Ashby School
Pupil Premium Review
Conducted by Deputy Headteacher David Deacon (Specialist Leader of Education)
on behalf of Head teacher Dave Thomas (National Leader of Education), both of
Ashmount School and the Loughborough Learning Alliance (LLE)
Context
Ashby School was last inspected by Ofsted on 16-17 May 2012 when the school was
judged to be ‘Good’ in all areas. Headteacher Eddie Green requested that an
external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium be undertaken in order to
assess how this aspect of leadership and governance might be developed further.
The review was conducted on Friday 17th October 2014.
Extent of Review
Ashby Headteacher Eddie Green and I held a preliminary telephone conversation in
September 2014 to:
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Discuss the context and needs of the school.
Explain the principles and process of the review.
Discuss the self-review process.
Agree dates for the initial face-to-face meeting.
The following were available prior to my visit:
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The school’s latest Ofsted inspection report and School Data Dashboard
The school’s online documents relating to the allocation of pupil premium
spending for 2012-13 and 2013-14
My visit to the school consisted of the following:
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Meeting with Assistant Headteacher Jevon Hirst.
Full tour of the school, including visiting a range of lessons.
Review of the school’s pupil progress and achievement data.
Funding
Pupil Premium funding is ring fenced and clearly audited, and the school’s leaders
are extremely clear about the intended impact of spending.
Information about how the money is spent is published on the school’s website and
has its own specific development plan linked to the School Development Plan (SDP)
In the year 2014/15, the school is expected to receive £153,340 in pupil premium
funds. The initiatives developed in 2012-2014 will be enhanced to build on areas of
strength but also targeted at areas that require further development.
A designated senior leader, Assistant Headteacher Jevon Hirst, has a clear overview
of how the funding is being allocated, and shares this appropriately with all relevant
parties. The day-to-day organisation of interventions and meetings with parents are
led by the Pupil Premium Co-ordinator (Higher Level Teaching Assistant), under
Jevon’s supervision.
The Pupil Premium Development Plan is shared with governors at the beginning of
the academic year, providing them with the earliest opportunity to challenge the way
in which it has been allocated.
Identification
The school’s self-evaluation of pupil premium spending and its impact is second to
none. Thus, the school is able to identify which students are underachieving in any
given subject and implement appropriate interventions accordingly.
Teachers have been informed of which students in their class are in receipt of pupil
premium funding. Teachers are aware of the current school priorities for ‘Closing the
Gap’ and these are published on the website for all other parties.
Interventions and Impact
School leaders have considered research and reports, including the Sutton Trust, to
inform their decisions about how to spend the Pupil Premium on activities most likely
to raise achievement, increase attendance and engagement and improve transition.
Headteacher Eddie Green and the Senior Leadership Team then decide upon how
to allocate the pupil premium funding based on individual students’ needs, informed
by extremely detailed data analysis.
The school’s monitoring and review of the impact of interventions is second to none.
Assistant Headteacher rigorously tracks and evaluates the impact of each separate
intervention.
The school has a good performance management system in place for teachers and
support staff to ensure that interventions are of the highest quality and delivered by
those with appropriate training.
The school also implements a robust programme of lesson observations to monitor
the quality of teaching and learning, with all teachers receiving four lesson
observations a year, and any lesson judged to be less than ‘Good’ generating further
observations. Interventions intended to target students eligible for pupil premium
funding are observed as part of this programme. This enables the schools to ensure
that the quality of teaching and learning during pupil premium funded sessions
matches the high standards reflected in timetabled sessions.
Assistant Headteacher Jevon Hirst and I discussed the effectiveness of the various
interventions being used across the school. The Assistant Headteacher is currently
reviewing these and will devise a new list of strategies with other stakeholders based
on pupils’ specific needs. Details of new interventions being used in 2014-15 and
their expected outcomes will be added to the school website as soon as these have
been finalised.
The range of support and enrichment opportunities available to pupils was evident
from my tour of the school and was clearly being used to develop and enhance
pupils’ social and emotional skills.
Data
The School’s Data Dashboard demonstrates that:
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In 2013, 39% of disadvantaged pupils achieved expected progress, while 77%
of other pupils achieved expected progress in English.
In 2013, 37% of disadvantaged pupils achieved expected progress, while 83%
of other pupils achieved expected progress.
Prior to this, the gap between disadvantaged and other pupils had been narrowing
more significantly.
The Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 value added Summary Report by Ebacc subject
areas (Table 5.1.5) demonstrates that in 2013 almost all pupils were making at least
expected value added in the majority of subjects, with some groups making above
expected value added progress in Maths, Science, Languages and Humanities.
With respect to English, the school has already taken decisive action in response to
the results in English in 2013, including:
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Increasing the leadership capacity by appointing a new Head of Faculty and
two new Seconds in Faculty;
Introducing an afterschool Commitment to Success programme targeting
those students not achieving 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C;
Decreasing class sizes in English;
Providing bespoke tutoring in English.
Appointment of a ‘Pupil Premium Champion’ as an additional leadership
position in English
As a result of this, standards are already believed to be significantly higher in
English, and school leaders are continuing to drive for even greater development.
Data for the current Yr 11 cohort indicates that 16% more students are expected to
make 3 levels progress in English in 2014, compared with pupil data for 2013. On a
wider school level data analysis indicates that the gap for pupil premium students
closed at a faster rate than their national equivalents for 11 of 12 key indicators.
The school’s data is supplemented with case studies investigating why some
students might have made less than expected progress, enabling the school to take
further action to drive up standards. These case studies provide an effective way of
capturing evidence for impact throughout the year, particularly in the case of pupils
whose progress is harder to demonstrate in academic terms due to other barriers to
learning.
Staffing
Teachers and support staff are well informed about which students are eligible for
pupil premium and the interventions that have been put in place to raise attainment.
Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning (Ali Jackson) has produced a
handbook to support teachers in their delivery of teaching and learning to pupils in
receipt of pupil premium funding.
The importance that the school places on staff awareness of pupil premium is
demonstrated by the fact that the staff team has collectively received 400 hours of
CPD inset focused on developing teaching and learning for pupils eligible for pupil
premium funding.
Governors’ knowledge and awareness
Governors are informed about how much money is allocated to the school for the
Pupil Premium, and this is identified in the school’s budget planning.
Governors are informed about how the school intends to spend the funding by
means of a Pupil Premium Development Plan which is shared with governors at the
beginning of the academic year, providing them with the earliest opportunity to
challenge the way in which it has been allocated. The improvements the allocation
has brought about are measured and reported to governors and parents via the
school website.
The progress and outcomes of eligible pupils are clearly identified and rigorously
analysed by the school’s tracking systems. This information is then reported to
governors in a way that enables them to see clearly whether the gap in the
performance of eligible pupils and other pupils is closing.
We discussed the benefits of maintaining Pupil Premium as a standing agenda item
in the termly Governors’ Curriculum Committee meeting. This would enable
governors to know, and intervene more quickly, if outcomes are not improving in
ways they want them to.
The school is considering designating a named governor with lead responsibility for
reviewing Pupil Premium spending.
Leadership and management
It was clear from the sharing of relevant documentation and our discussions during
the morning that the Assistant Headteacher has an excellent knowledge and
understanding of the schools’ pupil progress and achievement data and that, as a
result, the school is using this to raise achievement of pupils eligible for pupil
premium funding.
The Assistant Headteacher’s use of data collection is rigorous and this information is
passed onto teachers to ensure that all are familiar with expectations for individual
pupil progress and achievements. Data collection is extremely thoroughly analysed
and shared with teachers as appropriate.
The school’s improvement / action plans clearly identify where there are issues in the
performance of pupils who are eligible for the Pupil Premium, enabling school
leaders to take decisive action.
The school rigorously tracks the attendance, punctuality and behaviour (including
exclusions) of all students, enabling them to take decisive action to address any
differences.
Strengths
The school:
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Thoroughly analyses which pupils are underachieving and why, and takes
decisive action as a result;
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Draws on research evidence (such as the Sutton Trust toolkit) and evidence
from their own data analysis to allocate the funding to the activities that are
most likely to have an impact on improving achievement;
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Ensures that a designated leader, Assistant Headteacher Jevon Hirst, has a
clear overview of how the funding is allocated and the difference it makes to
the outcomes for pupils;
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Ensures that all class and subject teachers know which pupils are eligible for
the Pupil Premium so that they can take responsibility for accelerating their
progress;
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Is able, through careful monitoring and evaluation, to demonstrate the impact
of each aspect of their spending on the outcomes for pupils.
Links to Useful Documents
Ofsted (2013) The Pupil Premium: Analysis and Challenge Tools for Schools:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/pupil-premium-analysis-and-challengetools-for-schools
For a useful set of questions, to prompt discussion and data collection for school
leaders and governors.
Ofsted (2013) The Pupil Premium: How schools are spending funding successfully to
maximise achievement:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/pupil-premium-how-schools-are-spendingfunding-successfully-maximise-achievement
For a set of narrative case studies and strategy ideas, to inform your governor and
staff discussions and decisions.
EEF (2013) Teaching and Learning Toolkit – updated Spring 2013:
http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/toolkit/Teaching_and_L
earning_Toolkit_(Spring_2013).pdf
For research and evidence about each of the main strategies adopted, to inform your
school PP investment choices.
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/pupil-premium