The Pupil Premium is provided by the government and is additional to main school funding. It is paid direct to schools in order that the 'funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.' (DfE) and it is designed to support schools to raise the attainment of socially disadvantaged children.

The Pupil Premium is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months. A Service Pupil Premium is also allocated to children who have a parent who is currently serving in HM forces or has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence. This funding is not based on disadvantage, but is intended to be used to provide pastoral support.

At Risby CEVC Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that all of our children achieve their true potential; that all of our children can truly Believe, Grow and Shine. We understand that 'educational attainment is the best predictor that we have of a young person's long-term outcomes' (Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive Education Endowment Foundation) and we are passionate about ensuring no child is disadvantaged due to their gender, ethnic origin, family income or background.

At Risby, we have high expectations and ambitions for all of our pupils and when designing our curriculum, School Development Plan (SDP) and Pupil Premium Strategy, we reference our children’s wellbeing and mental health, as well as their academic starting points and secure prior learning. Having considered their personal development and gauged their performance against national benchmarks, we consider the factors that could be hindering our disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment and take account of all of these challenges when developing our Pupil Premium Strategy: a strategy that must ensure children achieve their potential academically, physically, socially and emotionally.

A three-tiered approach is used when allocating Pupil Premium spending:

• High Quality Teaching: Spending on developing high quality teaching may include investment in professional development, training and support and we use pupil premium spending to ensure we have an effective teaching team in every class.

• Targeted Academic Support: Evidence consistently shows the positive impact that targeted academic support can have on those who are not making good progress and we use pupil premium spending to provide structured small group interventions to help pupils access classroom teaching and the curriculum.

• Wider Strategies: As issues such as attendance, behaviour and the need for social and emotional support may negatively impact upon academic attainment, spending may be used for wider strategies, designed to target the most significant non-academic challenges to success in school.

Throughout the year, we continually monitor the progress of our Pupil Premium Strategy, adapting our approach when and where appropriate. As new initiatives are implemented, we provide support for the teaching teams, so that they can take ownership of them and deliver them successfully and class teachers regularly review the emotional, social, physical and academic progress of their Pupil Premium children: specifically at half-termly Pupil Progress Meetings with the Headteacher and termly Pupil Progress Meetings with the Headteacher and SENDCO . 

For the academic year 2023-2024 the school received Pupil Premium funding of £47,255. We received Service Pupil Premium funding of £1,005.

Free School Meals

Please click on this link if you would like to apply online for free school meals: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-meals-uniforms-and-trips/apply-for-free-school-meals/

Alternatively, if you have any questions about whether or not your child might be eligible for free school meals and would like to speak to us before applying, please call 01284 810367 and ask to speak to either Mrs Bucher or Mrs Bird in the school office or send an email to: admin@risbyprimary.com

Please note: As all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are currently entitled to ‘Universal Free School Meals’, parents often don't apply for Free School Meals for our younger children and the school doesn't receive additional Pupil Premium funding for younger children, who might benefit from additional support.  

'Universal Free School Meals' are separate from Free School Meals and we would therefore ask that you still apply for free school meals if you have a child in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 who may be eligible.