25 May 2016 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

Pupil Premium Awards 2016

Blean Primary School in Canterbury is one of the schools across the country that have improved the life chances of disadvantaged children by significantly narrowing the achievement gap, and was recognised as a regional winner in the 2016 Pupil Premium Awards

All finalists have consistently shown high levels of attainment or significant rates of improvement among their disadvantaged pupils over time, and demonstrated innovative and effective use of the pupil premium

All of the finalist schools demonstrated an impressive level of innovation - some schools chose very personalised interventions, others a more whole-school approach - but all set high expectations for their pupils and teachers.

The Pupil Premium is worth £2.5 billion nationally this year, and just over £57 million in Kent, and it has enabled schools to provide targeted support to some of the most vulnerable children to make good progress and achieve better outcomes. Figures show the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed since 2011, the year the Pupil Premium was introduced.

The government has committed to maintaining the funding to 2020, protected at current rates. Since April 2011, around £6.23 billion has been given to schools to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Attainment in 2015 improved and the new measure shows the attainment gap nationally between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed since 2011 by 7.1% at Key Stage 2 and 6.6% at Key Stage 4.

In Kent, since 2011, the gap has narrowed from 28 percentage points to 19 percentage points in 2015 at Key Stage 2 and has remained the same at 35 percentage points for Key Stage 4.

In 2015 the national gaps were 15% at Key Stage 2 and 28% at Key Stage 4, which means the achievement gaps in Kent are wider.

At the same time the actual attainment in 2015, and in previous years, of pupils supported by the Pupil Premium improved at Key Stages 2 and 4, although the gaps narrowed by a very small amount.

Congratulations and well done to Blean Primary School for its Pupil Premium award and to the other 166 Primary schools and 38 Secondary schools that narrowed the FSM achievement gap in 2015.

Ofsted and the Underachievement of Disadvanatged Pupils

The Ofsted Regional Director for the South East region, Bradley Simmons, has just written to all headteachers to remind colleagues about the priority that inspectors give to addressing achievement gaps in the inspection process. This is not new but it is significant that this is being reiterated in this way to school leaders, with the reminder that evidence of the school’s Pupil Premium funded strategies and wider approaches to teaching and learning are expected to impact on narrowing achievement gaps.

Vulnerable Learners Strategy

We recognise that as well as schools employing the most effective teaching and support strategies to narrow gaps for vulnerable learners, we as a local authority have a role to play in providing additional and well targeted support for disadvantaged learners.

We have set out our support strategies in the Vulnerable Learners Strategy. They include the following:

• an effective Early Help service
• support available through the LIFT process and High Needs Funding
• the Education Health Needs Service
• additional resources for emotional wellbeing and mental health
• greater investment in support for parents and family work through the Early Help Units
• and additional resources for Primary projects aimed at supporting pupils with challenging behaviour.

I hope schools are making good use of these services and support mechanisms so that, as we go forward, our combined effort will make a bigger difference to narrowing the achievement gaps for disadvantaged pupils.

Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director Education and Young People’s Services