Pupil Premium
Background
At Chipping Sodbury School, we are passionate about every student having equal opportunities to thrive and succeed at school. Significant research by the Education Endowment Foundation and Sutton Trust has shown that the gap in outcomes between lower income young people and their wealthier peers is a significant factor affecting social mobility today, limiting access to leading universities, the best apprenticeships and the most competitive careers. Inequalities in access to formal schooling and to wider education and enrichment experiences all contribute to this gap.
Pupil Premium funding
To try and address any issues caused by social disadvantage and close the gaps in attainment at GCSE for students on a lower income, the government allocates schools a 'Pupil Premium' fund. Students in Years 7 to 11 who have received Free School Meals (FSM) at any point in the last six years are allocated Pupil Premium funding as well as any student who is or has been in Local Authority care. A smaller amount of Pupil Premium funding is allocated for children of parents serving in the armed forces.
We recognise that not every student who receives free school meals is socially disadvantaged, nor do all of our vulnerable learners reach the threshold for free school meals, thus we reserve the right to use funding flexibly to support all of our students in financial need. There is no entitlement to Pupil Premium funding for individual students, and decisions for financial support are made by the school on a case-by-case basis after careful consideration of need and impact.
For any queries relating to the Pupil Premium, please contact Jennifer Howe, Deputy Headteacher via jennifer.howe@chippingsodburyschool.com
Key Documents
Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2025-2026
Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2024-2025
Allocation of funding
At Chipping Sodbury School our Pupil Premium funding is allocated to six key areas as outlined below:
Full details of our annual spending on these areas are set out in the Pupil Premium Strategy Statement (see Key Documents above).
Examples of expenditure may include:
- Financial assistance to families for:
- Uniform
- Educational resources and equipment e.g. stationery, revision guides, cooking ingredients
- Subject-related resources and activities including curriculum-based trips
- Opportunities for personal development to enhance and complement subject learning, such as music tuition and sports activities
- Cultural trips and visits and other experiences that inspire students and help them plan for their future
- Curriculum provision, including increasing teaching time or reducing staff to student ratios
- Literacy/numeracy intervention
- Staffing costs for additional academic support including one-to-one and small group tuition
- Wellbeing and academic mentoring
- Revision and homework support including Homework Club
- Enhanced well-being support including access to on-site counsellors
- Career meetings with a careers advisor
- Staff training on classroom pedagogy
- Teaching and learning resources
- Specialist CPD for staff
- Visiting speakers
- Student workshops