Pupil Premium Policy Spa School
Spa Bermondsey accepts responsibility for ‘socially disadvantaged’ pupils and the staff and trustees are committed to meeting their pastoral, social, and academic needs within a caring special school environment. This is an essential, integral part of the supportive ethos of the whole school community. As with every pupil on our roll, a child who is considered to be ‘socially disadvantaged’ is valued, respected and entitled to develop to his or her full potential, irrespective of need.
The Pupil Premium targets extra money at pupils from deprived backgrounds, which research shows underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers. The premium is provided in order to support these pupils in reaching their potential. It is in additional to any funding the pupil may receive to support their special educational needs.
The DfE uses pupils entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) as an indicator for deprivation, and have allocated a fixed amount of money to schools per pupil, based on the number of pupils registered for Free School Meals.
Spa Bermodsey's priority for Pupil Premium spending is to ensure that all pupils are engaged at school and that there is not a significant gap between the attainment of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium spending as compared to other pupils at Spa.
In making provision for socially disadvantaged pupils, the school recognises that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged. The school also recognises that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals.
We know that our disadvantaged pupils might find it harder to engage in extracurricular activities outside of school, have gaps in the core skills and need additional support in their communication and fine and gross motor skills. Families may require support around housing, accessing advice and funding for respite and for communication aids.
The range of provision
- Facilitating pupils’ access to education
- Facilitating pupils’ access to enrichment and broader curriculum opportunities
- Facilitating access to additional support including therapies
Success Criteria
The evaluation of this policy is based on the progress made by the school to ‘narrow the gap’ between socially disadvantaged pupils and their peers.
The success criteria for the Pupil Premium Policy are:
- Early intervention and support for identified socially disadvantaged/ vulnerable children;
- The vast majority of the identified children will meet their individual targets including academic and EHC Outcome targets;
- Having an effective system for identifying, assessing and monitoring pupils;
- Effective parental pupil school support;
- Create a positive school atmosphere in which pupils’ differences are recognised and valued as full members of the school community; developing confident and independent learners.
This is reviewed annually and is due to next be reviewed in September 2025
