Care Respect Inspire
Pupil Premium
Pupil premium strategy statement – Pensby High School
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery 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 outcomes for disadvantaged pupils last academic year.
School overview
| Detail | Data |
| Number of pupils in school | 883 |
| Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils | 23.75% |
| Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended) | 2022-2025 |
| Date this statement was published | 21st December 2022 |
| Date on which it will be reviewed | 1st December 2025 |
| Statement authorised by | K Flanagan Headteacher |
| Pupil premium lead | H Davies Senior Deputy |
| Governor / Trustee lead | S Rowe/R Henshaw Co-Chair of governors |
Funding overview
| Detail | Amount |
| Pupil premium funding allocation this financial year | £203, 590 |
| Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year | £48,576 |
| Pupil premium (and recovery premium*) funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) *Recovery premium received in academic year 2021 to 2022 can be carried forward to academic year 2022 to 2023. Recovery premium received in academic year 2022 to 2023 cannot be carried forward to 2023 to 2024. | £0 |
| 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 | £252, 165 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
| Outcomes for all students at Pensby Hish School are good. As a school progress for all students is 0.19 (Progress 8) whereas national and local Progress 8 is –0.03 for all students. These outcomes are mirrored for disadvantaged pupils as disadvantaged pupils at Pensby High School progress at a faster rate than similar schools locally and nationally. Progress 8 for disadvantaged students nationally is –0.55, in the Wirral LA –0.67, whilst at Pensby progress is higher at –0.3. 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 to enable them to succeed in their future education and career goals. The focus of our pupil premium strategy is to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve that goal regardless of their starting points. High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on funding coaching and targeted professional development to allow staff to develop quality first teaching in their curriculum areas. This strategy is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantaged attainment gap as it directly benefits all learners. Our strategy is also integral to wider school plans for education recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, notably in its aims to support students to recover lost learning due to gaps in education as well as supporting the emotional mental health and wellbeing of pupils impacted as a result of COVID-19. Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in strong pastoral support alongside diagnostic assessment, to ensure pupils individuals needs are supported. 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: |
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
| Challenge number | Detail of challenge |
| 1 | The attendance of disadvantaged pupils is often lower than non-disadvantaged students. Attendance data shows that nationally in 2021-22 disadvantaged students missed 14.2% of sessions due to absence in contrast to Pensby High School where disadvantaged pupils missed 2.5% less sessions than disadvantaged students nationally with 11.7% of sessions missed. As a school we are fighting to maintain our attendance in line with or better than national attendance and continue to strive to improve the attendance of disadvantaged students in school. |
| 2 | Progress in Maths, English and overall P8 which is the highest for disadvantaged students in mixed non-selective schools in the local area. The attainment of disadvantaged pupils in our open bucket is lower than some of the similar local schools at 11.1. |
| 3 | Outcomes in at Pensby were unusual in 2022 because boys progress was significantly higher than local and national progress. National progress for boys was –0.21/ Wirral LA progress was –0.25 whereas as boys progress at Pensby was +0.26. This is mirrored in the outcomes of disadvantaged progress which is higher than both national and national. The school challenge is to close the progress gap for disadvantaged girls (-0.65) compared to non -disadvantaged girls (0.07). |
| 4 | On entry assessments, observations and discussions with KS3 pupils indicate that disadvantaged pupils generally have lower levels of reading, comprehension and maths than their peers. This impacts their progress in all subjects. On entry to Year 7 this year, 61% of pupils were below age-related expectations. Of these 61%, 37% % were disadvantaged. Whilst the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged has closed from 2019 moving from -0.5 to -0.34 the average gap across the last 4 examined years 2017-2022 is -0.17. |
| 5 | Things are harder for our families. External factors have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable families in our community. Pupil premium funding is used to provide support for all. Our observations and discussions with pupils and families have identified social and emotional issues for many pupils, such as anxiety, depression (diagnosed by professionals) and low self-esteem. This is partly driven by concerns regarding future prospects and stability of home environments. These challenges particularly affect disadvantaged pupils, in particular girls according to 2022 cohort data, including attainment. Pastoral referrals for support remain high. 40% of students in 2021-2022 had access mentoring or counselling in school. |
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 |
| Improve attendance among disadvantaged pupils, including disadvantaged students who are persistently or severely absent to reduce the gap. | We are fighting to maintain attendance at national attendance. In the local authority attendance in non-selective schools is significantly below national – at Pensby High school our attendance is in line with national attendance (91.2% National State Secondary attendance Sept 22-5th Dec 2022) 91.2% Wirral and significantly higher than North West attendance 84.7%. The aim is to improve on 2021-2022 outcomes and to continue to be in line with national data and continue to increase PP attainment. |
| Improved attainment among disadvantaged pupils across the open bucket at the end of KS4, particularly in separate sciences and vocational subjects. | By the end of the current plan in 2024/25 attainment of disadvantaged pupils in all areas to exceed progress of pupil premium students nationally and close the progress gap between pupil premium and non-pupil premium students. |
| Improved progress among disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged girls. | By the end of the current plan in 2024/25 to improve the progress of pupil premium girls and close the progress gap between pupil premium girls and non-pupil premium girls. |
| Improved reading, comprehension and mathematical literacy among KS3 students. | Reading and maths tests demonstrate an improvement in reading age and understanding of basic maths skills from baseline key stage 2 data to reduce the number of students who are significantly behind their peers in their core skills. |
| To achieve and sustain improved wellbeing for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. | Support high levels of wellbeing by 2024/25 demonstrated by: Qualitative data from student voice surveys. Outcome reports from mosaic mentoring/mentoring. Participation rates in enrichment activities, particularly among disadvantages pupils. |
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: £ [£72,870]
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| Enhancement of quality first teaching of all students and review of curriculum pathways and provision to ensure guided learning hours meet needs of curriculum areas. We will fund school improvement advisors to support English, Science, Business and Sports BTEC to help embed guidance in school and fund teacher release time in Maths to support CPD work with the Maths Hub. We will fund our coaching programme to ensure quality first teaching and CPD supports staff to develop their individual areas of teaching and learning. | Excellence in Maths is supported by ASMP to enhance Maths provision at KS3/4 11-16 Maths – AMSP Excellence in Science is supported through STEM improvement partnerships Secondary and A level science (stem.org.uk) We identify this strategy working because despite being a secondary modern school the progress of students is consistently the highest in the authority when compared with similar schools. outcome of this Pensby was the only non-selective school in the LA where students had a + P8 in Maths in 2018 (0.13) and 2019 (0.07) and 2022 (0.12). Overall boys progress (43% of cohort) was positive for the last 3 years of validated data (2017 0.04, 2018 0.14, 2019 0.14, 2022 0.26 highlighting an increasing trend and the impact of the interventions on supporting students to access the curriculum. The November 2021 IDSR noted: (I) ‘Science value added (0.6) was significantly above the national average and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019’; (ii) ‘The percentage achieving grade 4+ in science (78%) was in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019’ . This figure relates to all schools and not non-selective schools in ‘highly selective’ areas. The last three years of validated data highlight the year on year increases in P8 (2017 –0.26, 2018 0.26, 2019 0.60, 2022 +0.29). 2022 progress is the highest progress 8 in the local authority for similar schools. These progress outcomes are also related to the schools focus on professional development and quality first teaching to improve outcomes for all learners. Funding of coaching to focus on continual improvement in teaching and learning has been identified as having an impact on outcomes. https://www.theocm.co.uk/educate/manager-coach/coaching-fundamentals The DFE has cited the impact of coaching in schools on developing excellence and accountability of teachers over their own CPD: Coaching for teaching and learning: a practical guide for schools – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) | 1,2,3,4 |
Targeted academic support
Budgeted cost: £ [£68,886]
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| We will fund the purchase of standardised diagnostic reading assessments, Phonics Ruth Miskin programme and Complete Maths programme. Training provision for staff to ensure all assessments are interpreted effectively and intervention is effectively managed. We will fund 1-1 surplus staff intervention to support closing gaps in knowledge and skills. | Standardised tests, including NGRT, Ruth Miskin and Complete Maths can provide reliable insights into the specific strengths and weakness of each pupil to help ensure they receive the correct support through interventions or teacher instruction. We identify this strategy working because despite being a secondary modern school the progress of students is consistently the highest in the authority when compared with similar schools. outcome of this Pensby was the only non-selective school in the LA where students had a + P8 in Maths in 2018 (0.13) and 2019 (0.07) and 2022 (0.12). Overall boys progress (43% of cohort) was positive for the last 3 years of validated data (2017 0.04, 2018 0.14, 2019 0.14, 2022 0.26 highlighting an increasing trend and the impact of the interventions on supporting students to access the curriculum. About NGRT – GL Assessment (gl-assessment.co.uk) Home – Ruth Miskin Literacy Complete Mathematics – Home (completemaths.com) | 2,3,4 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £ [60,037]
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| Continued developed of the Mosaic Mentoring programme, emotional wellbeing mentoring and the funding of a family advocate to support all students impacted by school based and home-based issues both COVID elated and other. We will fund two additional wellbeing mentors to support the increased need for 1-1 mentoring support. We will fund supported places for work experience for disadvantaged students in Year 11 through EMPLOY services. | The Prince’s Trust Mosaic mentoring programme has an impact on reducing barriers disadvantaged students have when accessing careers and wider Post 16 and employment opportunities. The impact of this can be identified through the individual case studies of students engaged in the programme which had an impact on a variety of factors: attendance, attainment, destination, suspensions & exclusions. Mosaic moves to The Prince’s Trust | News and views | About The Trust | The Prince’s Trust (princes-trust.org.uk) | 1,5 |
| To improve attendance of all students, including disadvantaged. We will fund leadership support for attendance across the pastoral team to ensure attendance remains a key focus to support wider issues around attainment and well-being. Pastoral staff will be given time in CPD sessions to develop and implement new procedures. | The DFE guidance has been informed by engagement with schools that have significantly reduced persistent absence. Working together to improve school attendance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Pensby High School will embed these guiding principles into practice. We have identified these strategies as having a significant impact on outcomes due to attendance outcomes which both as a school and pupil premium cohort are consistently above national. Disadvantaged students in 2021-2022 missed 14.2% of sessions nationally but at Pensby they missed 11.7% sessions. | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Funding will be put in place to support with extra-curricular provision to ensure barriers are removed to access clubs, trips and allow access to wider learning resources. Funding will also be provided for acute issues as required. | Based on our experiences and those of similar schools, we have identified a need to set an amount aside to ensure access to extra-curricular opportunities and to support wider emergency needs. Extra- curricular participation is identified by the DFE as integral for increasing social mobility: Extracurricular activities to develop life skills – findings and lessons for practice (publishing.service.gov.uk) At Pensby High School pupil premium students get 100% of Duke of Edinburgh costs covered and 50% of all other trips.* As a result there a high percentage on engagement of pupil premium students engage in extra-curricular clubs and/or trips. | 1,5 |
Total budgeted cost: £ 201,793
Part B: Review of the previous academic year Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils
Disadvantaged pupils at Pensby High School progress at a faster rate than similar schools locally and nationally. Progress 8 for disadvantaged pupils nationally is –0.55* in the Wirral LA –0.67 whilst at Pensby progress is higher at –0.3. The North West Progress 8 score for all pupils was –0.16. This data also reflects significant reduction in the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils since last external set of examinations in 2019 evidencing the impact of the previous school pupil premium strategy on outcomes.
Outcomes in at Pensby were unusual in 2022 because boys progress was significantly higher than local and national progress. National progress for boys was –0.21/ Wirral LA progress was –0.25 whereas as boys progress at Pensby was +0.26. This is mirrored in the outcomes of disadvantaged progress which is higher than both national and national. The group most significantly impacted in 2022 was disadvantaged girls which was a group in school supported through a significant number of strategies outlined in this and the previous pupil premium strategy.
The attainment of disadvantaged students at Pensby High school is also higher than national and similar schools in the local authority. The Attainment 8 score for disadvantaged students nationally is 37.5 and 34.8 in the local authority. At Pensby the Attainment 8 score for disadvantaged pupils is higher than both national and local at 37.7. The gap between the Progress 8 and Attainment 8 scores of our disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils has been converse to the national trend and has reduced since the start of the pandemic.
We attribute the outcomes to a range of strategies which have had an impact on attainment and progress. Including:
The impact of this on attendance figures, wellbeing and attainment cannot be always extrapolated from each other but the outcomes regarding attainment and attendance for disadvantaged pupils are higher than that on similar schools locally and nationally highlighting the significant impact of the provisions across the school.
(https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-return-of-school-league-tables-7-key-findings/)
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you used your pupil premium (or recovery premium) to fund in the previous academic year.
| Programme | Provider |
| Mosaic Mentoring- Princes Trust | Mosaic moves to The Prince’s Trust | News and views | About The Trust | The Prince’s Trust (princes-trust.org.uk) |
| ASMP Maths | 11-16 Maths – AMSP |
| Ruth Miskin Phonics | Home – Ruth Miskin Literacy |
| Mploy Services | https://www.mploysolutions.co.uk |
Service pupil premium funding (optional)
| For schools that receive this funding, you may wish to provide the following information: How our service pupil premium allocation was spent last academic year Funding was allocated across all disadvantaged students and service students as outlined in the report above. 1.5% of the student population receive service pupil premium allocation. |
Pensby High School
Irby Road, Heswall CH61 6XN
Irby Road, Heswall CH61 6XN
Tel: 0151 342 0570
Fax: 0151 342 0571
Email: schooloffice@psf.wirral.sch.uk
Headteacher: Mr K Flanagan