to 11 students	£9,000
High Quality Teaching and Learning - (Areas 9, 15) This is essential for every student and especially for those who are disadvantaged. To this end, the school invests significant time in developing staff through individual coaching and whole staff training. All teachers and departments have plans for development which specifically identify the needs of individual pupils (supported by the pupil premium). They use strategies where there is a firm research base of positive impact (EEF -Education Endowment Foundation - Teachers Toolkit). All teachers focus on language and literacy development. Word banks are commonly used and new language carefully introduced. Enriching and extending the wealth of language used by students is a key focus for staff, understanding that this will provide a route to access learning and a wider range of future career options. Drama lessons enhance development and use of the English language and use of expressive language. Development of speech and language needs a whole school approach which is being developed throughout the curriculum to enhance students’ verbal communication skills, vocabulary, memory and recall skills. Whilst this will benefit all pupils it will provide significant benefit to disadvantaged pupils. Additional staff provide support in lessons and tailor interventions to individual academic needs.	£ 36,000
Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance - (Area 8) Programmes have been developed to ensure careers are present within learning across all key stages to raise and support aspirations. All pupils receive careers information, individual advice and guidance so that they have high aspirations and are well prepared for the next stage in their education. For some pupils, careers visits are planned into their learning programs so that they are able to experience, first-hand, the wide range of opportunities available to them. This also develops and understanding of the requirements to enter different career routes. The specific work for individuals is complemented by a wide range of careers development that takes place from Year 7 through to post-16	£ 18,000
Homework and Study Support - (Areas 6, 10, 11) Staffed areas are available every day at lunchtime and after school for students to complete homework, access adult support, class textbooks and also the internet.	£ 9,000
Enrichment Programmes – beyond the curriculum - (Area 12,14) School Trips / Theatre Visits / Outward Bounds / Citizenship Programmes. These will have a focus on raising aspirations, widening experiences and enriching pupils’ lives. Our sports coaching programme - works with all pupils to provide coaching in a range of sports every lunchtime and after-school. The purpose is to encourage pupils engage with sports and make active choices towards healthy lifestyles. Our sports coach also undertakes therapeutic work and works closely with the Laurea Centre team in developing in our young people, team building skills and building qualities of resilience and determination. Sport: access to enrichment through sport with financial support to provide access and equipment. Music: provision of instrument based tuition.	£ 13,000
Family & Community Programme - (Areas 13, 14) School uniform - support with cost. Re -development of cooking in the curriculum in years 7/8/9 including 1-1 sessions where therapeutic care appropriate. Note: There is a subsidy applied to school uniform bought from our supplier of £25 per year. Good nutrition is crucial to students focus and concentration. The need to eat healthily is also taught through PSHE.	£7,235
Estimated total expenditure	£207,235
Reviews of Impact The impact of our actions above are reviewed termly and in every meeting with the Local Academy Council. Some of the impact is qualitative (e.g. the impact of theatre trips) but some is quantitative (e.g. numbers of behavioural incidents, achievement data, attendance figures). This data is gathered during regular meetings with senior staff and the Laurea Centre staff and through analysing the data at key data input points. Individual students are monitored daily where needed, to ensure actions to support them are taken swiftly. Clearly the over-arching impact of this work is to raise the standards reached by disadvantaged students and prepare them for the next stage of their education/employment or training. We adapt our support and our plans for further work in the light of this evaluation. Ultimately, the impact of our actions over time are seen as pupils reach the end of Key Stage 4. The impact for each child at an individual level is monitored carefully during each academic year as they progress towards their external examinations. Some provision is highly specific to the needs of an individual and cannot be published here.

Hermitage Academy – The Year 7 Catch-up premium

What is the Year 7 catch-up premium?

The Catch-Up Premium is additional funding given to schools in England to support Year 7 pupils who achieved below the expected standard in reading or maths at the end of Key Stage 2. It is the expectation that this funding is used to support the improvement of the students’ reading and maths in Year 7.

The impact of the funding is evaluated at the end of each term in Year 7 and this is followed through into Year 8

In 2019-2020, the school has received £11,337 additional funding to support 55 students (28 in maths, 47 in reading with 20 overlapping in both).

Use of additional funding in 2019-20

Targeted support Pupils benefit from small group and individual teaching in Year 7 following through to Year 8 as needed, to build up and re-enforce a strong skill base in reading, writing, spelling, comprehension and numeracy. The purpose is to provide pupils with a toolkit of skills that allows them to access the mainstream curriculum more effectively. Depending on specific needs, some pupils receive one-to-one teaching from subject specialists in literacy and numeracy. An additional teacher also listened to pupils read one-to-one during the Autumn and Spring term. Pupils all have access to Lexia at home and some pupils have sessions in school to develop their literacy skills.

Whole school literacy and

numeracy Literacy activities in form time weekly including opportunities for debate following newspaper reading and also a regular session devoted to reading. Whole school development of the vocabulary of pupils through use of tier 2 and tier 3 words and the Frayer model for the explicit teaching of vocabulary. Whole school focus on literacy and numeracy skills development across the curriculum. All departments ensure that literacy and numeracy are developed and enhanced within their curriculum as appropriate.

Additional resources

Purchase of additional texts and resources to support students with low confidence and reluctance in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy.

Impact of funding:

Towards the end of the Spring term, teachers reported evidence of good progress in both literacy and numeracy, in pupils books. However, formal assessments did not take place to quantify gains.

Pupils did gain confidence in reading and enjoyed one-to-one sessions. In mathematics, most pupils made progress in closing gaps in prior learning and began to catch up with their peers.

Progress was maintained as much as possible during lockdown, as a result on online learning platforms and teaching online lessons.

Catch-Up Premium Plan 2020-2021

Summary information
School	Hermitage Academy
Total Catch-Up Premium	£80,320	Post-16 Premium	£3218

Guidance

Children and young people across the country have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). Specific funding has been provided to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the curriculum expectations for the next academic year. Schools have the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their cohort and circumstances.

Areas/Issues identified from September 2020 arising from lockdown period

Confidence in reading skills are much lower than normally seen in Year 7, on transition from primary school.
Significant difficulty in recall of basic skills amongst Year 7 is very evident. Many children are not able to recall addition facts, times tables and have forgotten once taught calculation strategies.
During lockdown, the curriculum was significantly altered so that material more suited to online learning was taught. Even so, there is variability in the impact on learning due to many varied and complex factors. For some pupils there are now significant gaps whilst for others there are few.
Teaching is now taking place in a dramatically different form to pre-lockdown, requiring different methodologies in order to maintain high quality and structured learning for pupils.
Some pupils and families have needed significant emotional support due to experiences during lockdown.
Some pupils are highly anxious due to issues following lockdown.
Safeguarding concerns are significantly higher than pre-lockdown.
The issues relating to catch-up are now compounded by further periods of isolation/illness amongst both staff and students. These are impacting individuals, groups of pupils and whole year groups in a way that is unpredictable both in timing and length. Added together with teachers also having to self-isolate/becoming ill and the impact is further adding to the highly variable range of gaps in students’ knowledge, in all subjects.
Many pupils are struggling to relate effectively with their peers, having been reliant on social media for communications. This is causing many difficulties for some with inter-personal relationships leading to behaviour difficulties in school.
There is now an urgent need to catch up with learning relating to careers education, especially for those in KS4/5
The infrastructure of the IT systems was never designed for online teaching. During lockdown, staff used their own laptops or old school laptops. When in school and teaching both a class and online, further equipment is needed and has had to be installed.

Pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and those who are vulnerable, are a priority in all provision above.

Cost Area

Contribution to costs from Covid Premium

Pastoral Support (Area 5/6/7/9)

Pastoral staff have been given reduced teaching timetables so that they are able to provide the needed support for pupils. Pastoral support is of paramount importance in enabling pupils to access learning and attend well.

Specific increases to facilitate this include additional staffing in DSLO time (SLT), Behaviour support (SLT), Attendance (SLT), Special Educational Need Co-ordinator time, Attendance support staff, Pastoral Support staff.

£30,000

Year 7 Baseline Testing (Area 1/2)

All Year 7 took part in online Cognitive Assessment Tests. This was essential as KS2 data is not available. These tests have provided teachers with valuable information regarding strengths and weaknesses, especially in literacy and numeracy

£1,633

Curriculum Adaptations - Years 7 – 13 (Area 3/8)

In every subject area, the curriculum has been redeveloped to account for changes during lockdown. The changes for this year are progressive, in order to recover key learning from last academic year and build forwards during the current year. The curriculum is reviewed on a monthly basis to ensure that class time is maximised with in-class assessment feeding into this process.

The time dedicated to whole class teaching has been increased by 30 minutes per day for all years with an additional 2 hours per week for Year 11.

£10,000

Curriculum, Key Stage 3 (Area 3/8)

Interactive online ‘text books’ have been written for every class and subject to support all pupils in catchup and consolidation of learning. These have been used as reference materials and very specifically to support catchup, consolidation and deepening of learning during holiday periods, as supplemental homework and to support revision.

£5,000

Small group tuition (Area 1/2/8)

Where specific groups of pupils are identified as having fallen behind, to an extent that the in-class recovery will not suffice, two additional lessons have been provided per week in both English and mathematics for Years 7/8/9. Small group tuition takes place in other subject areas, arranged by the Head of Department.

Specialist intervention lessons are held where needed to support KS4 and KS5 students.

One-to-One tuition (Area 1/2/8)

In Year 7, where reading skills have been lost, individual reading sessions take place on a regular basis.

In Years 7-11 one-to-one tuition is provided by specialist teachers (including one dedicated mathematics teacher) to provide the bespoke teaching needed where small group/whole class teaching is not able to meet an individual’s needs.

In Years 12/13 one-to-one tuition is provided by specialist teachers each week in all subjects. 10 Graphics tablets have been purchased to support A-Level Science and maths remote learning (£50 per tablet)

£31,000 (of which £contribution from post-16 funding is £3128)

Teaching and Learning (Area 4)

Staff development is crucial as lessons are now 2+ hours long to reduce movement across the school. CPD has been provided to support with planning for such extended periods of time. Training has been given to help staff engage with Microsoft Teams’ teaching and with the use of Teams for sharing of resource materials with pupils. This has helped staff to manage the very different working environment as well as manage teaching and also providing materials for those at home, self-isolating. Staff have the skills to teach classes if they are at home, with adult support in class.

£2000

Careers (Area 10)

Opportunities for work experience have been greatly curtailed and this difficulty continues. Additional staffing is in place to ensure that those in KS4 are fully prepared for the next stage in their education.

£1000

Infrastructure (Area 11)

Significant investment has been given to the development an online platform (VLE) for all year groups and subjects. This supports independent learning, homework and learning when self-isolating.

All classrooms have been equipped with webcams and microphones to enable staff in school to teach pupils at home live through Teams and visa versa.

£3000 (hardware costs only included here)

Intended Impact

The expected impact of the strategies above, is to enable pupils to regain confidence in themselves, their learning and to catch-up to a point that they are competent within their year group expectations and have a solid foundation from which to take their next steps.

It is expected that all pupils will meet their end of year individual progression targets and that they will be ready to make a successful transition to their next academic year.

Review

The impact of the Catch-up plan will be reviewed on a termly basis by the Local Academy Council