Pupil premium strategy statement
Due to the COVID pandemic, there is no examination data available for the 2020 examination series and therefore all progress and attainment data relate to the 2019 examinations and cohort.
From the start of the COVID crisis, during lockdown and following the reopening of schools our priority has been to maximise the progress of disadvantaged students through providing equipment and workbooks to access learning and providing a robust learning environment whilst monitoring engagement and removing barriers.
We now have a strong platform of online provision for students who are unable to attend school due to self-isolation and as near-normal classroom learning experience that is possible whilst keeping everyone safe
School overview
| Metric | Data |
| School name | Hall Cross Academy |
| Pupils in school | 1905 |
| Proportion of disadvantaged pupils | 31.1% |
| Pupil premium allocation this academic year | £ 357, 170 |
| Academic year or years covered by statement | 2019/20-2021/22 |
| Publish date | October 2020 |
| Review date | October 2021 |
| Statement authorised by | S Swain |
| Pupil premium lead | N Thompson |
| Governor lead | T Thorpe |
Disadvantaged pupil performance overview for last academic year
| Progress 8 | -0.39(2019 figures) |
| Ebacc entry | 4% |
| Attainment 8 | 35.39(2019 figures) |
| Percentage of Grade 5+ in English and maths | 19%(2019 figures) |
Strategy aims for disadvantaged pupils
| Aim | Target | Target date |
| Progress 8 | Achieve top quartile for progress made by disadvantaged pupils amongst similar schools | August 2022 |
| Attainment 8 | Achieve national average for attainment for all pupils in similar schools | August 2022 |
| Percentage of Grade 5+ in English and maths | Achieve average English and maths 5+ scores for similar schools | August 2022 |
| Other | Improve attendance to national average | August 2022 |
Teaching priorities for current academic year
| Measure | Activity |
| Improve the quality of teaching through CPD that directly addresses issues that will improve the progress of disadvantaged learners. | Teaching and learning CPD to be passed through departmental leaders, personalised for each department and then cascaded to department staff through scheduled CPD sessions. |
| Reduce Class sizes to improve the contact ratio with disadvantaged learners | Employ additional teaching capacity to ensure that smaller class sizes are maintained. |
| Barriers to learning these priorities address | Disengagement of learners is addressed and improved engagement through higher quality first teaching and more frequent interactions between staff and students. |
| Projected spending | £ 579,000 |
Targeted academic support for current academic year
| Measure | Activity |
| Ensuring that as many students as possible are taught by subject specialists in each subject area. | Continuous effort with recruitment to ensure that the best staff with the appropriate subject knowledge are employed and retained in that subject area. |
| Improving parental engagement and support for students. | Remove barriers that are stopping parents from attending parents’ evenings and other events. |
| Barriers to learning these priorities address | Students not making progress due to non-specialist teachers or lack of encouragement from home. |
| Projected spending | £ 248,000 |
Wider strategies for current academic year
| Measure | Activity |
| Improvement in attitude that disadvantaged learners have towards their progress in lessons. | Introduction of an additional rewards system for disadvantaged learners that targets and rewards sustained incremental improvements to learning habits. |
| Increase in the proportion of disadvantaged learners who have the correct equipment (including calculators) to ensure that learning can be maximised. | Providing disadvantaged learners with equipment sets, including calculators, and regularly ensuring that they are bringing and using them. |
| Barriers to learning these priorities address | Students who are less motivated to always give their best effort in lessons and students who are unable to learn because they don’t have ready access to equipment due to financial constraints. |
| Projected spending | £ 35,000 |
Monitoring and implementation
| Area | Challenge | Mitigating action |
| Teaching | Ensuring enough time is given over to allow for staff professional development. | Use departmental CPD time to proportionately develop T&L strategies that will impact disadvantaged students. |
| Targeted support | Intervention with small groups of students in core subjects. | Core departmental overstaffing allowing teachers and support staff to have the time to plan and deliver targeted support and intervention. |
| Wider strategies | Engaging families and students by removing key barriers | Providing routine and special equipment to students who require it. Providing financial support for access to wider curriculum provision. Providing transport for parents to school events. |
Review: last year’s aims and outcomes
| Aim | Outcome |
| Narrowing the gap in English and Maths | Partially achieved in reducing the figure compared to the previous two years
Y11 English P8 -0.43(2019) Y11 Maths P8 -0.36(2019) |
| Improve the attainment of middle ability boys | Partially Achieved in reducing the figure compared to the previous two years
Y11 overall P8 -0.58(2019) |
| Improve outcomes of LAC | Not Achieved |
| Narrow the gap in performance in the Open Bucket | Achieved
Y11 Open Bucket P8 0.251(2019) |
| Improve behaviour for learning | Achieved – Learner Profile scores show an improvement on previous years, detentions and other sanctions show reductions |
| Improve Parental engagement | Achieved in 2019 and also in 2019-20 academic year to March 2020 |
| Improve the Persistent Absence figure for the disadvantaged cohort | Partially Achieved and improving |
