Gillas Lane Primary Academy and Nursery, Seaton Avenue, Houghton Le Spring, Sunderland, DH5 8EH

0191 500 5956

Gillas Lane Primary Academy and Nursery

Proud to be part of Aim High Academy Trust

Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.

The pupil eligibility criteria is:

  • Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years
  • Pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care
  • Children who are looked after by the local authority

Using pupil premium funding to improve teaching quality is the most effective way to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. By doing so, schools will inevitably benefit non-eligible pupils as well.

Pupil premium funding is not allocated based on academic ability. Schools and local authorities will receive funding based on all of the children who are eligible.

Evidence shows that academically able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of under-performing. These pupils should receive just as much focus as less academically able pupils.

Our Pupil Premium Strategy

Our intention is that all pupils, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face, make good progress and achieve high attainment across all subject areas. The focus of our pupil premium strategy is to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve that goal, including progress for those who are already high attainers.

We will consider the challenges faced by our vulnerable pupils, such as those who have a social worker and young carers. The activity we have outlined in this statement is also intended to support their needs, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not.

High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support. This is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap and at the same time will benefit the non-disadvantaged pupils in our school. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that non-disadvantaged pupils’ attainment will be sustained and improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers.

Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in robust diagnostic assessment, not assumptions about the impact of disadvantage. The approaches we have adopted complement each other to help pupils excel. To ensure they are effective we will:

  • Act early to intervene so that disadvantaged children reach their potential
  • Work to raise the aspirations of all disadvantaged children
  • Adopt a whole school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils ‘ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve.
  • Develop the life chances of all disadvantaged children
  • Enrich the lives of disadvantaged children by developing their cultural capital and wider curriculum experiences.

Please see our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2023 -2024 below for more detailed information.