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Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium targets additional money at pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, to help them achieve their full potential.

In 2012, Eligibility for the Pupil Premium was extended to pupils who had been eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at any point on the last 6 years.  As a group, children who have been eligible for FSM at any point in time, have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible for FSM.

Schools have the freedom to spend the Premium, which is additional to the underlying school budget, in a way they think will best diminish difference in attainment between the most vulnerable pupils and the whole school.

Pupil Premium is also provided for children in care who have been looked after for more than six months and care leavers, recognising that they need additional support to help them raise their educational achievement.  It is also provided for children with parents in the armed services.

For each academic year - Pupil Premium allocation is based on student data in the January school census.

Barriers to learning

We are aware that pupils attending St Matthias Academy, as in many schools, may experience a wide range of barriers to learning. Many of our students have additional needs around speech and language and social
interaction or diagnosed medical conditions and the PP spend reflects this. Other factors that can impact learning include experience of family bereavement, living outside the family home  or witnessing DV, emotional abuse or drug and alcohol misuse. There are also the risks of CSE and CCE that need to be considered when choosing the appropriate internal and agency interventions. 

Pupil premium strategy statement

This statement was completed and is reporting on data gathered before St Matthias Academy became a part of Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership - the letterhead reflects this.

This statement below details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2022 to 2023 academic year) funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils. 

It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school.