PUPIL PREMIUM SPENDING AT ST MARY MAGDALENE
What is the pupil premium?
The Pupil Premium provides additional funding on top of the main funding a school receives. It is targeted at students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as students from less deprived families.
How the Pupil Premium is spent is monitored closely with all schools accountable for the impact of the money spent. At St Mary Magdalene we pride ourselves on utilising the Pupil Premium to support our students with a specific focus on Maths and English, Extended Learning, Parental Support and Pupil Emotional Wellbeing.
Why is there a pupil premium?
Students who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible.
How many pupils at St Mary Magdalene are eligible for the Pupil Premium?
According to the October 2021 School Census 42% of the secondary phase students at St Mary Magdalene are eligible for the Pupil Premium.
Is there an issue with eligible pupils not applying for FSM?
In Greenwich, when a Housing/Council Tax Benefit form is completed, this automatically entitles child(ren) in the family to receive free school meals. The Council inform the Student Services Team and the school of the child’s entitlement to free school meals.
Parents in receipt of Child Tax Credit are required to complete a free school meal application form and it is vital that the application form is completed to allow additional funding to be released to the school.
How will the impact of the spending of the Pupil Premium be measured?
To monitor progress on attainment, new measures will be included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of students covered by the Pupil Premium. At St Mary Magdalene, the usual cycle of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of the cohort’s attainment, will be used to inform student progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention.