Moulsham Junior School

Pupil premium funding was introduced in April 2011 to support ‘vulnerable’ children. The school’s definition for ‘vulnerable children’ is those children that are deemed to be socially or economically disadvantaged as well as those who are experiencing emotional difficulties or trauma. In many cases this may be children who are entitled to Free School Meals but the school is aware that there are other children who will be experiencing difficulties and need support. The performance of all children in the school is closely tracked but those who fall into the pupil premium group will have their performance monitored by a dedicated member of staff.

For the financial year (April 2021-March 2022) the sum allocated to the school is calculated based on the number of pupils currently in school eligible for FSM and also for those who have received FSM in the past 6 years-The amount for this year is £153,000 which includes a carry forward and the recovery premium. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternative-provision-settings  and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recovery-premium-funding

The school recognises that children in these groups have significant barriers to their learning (both within and outside of school).  The main barriers within our school are: missing prerequisites for literacy and numeracy, emotional resilience, self-image as a learner, safeguarding concerns including parental support and attendance/punctuality.  

We have used part of the funding to provide support for families and children from the school’s learning mentor, additional classroom support as well as a programme of targeted activities. These targeted activities may take place both within and outside of class and may take the form of individual or group sessions. For this year the targeted activities include the following:

• Tuition (1 to 1, 1 to 2 and small groups)
• Aspiring to university trip
• Clubs & interventions for raising self-esteem, social skills and supporting transition
• Educational visits
• Counselling support for families
• Booster sessions for Y6 mathematics
• Coaching to enhance and support teaching
• Intervention resources
• Pre-teaching
• Feedback
• Access to clubs
• Speech and Language Support
• Year 3 Book Club
• Individualised resources for each child
• Meeting basic needs
• Summer school to support transition for Y3,4,5

Governors are closely monitoring the impact of the expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school who have benefited from the grant funding every term. The pupil premium data is reviewed by governors on a termly basis, a governor impact afternoon focusing on Pupil Premium was carried out in Autumn 2018.  The last external review was carried out in January 2020.  "Staff build good relationships with pupils and their families, they are passionate about wellbeing for all, and are flexible in their approach so that this is possible. The experiences, over and above the rich curriculum are extensive and very valuable for lifelong learning habits and supporting pupils as they move towards the world of employment and further study.".  The next pupil premium review by governors will be in the Autumn 2022.

An external review of the Recovery funding was carried out in Autumn 2021 "Moulsham Juniors and its leaders and staff are committed to closing the gap for all students who are disadvantaged. They demonstrate this through a wide range of actions, interventions and support and use the money wisely and with impact. This impact was evidenced during the review from all participants, and therefore the E.A. had no advisory next steps to suggest.  Moulsham Juniors is clearly a community that does not rest on its laurels but which is continuing to evolve and develop rapidly despite recent constraints. The outcome of the review today is extremely positive."