____________________________ Pupil Premium
What is Pupil Premium?
Introduced in 2011, the Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, and to support pupils with parents in the armed forces.
This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers. Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their peers.
Who is entitled to Pupil Premium?
The Government has used pupils entitled to Free School meals as an indicator for deprivation, and have deployed a fixed amount of money to schools per pupil, based on the number of pupils registered for Free School meals over a rolling six year period. Looked after children and those of service personnel also attract funding.
If you are on a low income or receive Child Benefit and any of these benefits, you could claim free school meals for your child:
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Child Tax credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
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Income Support
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Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
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Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
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support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
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the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
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Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
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Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (earnings after tax and not including any benefits you get)
You may qualify for free school meals for your child if:
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you are an asylum seeker
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you live outside Barking and Dagenham but meet the previous criteria and your child is attending a school in the borough
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your only or main income is one of the benefits listed
If you think you are eligible for Free School Meals please click here.
How is Pupil Premium Funding used?
Schools can choose how to spend their pupil premium money, as they are best placed to identify what would be of most benefit to the children who are eligible.
44.9% of the 2023-24 cohort were granted Pupil Premium and Riverside Bridge School.
Please see below the breakdown of how the PPG has been used for the year 2023-24:
Report Riverside Bridge 2023-2026
The impact of this funding was monitored through pupils’ progress reviews and reports to Governors.
In 2019-20, due to the changes made and the implementation of using Pupil Premium Funding to improve reading skills, behaviour strategies and levels of physical activities across the school, the Ofsted inspection in February 2020 highlighted a significant improvement in all areas.
“Staff prioritise improving pupils’ reading skills, including phonics when this is appropriate. Pupils enjoy stories because teachers read to them every day.”
“Staff are calm and skilled when managing situations where pupils’ behaviour is challenging.”