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Free School Meals & Pupil Premium

Who is entitled to free school meals?

Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive 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 Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit* and have an annual household income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
  • Universal Credit

*unless in the Working Tax Credit 'run on' - the payment someone may receive for a further 4 weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit.

Children who receive any of the qualifying benefits listed above in their own right are also eligible to receive free school meals.

What if my circumstances change?

You should notify the school of any changes:

  • if you start work and come off benefit
  • if you change address
  • if your child changes school

The school uses a cashless catering system in the dining room. This allows your son to purchase their free school meal in exactly the same way as any other pupil.

What is the Pupil Premium?

The school receives a Pupil Premium payment for students who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years; students who have been adopted from care or have left care and children who are looked after by the local authority. This additional funding will be invested in your child to help them achieve more at school.

We provide assistance with uniform, including sports kit and support with trips. If eligible for free school meals, you may also be entitled to claim other forms of assistance.

More information and how to apply online for Free School Meals is available on the Lincolnshire County Council website. Please feel free to contact the school with any questions you have.

Pupil premium strategy statement

The Education Endowment Foundation state:

“Good teaching is the most important lever schools have to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils”

School Overview

Metric Data
School name The King’s School
Pupils in school KS3 and 4 – 920, total pupils 1200
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils 16%
Academic year or years covered by statement 2022/23 – 2024/25
Date this statement was published  
Statement authorised by Mr S Pickett
Pupil premium lead Mr S Pickett

Funding Overview

Detail Amount
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year £65,010
Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year £18,216
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years £0
Total budget for this academic year £83,226

Disadvantaged Pupil Performance Overview for Last Academic Year of Public Examinations

Progress 8 0.38
English Baccalaureate entry 56%
Attainment 8 66.3
% Grade 5+ in English and maths 100%

 

Strategy Aims for Disadvantaged Pupils

Our intention is that all pupils, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face, make good progress and achieve high attainment across the curriculum, facilitating them moving to Level 3 Apprenticeships and University Entry.

We will consider the challenges faced by vulnerable pupils, such as those who have a social worker and young carers. The activity we have outlined in this statement is also intended to support their needs, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not.

High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support.  This is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap and at the same time will benefit the non-disadvantaged pupils in our school.  Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that non-disadvantaged pupils’ attainment will be sustained and improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers.

Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in robust diagnostic assessment, not assumptions about the impact of disadvantage.  The approaches we have adopted complement each other to help pupils excel. To ensure they are effective we will:

  • ensure disadvantaged pupils are challenged in the work that they are set
  • act early to intervene at the point need is identified
  • adopt a whole school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve
Aim Target Target date
Progress 8 Achieve top quartile for progress made by disadvantaged pupils amongst similar schools Sept 24
Attainment 8 Achieve top quartile for progress made by disadvantaged pupils amongst similar schools Sept 24
% Grade 5+ in English and maths Achieve average English and maths 5+ scores for similar schools Sept 24
Other Maintain above the national average for attendance. Sept 24
Ebacc entry Better national average EBacc entry for all pupils Sept 24

Teaching Priorities for Current Academic Year

Measure Activity
Priority 1 Standardisation of assessments in Key Stage 3 to provide reliable insights into the specific strengths and weaknesses of each pupil to help ensure they receive the correct additional support through interventions or teacher instruction: - Standardised tests | Assessing and Monitoring Pupil Progress | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF
Priority 2 Using and embed Accelerated Reader across Year 7 & 8 to ensure that reading is progressive and informed by ability.
Barriers to learning these priorities address Retaining key members of the English department.
Training in the use of Accelerated Reader.
Access to the library and software to ensure reading ages are tracked, monitored and catered for.
Projected spending £20,000

Targeted Academic Support for Current Academic Year

Measure Activity
Priority 1 Literacy interventions across KS3 for disadvantaged pupils making lower than anticipated progress.
Priority 2 Mathematics interventions across KS3 for disadvantaged pupils making lower than anticipated progress.
Barriers to learning these priorities address Low levels of progress in English and Mathematics
Projected spending £22,000

Wider Strategies for Current Academic Year

Measure Activity
Priority 1 Providing for the social and emotional well-being of pupils. Disadvantage students receive vouchers for uniform and sport kit. Vouchers worth £180 are allocated to all FSM, LAC children (given each year in July). PE Bag, Maths/Geometry sets provided Counselling and Mental Health support Technology support FSM meal supplement – 55p per pupil per day
Priority 2 Money is allocated to support pupils with all educational visits and additional resources such as English texts throughout the year.
Barriers to learning these priorities address Social barriers of financial ability to identify as a King’s student and access additional extra-curricular activities such as Duke of Edinburgh are reduced.
Projected spending £23,010

Monitoring and Implementation

Area Challenge Mitigating action
Teaching Ensuring enough time is given over to allow for staff professional development Use of INSET days and additional cover being provided
Targeted support Ensuring enough time for mathematics and literacy intervention Provide an allocated and monitored English and Mathematics intervention daily.
Wider strategies Review the admissions policy to ensure that Pupil Premium students are treated with equity. Pupil Premium students have an identified mechanism for admissions.

Review: Last Year’s Aims and Outcomes

Our assessment of the reasons for these outcomes points primarily to Covid-19 impact, which disrupted all of our subject areas to varying degrees. As evidenced in schools across the country, partial closure was most detrimental to our disadvantaged pupils, and they were not able to benefit from our pupil premium funded improvements to teaching and targeted interventions to the degree that we intended. The impact was mitigated by our resolution to maintain a high-quality curriculum, including during periods of partial closure, which was aided by use of online resources.

Our assessments demonstrated that pupil behaviour, wellbeing and mental health were significantly impacted last year, primarily due to COVID-19 related issues. The impact was particularly acute for disadvantaged pupils. We used pupil premium funding to provide wellbeing support for all pupils, and targeted interventions where required. We are building on that approach in our new plan.

Aim Outcome
Approach to admissions – increasing accessibility Achieved
Ensure that students have equal access to the school curriculum Achieved
Spending on existing/ new staff and administration Achieved

Where Next

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