Pupil Premium

Detail

Data

School name

Frenchwood Community Primary School

Number of pupils in school

343

Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils

23%

Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3-year plans are recommended)

2025-26, 2026-27, 2027-28

Date this statement was published

19.12.2025

Date on which it will be reviewed

September 2026

Statement authorised by

Cathryn Antwis, Headteacher

Pupil premium lead

Susan Wilkinson, SENDCo

Governor / Trustee lead

Muhammad Isap, Pupil Premium Link Governor

Detail

Amount

Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year

£121,200

Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable)

£0

Total budget for this academic year

If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year

£121,200

Context

• Low pupil stability (71%) compared to national (80.1%) due to housing mobility, new arrivals to the UK, and families in refuge.
• High EAL population (60%) with 32 languages spoken; many pupils are new to English or at early acquisition stages.
• Significant deprivation: school and pupil base in quintile 4 nationally; families range from least deprived to most deprived.
• Many deprived families do not claim benefits through choice or other reasons.
• Cultural diversity: 16–17 ethnic groups represented, predominantly West Asian, with increasing African and Eastern European representation.

Key Principles

At Frenchwood Community Primary School we aim for all our learners to achieve their full potential, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face.  We endeavour to understand the individual needs of each pupil, discover their talents and challenges, and put provision in place that will enable them to achieve success.

The Pupil Premium (PP) funding that is received by school annually is used in a variety of ways to improve pupil attainment and help overcome barriers to learning. In making provision for socially disadvantaged pupils, we recognise that not all our pupils who receive Free School meals (FSM) will be socially disadvantaged. We also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for PP. We therefore allocate the PP funding to support any pupil or groups of pupils we have identified as being at social disadvantage.

Quality first teaching in every classroom is the primary driver for success in our school, alongside careful assessment of need.  Well trained staff and consistency in our approach to learning is integral to our strategy.  Our school is organised into four phases with staff teams working closely together to offer the best we can to all our learners by utilising the range of expertise within our team. This offers a flexible model that enables us to adjust when circumstances change. High priority is given to supporting good mental health, building resilience and developing positive learning behaviours.

Ultimate Objectives

• Remove barriers to learning created by poverty, family circumstance and background
• Narrow the attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged counterparts both within school and nationally
• Ensure all pupils can read fluently and with good understanding to enable them to access the breadth of the curriculum
• Develop confidence in their ability to communicate effectively in a wide range of contexts
• Enable pupils to look after their social and emotional wellbeing and to develop resilience.
• Ensure pupils are prepared for the next stage in their education

Challenge number

Detail of challenge

1

Observations and screening of expressive and receptive language skills show that a significant number of pupils have communication skills significantly below age expected levels. This is particularly prevalent in EYFS and KS1 but continues to have impact throughout school. Many disadvantaged pupils have vocabulary gaps, especially those who speak and understand English with a proficiency below ‘C’.

2

Assessments, observations and discussions show that disadvantaged pupils generally have greater difficulties with phonics than their peers. This negatively impacts their development as readers.

3

Assessments, observations and discussions indicate that many disadvantaged pupils have experienced displacement, trauma and disrupted education. This has resulted in significant knowledge gaps leading to pupils falling further behind age-related expectations, especially in writing and maths.

4

Surveys, observations and discussions indicate a rising number of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, who are experiencing significant emotional and social problems with many lacking opportunities for accessible enrichment experiences.  This impacts attainment and attendance.

Intended outcome

Success criteria

Pupils to be able to communicate confidently, articulating their thoughts and feelings in an age-appropriate manner.

Assessments and observations indicate significantly improved oral language among disadvantaged pupils. This is evident when triangulated with other sources of evidence, including engagement in lessons, pupil book study and ongoing formative assessment.

Pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, are ready for the next phase in their education as they are fluent and confident readers, writers and mathematicians. Their skills enable them to engage fully in a broad curriculum.

By the end of KS2:

• At least 60% of pupils who have attended FCPS since the beginning of Year 1, will achieve at least the expected standard for reading, writing and maths;

Pupils are resilient and well organised learners who are emotionally literate and able to manage themselves in a variety of circumstances.

Across school there will be high levels of wellbeing / mental health demonstrated by:

• qualitative data from pupil, parent and teacher questionnaires;
• a reduction in poor behaviour incidents recorded during unstructured times;
• age-appropriate learning behaviours and the independent use of strategies for self-regulation are observed in all phases.

All pupils, but particularly those who are disadvantaged, receive their full entitlement to education through good attendance, punctuality and access to enrichment activities, giving them the best chance of success.

High levels of attendance across all phases and groups.

• Attendance of 95%+
• Attendance gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils reduces by 0.5 percentage points.
• An increase in participation in enrichment activities.

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

1:10 adult to pupil ratio in EYFS & KS1 to enable increased communication modelling and dialogue in continuous provision

Our staff have been trained in the Hanen approach to communication and language. This emphasises the importance of spoken language and verbal interaction for young children. Research shows that children’s language development benefits from approaches that explicitly support communication through talking, verbal expression, modelling language and reasoning.

1

2 additional TA3 employed to ensure consistency of staffing throughout the day and enable timely focussed interventions to take place. 

Positive effects have been found in studies where teaching assistants deliver high-quality structured interventions which deliver short sessions, over a finite period, and link learning to classroom teaching. 

1,2,3

50% increase in SENDCo time.  This is to enable effective leadership of whole school approach to self-regulation, identification of needs and timely intervention.

Research by Bath Spa University and Nasen recommends increasing SENDCo protected time to take account of numbers of children in crisis.

1,2,3,4

Whole staff access to RWInc online video updates and termly visits from consultant trainer

Phonics lead in school to model phonics sessions, support new to schoolteachers to enable consistency and monitor teaching and assessment of phonics across EYFS and KS1.

Read Write Inc Phonics is a systematic synthetic phonics approach which, when used with fidelity, explicitly teaches pupils a comprehensive set of letter-sound relationships in a pre-planned sequence. There is extensive evidence that this benefits Key Stage 1 pupils’ learning, and older pupils who struggle to decode.

2

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Wellcomm Early Years assessment used with all EYFS pupils to identify communication / language baselines, tailor intervention and to measure progress made.

Communication and language approaches emphasise the importance of spoken language and verbal interaction for young children. They are based on the idea that children’s language development benefits from approaches that explicitly support communication through talking, verbal expression, modelling language and reasoning.

1

Wellcomm Primary assessment used with all pupils in Y1 (or on arrival if later) to identify communication / language baselines, tailor intervention and to measure progress made

Oral language interventions with frequent sessions (3 times a week or more) over a sustained period appear to be most successful. Wellcome Primary includes structured activities for use 1:1 or in small groups to support progress.

1

Pupils with English as an additional language assessed for English language proficiency in Y3 (or on arrival if later) to identify language baseline, tailor intervention and to measure progress made.

EAL learners at all levels need to be given opportunities to grow their English vocabulary range. This could be done by taking advantage of their first language(s) through translation, the use of flashcards and images. It is important to remember to develop the learner’s academic language skills, for instance by focusing on the differences between formal and informal vocabulary.

1

Many of our disadvantaged pupils present as or have SEND - 1:1 and small group interventions delivered and measured using SMART plans:

• RWInc 1:1
• Wellcome
• Colourful semantics
• Precision teaching
• Number Box
• Attention Autism
• Articulation
• Fine motor skills
• Gross motor skills
• Sensory Circuits
• Socially Speaking
• Lego Therapy

Investing in professional development for teaching assistants to deliver structured interventions can be a cost-effective approach to improving learner outcomes.  Our TAs are trained in specific interventions that they deliver and measure.  These interventions are monitored and reviewed by SENDCo and during pupil progress meetings.

1,2,3,4

Online support interventions that can be accessed independently:

• Flash Academy
• IDL English
• IDL Maths

Flash Academy offers individualised language learning and vocabulary development with home languages

Lifting Barriers This study included around 1,200 students and confirmed that IDL produces significantly faster reading and spelling related improvements than non-specialist teaching methods – with an average 10 months improvement in reading and 11 months improvement in spelling after just 26 hours on the IDL programme.

IDL Maths Trial – positive results showing 94% of pupils made accelerated progress from individual starting points.

1,2,3

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Learning mentor trained as Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) offers personalised support packages and liaises with parents of pupils receiving ELSA interventions.

Shotton and Burton (2019) suggest that schools should recognise the need to plan additional support to address the emotional needs of students in the same way that support would be provided to enhance academic learning for children experiencing learning difficulties. ELSAs are trained to develop interventions in the areas of:

• Emotional awareness
• Anger management
• Self-esteem
• Social and communication skills
• Friendship skills
• Loss and bereavement

4

Free breakfast club for pupils who attract FSM funding.

After-school sports clubs.

Some pupils are invited to attend to support attendance or encourage engagement in physical activity.

4

All staff participate in Therapeutic Teaching Award.

Relational approaches and building supportive relationships through the school community including auxiliary staff, pupils and parents benefitted the students and led to teachers offering each other more peer support (Howell et al., 2019). TIP training which included more methods for responding to trauma reduced numbers of students being referred to special education and being categorised as troublesome students (Banks and Meyer, 2017; Pemberton and Edeburn, 2021). Practices which included non-verbal approaches to self-regulation and innovative teaching methods such as creative and outdoor materials supported students in building trust and reduction of trauma responses (Mulholland and O’Toole, 2021).

4

Nurture Spaces to be maintained and staffed.

4

Enrichment offers extended to promote attendance, wellbeing and positive relationships, e.g. Crafternoons’, small group trips, subsidised events.

‘Beyond the classroom: the role of enrichment in tackling the school absence crisis’ (The Centre for Young Lives (CfYL)2025)

4

Total budgeted cost:

£ 136,500

Additional allocation from school budget

£15,300

Outcomes 2025

Pupils to be able to communicate confidently and be able to understand and articulate their thoughts and feelings in an age-appropriate manner.

Classroom observations show consistency of approach that is beginning to have an impact on classroom discussions, particularly in the use of sentence starters and modelled responses.

Pupils are ready for the next phase in their education as they are fluent and confident readers, writers and mathematicians. Their skills enable them to engage fully in a broad curriculum.

Whilst disadvantaged pupils achieved well against their peers in reading and writing, they scored less well in mathematics. Of the 11 pupils in the cohort who are both disadvantaged and have been at Frenchwood since Year 1, 4 scored 99 in the SATs test.  Whilst this is 1 point short of the expected standard, it is reasonable to suggest that they are ready for the next stage in their education.  

Pupils are resilient and well organised learners who are emotionally literate and able to manage themselves in a variety of circumstances.

• Pupils report that they are happy in school and know how they can ask for help.
• Pupils are able to articulate their feelings and are using an increasing number of strategies to self-regulate when needed.
• Pupils making good use of calm spaces to self-regulate.

Pupils receive their full entitlement to education through good attendance and punctuality, giving them the best chance of success.

Attendance excludes non-compulsory age pupils

Whole school:

Attendance 93.4%

Disadvantaged pupils:

Attendance 91.3%

Not disadvantaged pupils:

Attendance 94.3%

Gap reduced by 3.1pp in 2022-23

Gap reduced by a further 2.2pp in 2023-24

Gap maintained at 2023/4 level in 2024-25