Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2022-2025

This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium) funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.

It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils last academic year.

Hilltop School overview

Detail	Data
Number of pupils in school	182
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils	36.26%
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended)	2022 – 2023 2023 – 2024 2024 -2025
Date this statement was published	July 2024
Date on which it will be reviewed	July 2025
Statement authorised by	Sacha Schofield
Pupil premium lead	Sacha Schofield
Governor / Trustee lead	Paula Williams

Funding overview

Detail	Amount
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year	£62993

Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan

Statement of intent

Our core values are the make-up of our ethos and culture and what we as adults endeavour to model and instil amongst our children and young people and go hand in hand with our curriculum intent.

Core Values:

All staff at Hilltop School believe in the importance of team work in supporting our young people and each other
Children and young people at Hilltop School are treated with the utmost care and empathy
We strive to enable our pupils to be as independent as they possibly can be
All staff at Hilltop School are child centred and treat every child and young person as an individual
We want every child and young person to feel valued and happy during their time at Hilltop School.

Our goal is to utilise Pupil Premium funding to provide disadvantaged pupils with the highest quality education, ensuring they achieve academic and social success comparable to their peers. We acknowledge that disadvantaged children face various barriers impacting their learning. Our primary objectives are to:

Remove barriers to learning caused by disability, poverty, family circumstances, and background.
Narrow the attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged counterparts both within the school and nationally.
Ensure pupils can read fluently with good comprehension to access the full curriculum.
Develop pupils' confidence in their ability to communicate effectively in diverse contexts.
Support pupils in managing their social and emotional well-being and developing resilience.
Provide pupils with a wide range of opportunities to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world.

Achieving Our Objectives:

To achieve our objectives and overcome identified barriers to learning, we will:

Provide all teachers with high-quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to ensure pupils receive effective, quality-first teaching.
Adapted class teaching and support to address identified learning gaps, including small group work and one-on-one tuition.
Allocate funding to ensure all pupils can participate in trips, residential experiences, and hands-on learning opportunities.
Create opportunities for all pupils to engage in enrichment activities, including sports and music.
Offer appropriate nurture support to help pupil wellbeing and access to learning both within and beyond the classroom.

This list is not exhaustive, and our strategies will evolve based on individual needs.

Key Principles:

We will ensure that effective teaching, learning, and assessment meet the needs of all pupils through rigorous data analysis. Class teachers will identify specific interventions and support for individual pupils during pupil progress meetings, which will be reviewed at least termly. In addition to academic support, we will ensure that pupils with social, emotional, and mental health needs receive high-quality provision from appropriately trained adults.

Challenges

This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.

Challenge number	Detail of challenge
1	Eight percent of Hilltop pupils have Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) as their primary diagnosis. Other pupils have different primary diagnoses but will either have SLCN as either a secondary need or due to their primary diagnosis. These needs make it challenging for children and young people to communicate with others. The difficulties may include expressing themselves, understanding others, or grasping the social rules of communication. Consequently, these challenges can hinder their ability to access the curriculum, particularly in areas such as Reading/Phonics, Writing, and Mathematics.
2	A significant proportion of pupils struggle to achieve an optimal sensory balance necessary for effective learning. These complex sensory needs can lead to communication behaviours and difficulties in accessing the curriculum.
3	Our evaluations reveal that pupils qualifying for the Pupil Premium Grant tend to achieve lower academic results compared to their peers who are not eligible for the grant. This difference can be especially pronounced in reading, writing, mathematics, and phonics.
4	Thirteen percent of our pupils have PMLD. Expanded Learning Opportunities: From our interactions with pupils and their families, it's clear that disadvantaged pupils typically encounter fewer chances to enrich their cultural understanding beyond the classroom setting.
5	Many of our pupils face ongoing social, emotional, and mental health challenges related to their primary needs. These issues can be exacerbated during specific phases or due to unforeseen circumstances in their lives. Our communication with families highlights that pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, often contend with anxiety and difficulties in emotional regulation. These factors profoundly affect their ability to engage in learning and achieve academic success.

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
Speech, Language and Communication Pupils and staff use a range of communication systems to aid their understanding and to develop expressive communication skills.	All disadvantaged pupils have a communication profile that details their method of communication and how to support them. All staff are trained in the use of Makaton. 90% of disadvantaged pupils make progress towards their Communication and Interaction EHCP outcomes by the end of our strategy in 2024/25.
Complex Sensory profiles Pupils and staff know how to meet sensory needs to ensure that pupils are ready to learn and can regulate their emotions.	Pupil and staff access to sensory occupational therapist Access to relevant sensory equipment Detailed sensory profiles for all pupils that require one Reduction in behaviour incidents 90% of Pupil Premium learners make expected progress towards their Physical and Sensory EHCP outcomes by the end of our strategy in 2024/25
Curriculum Improved attainment for disadvantaged pupils in all subjects throughout all curriculum areas	By Summer 2025, assessments and pupil progress records indicate that 90% plus of Pupil Premium learners make expected progress in Cognition and Learning EHCP targets
Community access Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds develop increased confidence and independence, enabling them to engage more actively within the broader community and better prepare for adulthood.	Pupil Premium learners have increased access and engagement with the community and increase their cultural capital as measured by their participation in the Children’s University activities.
Social, emotional, and mental health Pupils and their families will receive timely and tailored proactive support from dedicated professionals, ensuring their holistic development and well-being are effectively nurtured and sustained.	Reduction in behaviour incidents. A significant increase in engagement, learning and participation, particularly amongst disadvantaged pupils. Sustained high level of wellbeing by Summer 2025 are demonstrated by qualitative data from pupil voice, pupil and parent surveys and teacher observations.

Activity in this academic year

This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium (and recovery premium) funding this academic year to address the challenges listed above.

Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)

Budgeted cost: £13,782

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Curriculum Leaders

CPD Training

(£10,000)

EEF recommendations that professional development builds knowledge, motivates staff, and embeds practice underpin activity. Articles and research in Impact are evidence-based and presented from a credible source. In school, evidence of the application of professional reading to development and improvement and learning. There is strong evidence that teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge within specific subjects has a significant impact on pupils' outcomes: What makes great teaching? - Sutton Trust

1, 3

Communication specialist to ensure

Hilltop is a communication friendly school

(£3782)

EEF research on the improvement of language

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/

education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks-1

EEF - Developing early language

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/

education-evidence/evidence-reviews/early-language

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/

education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/oral-language-interventions

1, 3

Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)

Budgeted cost: £49211

Activity	Evidence that supports this approach	Challenge number(s) addressed
Employ sensory OT to create bespoke sensory profiles for pupils. To train school staff and parents in sensory needs and strategies.	Pupils’ sensory needs will be met in order to support them accessing learning and progressing towards their targets across all subjects. Much research shows that sensory integration is necessary for successful learning. Sensory regulation in autistic children can be overwhelmed and result in anxiety and distress https://autism.org/sensory-integration Approaches including play-based activities activities and paying attention to low-arousal environments support sensory integration and allow learning to take place. The EEF recognises the importance of removing barriers to learning, promoting pupil wellbeing and understanding pupils’ individual needs. Research on the impact sensory needs can have on learning. https://www.lifeskills4kids.com.au/identifying-sensory-issues-impact-learning/	2,3,4,5
Cover the costs of trips and extracurricular activities for disadvantaged Children and Curriculum University subscription (£2229)	Based on our experiences and those of siimilar schools to ours, ensuring all children can participate in trips, visits and clubs enables parity of opportunity and an increase in cultural capital. Whilst participation in trips, visits and clubs can have an impact on academic attainment, it is important to remember that engagement in these activities is of value in and of itself. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/arts-participation?utm_source=/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/arts-participation&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=site_searchh&search_term https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/outdoor-adventure-learning	4, 5
Targeted Multi Agency Family Support Interventions (£6710) Wellbeing and Behaviour Support Officer (£28,800)	Levels of parental engagement are consistently linked to better academic outcomes. Targeted family support and collaboration with external agencies will offer structured, focused interventions for parents, aiming to improve children's social, emotional, and behavioural outcomes, which are essential for academic success. Particularly where behaviour is an issue for a child, involving other stakeholders, in particular their parents, can strengthen the impact of any intervention put in place. Promising approaches involve parents and teachers setting goals for their child, agreeing and implementing specific strategies that can be implemented at home and school to help their child’s behaviour, responding consistently to children’s behaviour, and gathering information to assess their child’s progress. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/supporting-parents https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/behaviour https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/working-with-parents-to-support-childrens-learning/	2,5