Funding
The Pupil Premium
The Pupil Premium is additional funding which is allocated to schools on the basis of the
number of pupils who have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point over the
last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’). The Pupil Premium is aimed at addressing the
current underlying inequalities which exist between children from disadvantaged
backgrounds and their more affluent peers. The Pupil Premium also provides funding for
children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months and the
children of service personnel.
The Pupil Premium was initially introduced in April 2011 and has increased over several years. In the academic year 2022 – 23 we received £343,482 in total.
Once they have a clear understanding of the barriers to learning experienced by disadvantaged students schools can decide how the pupil premium money is spent as they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual students within their responsibility.
At Sydenham School we use a range of interventions and activities which provide direct support and provision for students who are eligible and which are proven to have an impact.
We are reviewing our Pupil Premium plan for last year and evaluating its impact as part of the process of developing this years plan.
Pupil Premium Strategy - Sydenham School
School planning support 2022 – 23
16 - 19 Tuition Funding
Statement to support 16 to 19 tuition funding
Sydenham School is fully committed to providing effective support for “disadvantaged” Sixth Form students whose learning has been disrupted due to the COVID-19 outbreak during the 2019 to 2020 academic year.
Sixth Form students not achieving at least a grade 4 in maths or English will be our priority group. The needs of this group of students are paramount and the small group tuition they will be receiving will focus on targeted Maths and English provision. The maximum group size will be set at five within the Year 12 (2023/2024) cohort. The use of funding and direct costs will be recorded and evaluated regularly.
Research suggests that small group tuition of between two and five students is more effective than larger groups. This enables the teacher to closely match the work to the students’ needs and use ongoing, low stakes testing to gauge progress and teach focused and specific content. (EEF, 2018)
Students will receive a schedule of additional tutorial style lessons to support their Maths and English GCSE attainment and these students will be taking their exams in Summer 2023.