Pupil Premium

Pupil premium strategy statement 2024-2025 (3 Year Plan)

This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium 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.

 

School overview

Detail Data

School name

Tarporley High School & Sixth Form College

Number of pupils in school

Y7-11 1027
6th Form 190

Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils

13 % Pupil Premium (134 funded students, 6 of which are Service Funded)

Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers

2024-2025
2025-2026
2026-2027

Date this statement was published

Updated December 2025

Date on which it will be reviewed

December 2026

Statement authorised by

JD

Pupil premium lead

PG

Governor lead

Rachel Poole

 

Funding overview

Detail Amount

Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year

£126,850

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

£126,850 

 

Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan

Statement of intent

At Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College we are committed to supporting all our students to achieve their personal best and to overcome barriers to learning. For students from groups who are vulnerable to underachievement, we endeavour, where possible, to ensure they meet or exceed their expected progress and attainment and achieve above disadvantaged students nationally, and at least as well as their peers both locally and nationally. This is so we maximise the life choices that these students have as they move on to the next stage in their development either in the workplace, at college, or within a Sixth Form environment.

At Tarporley High School & Sixth Form College, we have a whole school commitment to diminishing differences in achievement between students for whom the school is in receipt of Pupil Premium and their peers.

The key principles of our strategy:

  • Foster resilience
  • Remove barriers
  • Encourage participation and a sense of belonging
  • Support and challenge academic progress to narrow and close gaps.

Much of our crucial work on this strategy does not ‘cost’ in terms of funding. We work relentlessly to ensure that all staff understand the importance of our strategy and look at all they do from the point of view of the most disadvantaged students. We simply do not accept that your financial background should determine your academic outcomes and your future. Our curriculum offer is challenging and disadvantaged students are free to choose whatever pathways best suit them. The curriculum does not include courses that might be easier for students to pass and would benefit the school in terms of published performance measures, rather the curriculum provides opportunities which benefit students in terms of their future pathways.

Importantly, Pupil Premium funding is only spent on direct Pupil Premium support. This is the fundamental principle of our approach. We believe that when it is spent on non-PP cohorts two things happen. Firstly, it widens the in-school achievement gap. Secondly, it wastes valuable resources and runs counter to the foundational principles of the Pupil Premium grant. This has been our steadfast approach since the inception of the Pupil Premium grant.

At Tarporley we have a Universal Pupil Premium offer. This is available to all PP students and is to some extent summarised by section 6 of this document on pages 4 and 5. However, the additional universal work we do is about teacher focus on PP student achievement. I practical terms this means PP consideration when creating and updating seating plans; early interventions in the lesson; positive setting of Pupil Premium students. As part of our universal offer, each Pupil Premium child meets with the dedicated PP Team when resources are provided. This is an important aspect of our strategy as it fosters clarity for the student regarding what our provision is and how they can access it. Importantly, they get to know the team and understand that we will do whatever it takes to support them through their school life. It is an approach that is about support, belonging and challenge, as we have the highest expectations for Pupil Premium students in terms of behaviour, effort, participation, attendance and academic success.

In addition to our universal offer, more personalised work takes place with groups of PP students where there is extreme need for support and challenge. This is largely part of our daily work in our two Pupil Premium Hubs. These are dedicated to working solely with Pupil Premium students. They are staffed by three Teaching Assistants. Two of our three TAs are ELSA trained and run counselling for Pupil Premium students. They support PP students in lesson, mainly at Key Stage 4, and run interventions in hubs for both core and option subjects. They run Lexia reading intervention and a Masters Degree graduate mathematician runs 1:1 and group interventions for Pupil Premium students and 1:1 Maths tuition after school four days a week. 

 

Challenges

This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.

Challenge number Detail of challenge

1

Resilience and Self Confidence

Our academic monitoring shows that Pupil Premium students are less resilient than their peers. For example, a progress gap will be wider for a ‘one off’ high stakes assessment such as a mock exam than it is for continuous assessment. This is due to a number of factors however, the more barriers we remove through support the more this allows for the successful challenge of under achievement.

Support is part of a support/challenge dynamic. When challenges are met this leads to increased confidence and resilience. Our dedicated Pupil Premium Teaching Assistants are ELSA trained and provide this counselling provision for our Pupil Premium cohort where appropriate. This programme seeks to ascertain the root causes of emotional issues and foster mechanisms to cope and grow.

2

Attendance

The link between attendance and KS4 outcomes is outlined in NFER ‘Being Present’ 2019, DfE 2016, DfE 2012 with students who have increased absence during KS4 achieving lower academic outcomes than students with very little absence. Our aim is to narrow and then close the in-school attendance gap for disadvantaged students.

The Attendance and Closing the Gap agendas are led by the same senior leader to ensure that the crucial work in these areas speak directly to each other. Close fortnightly monitoring of persistent absence from Year Leaders and the Attendance team runs throughout the school year. The senior leader and in school attendance team meet fortnightly to monitor the attendance of disadvantaged students and those cases approaching prosecution; actioning next steps in challenge and support. This work is bolstered by the early and continuing intervention of the Pupil Premium Teaching Assistants who contact home to discuss attendance issues, offer return to school support and work on improving positive engagement through personalised rewards. 

3

Academic gaps

The National Progress 8 for Pupil Premium students was -0.55 in 2022.

Tarporley’s SISRA Progress 8 for Pupil Premium students in 2024 was 0.00, higher than the national statistics for disadvantaged 2022 (-0.55), and all students 2023 (-0.03).

That said, our work is never complete and we aim to meet our 3 academic targets each year. These are: Progress 8 above National Disadvantaged P8; Disadvantaged Progress 8 above 0; Progress 8 in line with or above National Non-Pupil Premium. As of October 2022, the two targets we have national data for have been surpassed.

At Tarporley, positive setting for Pupil Premium students is encouraged. Additionally, our in-school target setting, using FFT (top 20%), is modified for Pupil Premium students with the aim of raising expectations. For Pupil Premium students, if they have a 30% or higher chance of attaining a grade higher than their most likely outcome, then the target grade is raised.

4

Literacy and Numeracy

Literacy and Numeracy are the cornerstones of our curriculum. Lower scores in these areas are addressed on entry and through Key Stage 3 through our intervention programme. A half termly cycle of interventions run during tutor time in English, Maths and Science. Subject specialist teachers lead these intervention programmes.

Reading assessments are completed on entry in Year 7 and where there are disadvantaged gaps we support with rigorous interventions for disadvantaged students through the Lexonik reading programme, with a dedicated PP Teaching Assistant delivering interventions.

The systematic monitoring of Reading ages and use of interventions supports the progress of disadvantaged.

5

Participation

Full participation in school life leads to many benefits such as the development of cultural capital, the development of the whole child and supports academic achievement. At Tarporley barriers to participation are removed, in part, through our financial provision for Pupil Premium students. However, the encouragement to participate is part of the school’s culture. It is participation, along with our other key drivers in closing gaps which leads to higher aspirations.

6

Financial deprivation

Pupil Premium students are provided with resources and access to trips/events to ensure any financial issues do not limit academic progress and participation in events which foster engagement in the school culture and cultural capital. Along with the provision outlined below, we provide government laptops and repurposed school uniform on a needs basis.

Pupil Premium provision is detailed below.

Nature of Trip/Events Remission Provision

Curriculum Trips (i.e. day/evening trips, such as Theatre Trips/Museum Visits/Geography Day Field Trips etc.)

Whole cost funded

Residential Trips (including overseas visits)

Partial funding – 50% of the cost of the trip or £250 whichever is the lesser

D of E (Y7-11)

Whole cost funded

University Trips (Oxford etc.)

Whole cost funded

Enrichment Programme

Whole cost funded

Y11 Prom

Whole cost funded

Reward Trips

Whole cost funded plus £20 voucher for food and participation
Equipment and Learning Resources

Curriculum Texts – (Does not include core textbooks which are provided by Faculty Capitation to all students). This funding covers supplementary texts that the school advises parents of students to purchase.

Whole cost funded

Materials for practicals which would normally be purchased by parents of students i.e. Food Technology Ingredients, Art Sketchbooks, etc.

Whole cost funded

Equipment to support learning which the school advises parents to purchase, i.e. calculators and other maths equipment etc.

Whole cost funded

 

Intended outcomes

This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.

Intended outcome Success criteria

To meet Attainment 8 and Progress 8 targets

 

  1. Attainment 8 above National Pupil Attainment 8.
  2. Above 0 Progress 8.
  3. A8 in line with or above National Non-Pupil Premium.
  4. Close the in-school progress gap.

 

To meet Attendance targets

Pupil Premium attendance to above National Pupil Premium attendance.

Pupil Premium Parental Attendance at Parents Evenings to be on a par with whole year group attendance.

 

Activity in this academic year

This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium (and recovery premium funding) this academic year to address the challenges listed above.

 

Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)

Budgeted cost: £0 (Training provided in house)

Activity Evidence that supports this approach Challenge number(s) addressed

Lexonic Training

 

1, 2, 3, 4

 

Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)

Budgeted cost: £ 74,427

Activity Evidence that supports this approach Challenge number(s) addressed

1:1 & small group tutoring

One to one tuition I EEF
One to one tuition | EEF

Small group tuition I Toolkit Strand I
Small group tuition | EEF

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Teaching Assistant in lesson Support

EEF

1, 2, 3, 4, 6

Teaching Assistant after school Wednesday interventions

EEF

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Promoted target setting

Education Policy Institute

1, 3, 4

Promoted setting

Education Policy Institute

1, 2, 4

Subject led interventions

EEF

2, 3

 

Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)

Budgeted cost: £52,423

Activity Evidence that supports this approach Challenge number(s) addressed

Attendance focus – new intervention letter for persistent absence, 100% attendance letter introduced.

Being Present: the Power of Attendance and Stability for Disadvantaged Pupils - NFER

3

Parental engagement – Parents Evenings

Parental engagement | EEF

3, 7

Providing resources

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/54300

4, 5

Access to trips, enrichment activities, Duke of Ed

  

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

ELSA counselling support

  

1, 2, 3, 4

Laptops for Access

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/543

2, 4

Early & frequent Careers/Options Interviews

 

1, 2, 5

Total budgeted cost: £126,850

 

Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year

Pupil premium strategy outcomes

This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Context of external results over recent years:

Tarporley have a track record of Closing the Gap for Pupil Premium student against a range of measures both local and national.

Nationally, the KS4 disadvantage gap index has widened compared to 2022, from 3.84 to 3.95. It is now at its highest level since 2011. Before the pandemic, the gap index had widened going from 3.66 to 3.70 between 2017 and 2019. This means that whilst at a national level the disadvantaged gap is widening, at Tarporley High School this cohort are achieving positive Progress 8 measures year on year.

Prior to 2023, the last two sets of externally examined results are:

2019 Tarporley Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = 0.23.

2019 National Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = -0.45.

2022 Tarporley Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = 0.11.

2022 National Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = -0.55. 

2023 Tarporley Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = 0.14.

2023 National Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = -0.51

2024 Tarporley Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = -0.11

2024 National Pupil Premium Progress 8 score = -0.63

2025 Tarporley Pupil Premium Attainment 8 score = 3.85

2025 National Pupil Premium Attainment 8 score = NOT YET PUBLISHED (National A8 4.59)

 

Externally provided programmes

Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help the Department for Education identify which ones are popular in England

Programme Provider

Tassomai Science

Tassomai

 

Service pupil premium funding (optional)

For schools that receive this funding, you may wish to provide the following information:

Measure Details

How did you spend your service pupil premium allocation last academic year?

6 Service Students. They receive the same offers as FSM Ever6 and the same monitoring and interventions. 

What was the impact of that spending on service pupil premium eligible pupils?

See above.

 

School Information...