Pupil Premium

The government currently provides schools with additional funding to support the learning and development of certain groups of eligible children.  This is known as Pupil Premium funding and is currently available to children who satisfy any of the following criteria:

• Children who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) or who have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years (known as Ever 6 FSM)
• Children previously looked after by a local authority or other state care, including children adopted from state care or equivalent outside from England and Wales 
• Children who have at least one parent serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service) or have been registered as a 'service child' on any school census in the past 6 years

The aim of pupil premium funding is to reduce the gap in progress and attainment currently evident between children who fall within the criteria above and those who do not.  The intended outcome is to ensure parity in progress and attainment for Pupil Premium and Non Pupil Premium children. To redress the current imbalance, Pupil Premium funding can be used to target specific interventions as identified Pupil Premium children with the aim of accelerating their current rate of progress.

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit.  However, we will be held accountable for how we have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. All schools are now required to publish online information about how they have used the Premium funding. This will ensure that parents and others are made fully aware of the attainment of pupils covered by the Premium and the extra support that they receive.

Our School Strategy:

At Walton-on-the-Hill Primary, our pupil premium strategy is rooted in our whole-school vision that every child is known, valued and included, and that all pupils—especially those who may be underserved—experience a strong sense of belonging, access to a rich curriculum, and the highest expectations for learning and personal development.

Our ambition is to ensure that disadvantage is never a barrier to academic success or wider life opportunities. We commit to using pupil premium funding strategically and sustainably to secure:

1. Excellent teaching for every child

We prioritise investment in high-quality teaching, early identification of need, and strong foundational skills in reading, language and number. This includes consistent approaches to early reading, oracy, handwriting, number fluency and classroom practice, informed by cognitive science and the EEF’s tiered model.

2. Targeted support that addresses need precisely

Through robust assessment and monitoring, we identify gaps early and intervene with evidence-informed programmes that strengthen core knowledge, fluency, confidence and learning behaviours. Our support is personalised, goal-driven and designed to build independence rather than dependency.

3. Removing barriers and building cultural capital

We ensure that underserved pupils have equitable access to enrichment, digital resources, clubs, visits, residentials and wider school experiences that broaden horizons and strengthen aspiration. We support pupils’ wellbeing through nurturing interventions that build resilience, self-regulation and positive mental health.

Across all areas, we aim to ensure that progress and attainment for disadvantaged pupils match or exceed that of their peers, that attendance improves year-on-year, and that every pupil—regardless of their background—thrives academically, socially and emotionally.

Our strategy is reviewed annually and adapted in response to emerging evidence, cohort needs and the impact of our actions. Our ultimate goal is simple: to secure sustained, long-term outcomes that transform life chances for every child we serve.

Current Impact

Our pupil premium strategy continues to have a positive impact on the outcomes and school experience of disadvantaged pupils at Walton-on-the-Hill Primary. Although our disadvantaged cohort is very small and subject to significant year-on-year volatility, our long-term trend data shows that pupils in receipt of the pupil premium typically achieve strongly across the curriculum and benefit from the breadth of support and enrichment we provide.

1. Academic Outcomes

Over the past four years, disadvantaged pupils have consistently achieved highly in reading. In 2024-25 75% of our children achieved the expected standard in reading and in 2023–24, 100% of disadvantaged pupils reached the expected standard, continuing a sustained pattern seen in 2022–23, 2021–22 and 2018–19. This reflects the impact of our strategic focus on early reading, systematic phonics, reading fluency, and high-quality teaching grounded in the Reading Framework. All of our disadvantaged children have achieved the phonics standard by end Y2.

Historically, maths results have also been positive, with 100% achieving the higher standard in 2023–24 and 100% meeting expected standards in 2022–23. However, outcomes dipped in 2024, with 1 of 4 pupils meeting expected standards. This group presented with additional needs and complex barriers. Improving foundational number knowledge, automatic recall and confidence with reasoning will therefore be a priority in our updated strategy. Our investment in Mastering Number, Number Sense, fluency programmes and high-quality teaching in EYFS/KS1 directly addresses this. In 2024-25 we were pleased that results improved and 75% of the disadvantaged cohort achieved the expected standard in maths.

Writing outcomes remain broadly strong. In 2023–24, 75% (3/4) met the expected standard and 50% achieved greater depth. In 2024-25 75% of the cohort achieved the expected standard. This continues a positive trend over the previous three years. Our focus on transcription, handwriting, oracy and sentence-level fluency is helping to secure the foundational skills needed for writing success.

In phonics, all disadvantaged pupils had passed the check by the end of Year 2, and one child in Year 1 will receive targeted support this year. This reflects strong early reading provision and consistent SSP teaching.

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Please see our Annual Pupil Premium Statement attached below: