The pupil premium funding is allocated to the school to support strategies to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils:

• Pupils on free school meals, or those that have been in receipt of free school meals within the past six years
• Children in care
• A smaller amount is allocated according to the number of children of service families

Pupil premium is allocated to schools based on the number of children on-roll who are currently known to be eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. A smaller amount is allocated according to the number of children of service families and there is an allocation for each child who has been looked after in local authority care continuously for more than six months.  

It is for schools to decide how the pupil premium is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility. However, schools are to be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. These monies aim to ensure that pupils reach their full potential, both academically and socially.

At Ilfracombe Infant & Nursery School our education focuses on the development of the whole child and integrates academic learning with artistic and outdoor activities. We recognise the unique contribution that each child brings to their learning and use targeted additional support strategies to support every child to be able to:

• Improve self-esteem
• Have full access to our curriculum
• Access extra-curricular provision
• Improve their levels of attainment and progress
• Where present, close attainment gaps

We are committed to ensuring that pupils in receipt of pupil premium are not stigmatised or isolated in any way. We do identify these pupils in our progress tracking system which enables us to monitor their progress and to intervene where appropriate.

Pupil premium funding is used in the following ways:

1. Curricular support

To employ Teaching Assistants to allow more focus on areas of targeted support for individual pupils where we feel the greatest benefit can be achieved.  

2. Extracurricular support

Educational visits and other extracurricular activities including our after school clubs are an indispensable part of the learning experience and enrich a pupil’s understanding of themselves and the world around them. 

A significant amount of our pupil premium allocation is spent on our Teaching Assistants and we continue to review whether we are using this resource to its full potential.