Ashmead School will receive £1,455 EXTRA each year for every child who is eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). Plus, once a child is eligible for FSM we continue to receive the extra money for the whole time the child remains with us, even if financial circumstances should change. This money will be used to support attainment and progress.

Your child may be eligible if you receive any of the following:

·Income Support

·Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

·Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

·Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

·The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit

·Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income of no more than £16,190)

.Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400

·Where you are entitled to Child Tax Credit and also Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after employment ceases, or after you start work less than 16 hours per week

Speak to the school office or Mrs Thompson if anything on the above list describes your circumstances. The application form is readily available on the school office counter too.

PUPIL PREMIUM AT ASHMEAD

We have high aspirations and ambitions for our children and we believe that no child should be left behind. We strongly believe that it is not about where you come from but your passion and thirst for knowledge, and your dedication and commitment to learning that make the difference between success and failure, and we are determined to ensure that our children are given every chance to realise their full potential.

BACKGROUND TO PUPIL PREMIUM FUNDING

The pupil premium is a government initiative that targets extra money at pupils from deprived backgrounds. Research shows that pupils from deprived backgrounds underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers. The premium is provided to enable these pupils to be supported to reach their potential. The Government has used pupils entitled to free school meals (FSM), looked after children and service children as indicators of deprivation, and have provided a fixed amount of money for schools per pupil based on the number of pupils registered for FSM over a rolling six year period. This fixed amount of money has increased every year so far. At Ashmead we will be using the indicator of those eligible for FSM as well as identified vulnerable groups as our target children to 'close the gap' regarding attainment.

OUR APPROACH

We have planned our spending carefully to ensure that it is spent to maximum effect. This includes;

• Ensuring that spending is directly linked to gaps in progress and attainment;
• Making use of our own data (both summative and formative) to create appropriate interventions;
• Making sure there is high quality teaching in every classroom;
• Making use of research when evaluating interventions and considering the implementation of new interventions.

Money is used to benefit all pupil premium children and supports higher as well as lower ability children.

We recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be disadvantaged or underachieving. We also recognise that not all pupils who are disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals. We therefore reserve the right to allocate the Pupil Premium funding to support any groups of pupils the school has legitimately identified as being disadvantaged.