Pupil Premium
At Melbourn Primary School we strive to provide an environment where all children and all school members can be happy, healthy and safe and achieve their full social and intellectual potential. We do this by:
- Providing a caring and supportive environment
- Creating stimulating and exciting opportunities for learning
- Developing positive relationships based on respect of self and others
- Working in partnership with parents and carers.
At Melbourn Primary we strive to meet the needs of children and families whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and to minimise gaps in the progress children are making. The school works very effectively in partnership with the parents and carers of potentially vulnerable children to help to break down barriers to learning and progress children occasionally encounter. The Pupil Premium was introduced in 2011 and was designed to ensure that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the children who need it most. The premium is available for children eligible for free school meals, those who have had free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children and children of parents in the Services. Schools are free to spend the extra funding as they see fit but the government requires schools to publish information about how they use it.
“The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who most need it.” DfE website
We aim to work effectively with every child; we support them where necessary to overcome academic or emotional barriers that could prevent optimum learning. We want to enable all children to participate in the full range of activities offered within and beyond the school to ensure they have the very best learning experience and make outstanding progress. We believe that the first step in achieving this is through the provision of high quality first teaching and then if appropriate the provision of proven interventions which are planned, measured and monitored by the SENDco.
Barriers to Educational Achievement faced by our Pupil Premium Children
The barriers our children experience include:
- Speech and Language
- Exposure to a broad vocabulary
- Access to first-hand experiences
- Working below the baseline for EYFS
- Attendance
- Social and emotional needs
How we will spend and our Pupil Premium to overcome these Barriers and how we review the impact of this spending
Please see the pupil premium strategy to see the yearly plan we have for spending our pupil premium allocation.
Please see our pupil premium review to see the impact this has had.
71% of our Pupil Premium children are considered as having ‘Multiple Needs’. This means that along with being Pupil Premium they may also have attendance concerns, SEND or safeguarding concerns. We believe it is important to develop the whole child and dedicate a portion of our funding to supporting the social and emotional needs of our pupils along with their academic progress. We provide ‘1:1 Mentoring’ (for academic progress), nurture groups, individualised learning plans (Assess, Plan, Do, Reviews), Boxall Profiling, behaviour monitoring and a Family Support Worker as part of our Pupil Premium Package. If you would like to learn more about this, please contact the office and we will be able to make case studies available for you.
Please find below a link to the free school meal online application form:
Free school meals
Support available from the school for Pupil Premium children (including uniform)
Uniform
The school will provide an annual/bi annual allocation of uniform. To assist the school office, please try to order in the second half of the summer term ready for the new school year.
Day trips and inspiration days
The school will pay half the voluntary contribution requested for day trips and inspiration days. Usually parental contribution should be made via the MCAS portal selecting the pupil premium option of the relevant trip or inspiration day. Occasionally, when the contribution is of low value we will ask that parents give cash to the class teacher on the day of the event, in which case please give half of the requested contribution.
Residential trips
Traditionally Melbourn Primary School organises two residential trips. Currently these are four days and three nights at Burwell House in Cambridgeshire for children in Year 4 and four nights and five days at Condover House in Shropshire for children in year 6. Both trips take place in the summer term but you will be asked to commit to the trip during the Autumn term before. A deposit will be required to secure a place. You will be asked to pay half of the total required deposit and half of each of the stage payments.
Music lessons
We offer children the opportunity to learn a range of musical instruments at Melbourn Primary School outside the normal music curriculum. These include violin, clarinet, flute, drums and piano and a visiting music teacher will give the lesson during the school day. Please note that there is a waiting list for some instruments. If you would like your child to learn a musical instrument, the school will pay half the tuition fees. Lessons normally commence at the beginning of the school year but there may be the possibility to start midyear depending on availability.
Occasional resources
From time to time class teachers may suggest that parents purchase a particular book for their child to use in class. On these occasions, the school will provide the book in question.
Summary
- Uniform
- Annual/biannual allocation
- Day trips and inspiration days
- School will pay half of contribution
- Residential Trips
- School will pay half of costs
- Learning a musical instrument
- School will pay half of costs
- Free School Meals
- In KS2 (Universal FSM in KS1 (everyone entitled))
- Occasional resources eg books
- School may provide resources
Free School Meals/Pupil Premium
Free School Meals/Pupil Premium funding provides additional support for eligible children. This funding can help with costs as well as ensuring your child receives a free school meal.
Eligibility
Your child will get Free School Meals/Pupil Premium funding if you receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit (but no element of Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income (as assessed by HMRC) that does not exceed £16,190
- If you are supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment finishes or after you start to work fewer hours per week
- Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (as from 1 April 2018)
Children who receive Pupil Premium Funding are currently given support with:
- Day trips and inspiration days – The school will pay half the costs.
- Residential trips – The school will pay half the cost of deposits and stage payments for Year 4 and Year 6 residential trips.
- Music lessons – The school will pay half the tuition fees for instrumental or vocal lessons offered during the school day.
- Uniform – Parents may select items free of charge from the school’s second-hand uniform shop in the front foyer.
- Additional monitoring of your child’s learning to ensure they are being given the appropriate support for their needs.
How to Apply for Free School Meals/Pupil Premium
- Complete the ‘Count Me In!’ form here
- Return it to the school office or follow the instructions on the form to submit online.
- Your information will be checked securely to confirm eligibility.
If you have any questions, please contact the school office or email SHawkins@melbourn.cambs.sch.uk