We have high aspirations and ambitions for our children and we believe that no child should be left behind. We strongly believe that it is not about where you come from but your passion and thirst for knowledge, and your dedication and commitment to learning that make the difference between success and failure, and we are determined to ensure that our children are given every chance to realise their full potential.

Background to Pupil Premium Funding

The pupil premium is a government initiative that targets extra money at pupils from deprived backgrounds. Research shows that pupils from deprived backgrounds underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers. The premium is provided to enable these pupils to be supported, in order to reach their potential. The Government has used pupils entitled to free school meals (FSM), looked after children and service children as indicators of deprivation, and have provided a fixed amount of money for schools, per pupil, based on the number of pupils registered for FSM over a rolling six year period. At St James, we will be using the indicator of those eligible for FSM as well as identified vulnerable groups as our target children to 'close the gap' regarding attainment.

If you think that you are entitled to apply for the Pupil Premium Grant, please go to the school office to collect a form. 

Our Approach

Money has been ring-fenced and used to benefit all pupil premium pupils. We have established clear lines of responsibility with a member of the senior leadership team and a link governor taking responsibility for Pupil Premium. 

At St James we have a low percentage of eligible pupil premium children. However, we have planned our spending carefully to ensure that it has been spent to maximum effect. This has meant making informed decisions about our spending such as:

• Ensuring that spending is directly linked to gaps in attainment;
• Making use of our own data to expand existing interventions;
• Making sure there is at least good teaching in a day to day basis;
• Making use of research when evaluating interventions and considering the implementation of new interventions.

All staff are aware of areas for development in the school in terms of subjects, year groups and they know which children are focus children. 

Money is used to benefit all pupil premium children and supports higher as well as lower ability children by extending the provision on offer. 

We have revised our assessment and monitoring systems to support improvement in the quality of teaching and interventions in order to maximise impact. 

For detailed information about our current Pupil Premium allocations and a review of our Pupil Premium spend last year, please click on the file below.