Pupil Premium

At Hillside, we know our community very well and have carefully analysed barriers to learning. Barriers to learning are shared by many more pupils than just those who have been registered for free school meals in the last 6 years.

We have considered this when creating our Pupil Premium Strategy and have based our spending priorities on high quality research to ensure our strategies are effective. 

In line with our school vision, we are committed to nurturing our learners for a bright future. Our strategy places a focus on excellent class teaching, identifying gaps in prior learning and removing barriers to learning. 

We receive additional funding from the government through the pupil premium. The school receives this funding for the following groups: 

• Children on income based free school meals
• Service children 
• Looked after and previously looked after children 
• ​Sports premium (for all children in school) 

Income based Free School Meals 

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are offered infant free school meals regardless of income. However, you may be entitled to additional support, whatever year group your child(ren) are in, through the income based free school meals scheme £1,515 (25-26). This gives you numerous other benefits (support in school, money off uniform and school trips). Your child may be able to get income based free school meals if you get any of the following: 

• Income Support 
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit 
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190) 
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit 
• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get). 

Please call or email us for more information. 

Service Premium 

This service premium £350 (25-26) is designed to address the emotional and social well-being of forces children and address any gaps that may have arisen in their education. 

Alongside the social and emotional input we track the service children to ensure there is no gap between their attainment and national expectations. Funding is used to help pay for any identified intervention.

Looked After and Post Looked After Children 

At Hillside Primary School we are totally committed to supporting every one of our families. We are incredibly proud of all our children and know that many of them start their young lives with additional challenges. We also know we have some amazing parents who dedicate their lives to children from all backgrounds. We recognise that if you have adopted a child or are looking after a child in short or long-term care arrangement then you may have specific needs with their education and / or emotional support. 

‘Looked after’ children or 'Post looked after' children, now have priority in school choices. This means when making applications for Nursery, Reception and Secondary Schools your child will be prioritised over other children in recognition that sometimes they have had a difficult start in life and they may need some additional support. We would be happy to support you with any school applications and navigate the somewhat complicated process.

Did you know that Adopted children and those in special care arrangements receive additional funding in school? Each child identified by the school received an additional £2,630 (25-26) for the school to spend on supporting the children. This additional money is called 'Pupil Premium Plus'.

Specific Support for Adopted Children and their families: 

• Mrs Ola can be contacted directly by parents who need support and will act as a link between home and school for issues that may be wider than the every-day issues of the classroom. (The Class teacher always remains as the main port of call for any parent). 
• Offer a termly 1:1 support meeting. 
• Advanced notice about transition (where appropriate) - this will mean these parents will be told well in advance when the teacher changes at the end of each year and who the new teachers will be. We hope this additional time will allow parents to prepare children for the changes.