Thomas Gainsborough School
- Pupil premium strategy statement (3x year cycle 2024-2027)
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.
It outlines our pupil premium strategy (as part of a 3 year strategic plan 2024-2027) and how we intend to spend the funding during each academic year of the 3x year plan. The plan will also highlight as part of yearly reviews, the outcomes for disadvantaged students within each academic year of the plan.
School overview
Detail |
Data |
Number of pupils in school |
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Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils |
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Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers |
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Date this statement was published |
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Date on which it will be reviewed |
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Statement authorised by |
Helen Yapp (Headteacher) |
Pupil premium lead |
Christian Appleford (Deputy Headteacher) |
Governor / Trustee lead |
Tracy Welsh |
Funding overview
Detail |
Amount |
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year |
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Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) |
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Total budget for this academic year If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year |
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Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
Thomas Gainsborough’s motto is ‘excellence for each for all’. We want to ensure that we are successful in achieving that by providing a nurturing environment and delivering quality first teaching to support ALL our students and to remove ALL barriers to learning. Our aim is to use pupil premium funding to help us improve and sustain higher attainment for our disadvantaged students at our school that is comparable with that of non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Our strategy is embedded into the whole school and will be the responsibility of all members of staff. The profile of supporting disadvantaged students is a key priority and works in parallel with our whole school aims, and this is reflected with the lead role being that of the Deputy Headteacher. We will have the highest expectations for all our students. This direction and approach has supported the previous work completed and shown positive outcomes for Progress 8 and Attainment 8 figures. The new 3 year strategic plan continues to focus on high priority areas that underpin the personalised and individual needs of our disadvantaged learners, removing barriers to their wellbeing, personal, social and academic development and achievements. Ongoing quality assurance through monitoring and intervention will underpin each strategy of this plan. |
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
Challenge number |
Detail of challenge |
1 |
Attendance: Our Pupil Premium students have attendance lower than that of Non- Pupil Premium Students (see previous PP reports + supported by the schools attendance data). Continuing to close the gap between the disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged groups and improving the attendance levels of PP students is a priority. |
2 |
Attainment: Despite positive and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students, the learning deficit post lockdown is still evident. A variation still is evident for some (not all) PP students, including within English and Maths and across both Key Stage 3 and 4. Internal assessments and data continue to highlight this and this is an area of deficit for continued targeted work for improved outcome impact. |
3 |
Awareness and consistency of approach: Fundamental early help and in school support are available in line with quality first teaching strategies for all students but particularly for those who are disadvantaged. This includes additional in lesson strategies to support PP students being a priority and is monitored via quality assurance work from curriculum teams. Ensuring the awareness of PP strategies, teaching and learning strategies, CPD and school expectations to support these students, both during lessons and tutor time, is a key focus for all staff. |
4 |
Level of engagement from Pupil Premium families: There has been a variation in the level of engagement of some Pupil Premium parents into their children’s learning and wider experiences available to support them e.g. early help, family forums, wellbeing support, careers meetings, attendance strategies, external agencies, attendance at school events. Whilst student engagement has been increasing at enrichment activities and other events, we want to encourage further parental liaison and communication. This is known through internal monitoring of events such as ARD day, subject evenings, logged communications and through taking up opportunities related to the above. |
5 |
Alternative provisions to support student engagement, wellbeing, academic achievements, behaviour interventions and personal / social development: There is significant lack of support locally for students in supporting their development, wellbeing and engagement into education when they are disaffected. This has increasingly been seen especially for disadvantaged students due to the lack of available provisions to outreach to, due to locality. This has been identified through the Suffolk Local offer (where lack of specialist, and alternative provisions are evident, the locality of any appropriate provisions being often too far to access and following an ‘asset mapping task’ completed by the school in September 2024 |
Intended outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
Intended outcome |
Success criteria |
1 - Attendance To achieve and sustain improved attendance for all pupils, particularly our disadvantaged pupils. |
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2 - Attainment To ensure improved outcomes for all but specifically among disadvantaged pupils across the curriculum at the end of KS4, particularly in English and maths. |
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3 - Approach / Awareness To achieve and embed a consistent approach by all staff (teaching and/or support) to the key expectations and strategies expected to be in place for disadvantaged students (during tutor time and within lessons). |
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4 - Family engagement To evidence an improved and increasing level of engagement from Pupil Premium families at school events, in communications and for accessing internal / external support. |
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5 - Alternative provisions To achieve and sustain improved outcomes eg. lowering suspensions, increased engagement, supported wellbeing for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. |
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Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium funding this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: £ 195,000.00
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
Access Provision / LSA support |
Nurture provision to support the most vulnerable students and help them access the curriculum and close gaps in numeracy, literacy, and social development and to support attendance. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305764X.2018.1441372 |
2,3,4,5 |
Embedding Instructional Coaching and dialogic teaching across the school to support the ‘first 20%’. |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00405841.2016.1241944 https://educationendownmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/dialogic-teaching https://researchschool.org.uk/stmatthews/news/what-is-dialogic-talk-and-why-does-it-matter |
3 |
Recruitment of an additional teacher |
To provide capacity to enable to free up staff to provide additional intervention and to support Maths, English and Science provision |
2,3 |
Head of House TLRs x 5 |
To provide academic mentoring and support for PP students and to engage parents. |
2,4 |
EdClass (3x ‘seats’) |
To provide online tutoring and learning for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support needs |
1,2,4,5 |
LSA Support |
To provide additional support for social skills and in class learning support for those within our first 20%’ |
2,5 |
CPD for teaching staff |
To support staff in embedding a consistent approach to the key strategies expected to be in place for disadvantaged students (during tutor time and within lessons) and enhanced quality first teaching opportunities. |
2,3 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support, structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £ 140,000.00
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
LSA / SEND additional staffing employed to support structured interventions e.g Nurture + / social skills / individual assigned interventions |
To provide additional support for social skills and in class learning support for those within our first 20%’ https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks3-ks4 https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/guidance-for-teachers/mathematics https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/guidance-for-teachers/using-pupil-premium |
2,5 |
2 x additional LSA to provide in-lesson support |
To provide additional support for social skills and in class learning support for those within our first 20%’ https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10068445/ https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/teaching-assistants |
2,5 |
Continued purchase of of Lexia Power Up |
Intervention tool to promote word recognition, grammar, and comprehension. |
2,5 |
Revision Resources purchase |
To ensure GCSE students have barriers to their learning / revision removed. |
2,4 |
Purchase of chrome books / laptops for disadvantaged exam support |
To enable all students to have access to IT in lessons if needed and to use at home. |
2,4 |
Support + costs |
To provide internal provision, mentoring and social skill development for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support needs |
1,2,4,5 |
EdClass (3x ‘seats’) |
To provide online tutoring and learning for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support |
1,2,4,5 |
Learning Mentors & Student Support Manager |
To provide mentoring, signposting to internal & external support and daily interventions for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support needs |
1,2,4,5 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £ 115,000.00
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
EdClass (3x ‘seats’) |
To provide online tutoring and learning for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support |
1,2,4,5 |
Enrichment Programme |
After-school extra- curricular programme to provide a range of opportunities and experiences for students https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/resbr3-final.pdf |
2,3,5 |
Additional mini –bus lease continued |
To support students, attend after school activities, PE fixtures and Cultural Capital experiences |
2,4,5 |
Access to the Duke of Edinburgh Award |
Costs met for PP students to encourage participation |
2,4,5 |
Educational visits |
Costs met to promote participation / involvement |
2,4,5 |
Sundries such as uniform, toiletries etc |
To remove barriers to attendance |
1,2,4 |
Elsa Training x 2 (to replace previously trained staff) + ongoing costs to support accreditation |
To provide internal provision for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support needs |
1,2,4,5 |
Drawing and Talking Training x1 |
To provide internal provision for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support needs |
1,2,4,5 |
Recruitment of a Learning Mentor |
To focus on attendance support and parental engagement |
1,2,4 |
Contingency fund |
Resources set aside for needs not yet identified but essential that we are able to respond if needed. |
1,2,3,4,5 |
Learning Mentors & Student Support Manager |
To provide mentoring, signposting to internal & external support and daily interventions for students who have attendance, social or emotional, behavioural or learning need support needs |
1,2,4,5 |
Careers advice, support, guidance via qualified level 6 advisor |
To provide internal provision for students to ensure they have next steps and future plans mapped out, receiving all and any relevant opportunities to support this (e.g. work experience / careers interviews, visits to colleges) |
3,4 |
Support for uniform, food, fuel for parents, stationary |
To provide that what is required so it is is not a barrier to attendance, achievement or wellbeing |
1,3,5 |
Total budgeted cost: £ 450,000.00 (PP funding allocation = £345,752.00)
Evidence links
Some activities above have evidence links specifically within the tables. The links below are also overall research based evidence that we have used to inform the key activities to be implemented as part of this pupil premium strategy,
Part B: Review of the previous academic year
Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils
Please see TGS website: Pupil Premium | Thomas Gainsborough School This link to the above website page shows the previous 3x year strategy documents, evidence and outcome reviews. |
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you used your pupil premium to fund in the previous academic year.
Programme |
Provider |
GCSE pod |
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Mathswatch |
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Carousel |
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SENECA |
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SPARX Maths |
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Service pupil premium funding (optional)
For schools that receive this funding, you may wish to provide the following information: How our service pupil premium allocation was spent last academic year |
N/A |
The impact of that spending on service pupil premium eligible pupils |
N/A |
Further information (optional)
TGS school Improvement Plan priorities continue to be focused on improving teaching throughout the school. The wellbeing of students and staff is at the heart of everything we do, and our disadvantaged students are a key focus for all members of staff. StepLab as an intervention tool for monitoring has been introduced and is being further embedded over the last year. Staff CPD continues to be delivered to underpin this work to ensure the ‘first 20%’ and Pupil Premium students are at the forefront of quality first teaching techniques and supportive classroom interventions. The schools rigorous early help offer and student support work in tandem with the academic teams to ensure all disadvantaged students' needs are met, both inside the classroom and out. Thus ensuring personal, social and academic development is achievable and opportunities are available to enrich the life experiences of those considered to be at a disadvantage. TGS were awarded the IQM (Inclusion Quality Mark) award in May 2022 and made a centre of excellence for their work supporting inclusion, which included work for disadvantaged students. The school has been requested to be a FlagShip school in 2024 as well - supporting other schools with the inclusive award status and being a beacon of positive practice for disadvantaged students. The school also received an award for its PSHE/RSE work via the Terrence Higgins Trust. The personal development and support for all, including PP students, was seen and recognised by Ofsted when visiting in September 2023 and also in November 2024, where behaviour and attitudes were also highly praised as part of the report for all (including disadvantaged). The schools pupil premium lead has also been selected for the national E100 programme where work is focussing on supporting disadvantaged students - the work, research and outcomes / reviews will be a strategic feature for supporting outcomes as part of this strategy for 2024-2027. |