Pupil Premium

[brilliotic]

I know that Pupil Premium money is not ring-fenced, and can be used for things that benefit all children as long as it can be shown that it also benefits the PP children. (Though higher rate PP may be different - if anyone could clarify, that would be helpful too.)

But is there a boundary here? Or can a school basically subsume PP money into the general budget, and e.g. pay for playground improvements with it, as that will obviously also benefit the PP children?

If I have concerns about how a school is using PP money, and suspect that it is mostly being subsumed into the general budget - the PP spending report lists lots of whole-school spending such as said playground improvement, classroom TA employment, getting in outside providers for whole-school 'enrichment' things e.g. theatre production, buying general maths and literacy resources for the classrooms, buying in a progress-tracking system for all students, free after-school sports clubs open to everyone, SATS booster groups open to all Y6 children, - and minimal spending on the actual PP children (their school trips get paid for)

• is there anything I can do about that?

For background, my YR child attracts higher-rate PP for the school, so £2300 /year starting from this April.

Ofsted will be looking really really carefully at it - we've just been through a full inspection and he was all over our pupil premium figures demanding that everything on there was justified clearly as to the impact it was having on the children the pupil premium was allocated for (we could evidence all of this really strongly - it's very very carefully tracked and accounted for in our school).

I had to do a presentation on Pupil Premium, every year there is competition for the school who uses their PP in a way that improves the school.

The prizes are not money, but enrichment such as an afternoon with the London Symphony Orchestra, dance workshops, Historic England talking to you about how to incorporate local history into your curriculum.

I think people see PP as a specific thing to improve their child only, but statistics do not tell the whole story, just because a child attracts PP funding doesn't mean they are behind their peers. Just as children who are ESL aren't always behind either.

My own son benefited from speech therapy provided by the school and paid for from PP but he doesn't receive any PP.

Pantsy, sounds like your school do it as intended. Ours so clearly isn't. Unfortunately OFSTED hasn't been at ours for over a decade and isn't likely to appear anytime soon.

ElectricLions, what competition is this - is it a county thing?
As I said, I know PP is not ringfenced, however it is intended to help 'close the gap' so shouldn't be spent any which way either. It should be spent to help raise the attainment of PP children (as a group), so if it doesn't benefit PP children at all, then I suppose it is indeed mis-spent.

The higher-rate PP again is a bit different to regular PP I gather, however I am failing to get clarity on which differences are legal/statutory, and which are just guidance/best practice.

So failing OFSTED turning up for a surprise visit, is there anything that can be done if a parent has concerns over the school's PP spending/accounting?

Hi OP
Speak to the Chair of Governors. There should be a Governor with responsibility for PP.
PP spending is a huge part of Ofsted under the new regime and the school has to be able to show it is spent on specific children. Using it towards a TA's salary, for example, is no longer acceptable.
If the Governors aren't all over this like a rash at the moment the school has a problem.
Schools that haven't been inspected for years because they were rated Outstanding are now being targeted, so don't assume they won't be inspected.
Btw the best way to find out and change things for the better is to become a Governor.

Thanks DameCelia, is there any document you might be able to refer me to that spells this out?

Hi OP, have a look at the DfE guidance on pupil premium which explains things in detail. www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2018-to-2019/pupil-premium-2018-to-2019-conditions-of-grant

Also, there’s some really useful case studies from BAAF on how schools have used PP for adopted children here (click the link to pdf file at the end of the page) www.first4adoption.org.uk/adoption-support/education-support/pupil-premium/case-studies/
My child is also adopted and these case studies were helpful when I was talking to the school about what support she might need because the type of things were very different to the ways they had previously spent their PP for pupils eligible under FSM.

Thanks BadgerButty, I have read those case studies, I just feel it is going to be a very uphill battle.
Starting with, they don't feel the need to discuss this with me in the first place. (They don't technically have to.)

My children also attract the higher rate (post LAC) and one school is great and the other has dodged every question I've asked. My DC are both meeting/exceeding academically, but both struggle with unstructured times, transitions, friendships and my DS is not currently allowed to do PE or go outside at break time due to becoming dysregulated.

They wouldn't meet with me to discuss and just kept repeating that it wasn't ring-fenced.
So I emailed the Head of Governors and have a meeting with him next week. I found this document to be quite helpful regarding the difference between "normal" PP and PP+:

www.pac-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Pupil-Premium-Plus-Guide-booklet-V1.4.pdf

My DD's school on the other hand have pooled PP+ money (there are other LAC & PLAC in the school) to employ a play leader to help with friendships and head off problems at break times and have ELSA sessions to discuss recognising feelings and what makes a good friend. They also have a "calm down corner" where she can read a book for 5 minutes and paid for an Ed Psych assessment (most valuable thing we've done) and the associated sensory toys that were recommended.

That’s really tough. It sounds like you’re on an uphill battle if the school won’t discuss it with you.

Is there anything specific your child needs that you feel PP could / should be spent on? Is the SENCO any good at your school, could they be a way in to the school in terms of getting whatever help your child needs via PP funding?

Are there any other kids who attract the same premium, if so could you ask to meet together with the HT?

Other than that I think your options are limited to complaining to the Chair of Govs.

Does your school get a lot of money for PP (ie are there lots of PP kids?) sometimes when schools have high proportions of PP pupils - say 60% or higher then there is more of a tendency to ‘subsume’ PP and spend it on things that benefit all pupils because the majority of kids are PP and will therefore benefit.

One other option could be to try and engage the Virtual School Head in your LA. They have responsibility for LAC and I’ve got a vague idea that they may also have some responsibility for post-LAC too but might have this wrong. Maybe they could be some kind of leverage for getting the school to use its PP properly.

You probably already know but all schools are required (i.e. it’s statutory) to have a designated member of staff for looked after and previously looked after children. They would be the best person to try and speak to at school level. If school don’t have one or won’t let you speak to them you should definitely refer to Chair of governors as this is a massive failing on part of the school.

If you have a post adoption social worker they might also be able to facilitate a meeting with the HT to get them to acknowledge that PP needs to be used to support the needs of the eligible children such as yours.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683561/The_designated_teacher_for_looked-after_and_previously_looked-after_children.pdf

The Local Authority Virtual School Head is responsible for making sure LAC PP is used to benefit the child in line with their personal education plan. If the school is not doing this (and LAC PP is differently managed to PP), then contact the VSH at the local authority in the first instance.

PP+ is ring-fenced much more than PP. It has to be spent on that specific child.

Can I ask what the ELSA sessions are and also what a play leader does?

I know nothing about pupil premiums but would like to learn more. I've no idea what our school spends the money on, we have to pay for the annual school day trip each year, and for the coach to take the kids swimming in year 3 so they don't pay for those sorts of things. My dd has suspected ASD and ADHD and we're on the long road waiting for assessments. The school haven't been supportive and brush off any concerns I raise about how she's not coping. There's a lot of bullying at the school, someone like a play leader sounds great.

@Totostillrock Our school employ a play leader at lunchtimes. It's essentially a role where she keeps an eye on the small group of children who struggle at playtimes to maintain friendships and good behaviour. She thinks up games and keeps them active and entertained so they now don't tend to find themselves doing things that would get them in trouble before.

The Year 6 children also get chance to become "playleaders" and help the rest of the younger children who maybe don't have anyone to play with to engage in games or activities. It's transformed playtimes for us as we often had problems and since this haven't had a single one. My DD is also wanting to be a play leader next year and came up with lots of ideas for her application which show how much she's grown emotionally.

Information about ELSA is here: www.elsa-support.co.uk/about-elsa-support/

Hope this helps.

What does the school publish on their website to show how they spend their pupil premium? That is a statutory duty and expectation.

Have you seen a copy of the school budget? It is the responsibility of the governors to set and sign off the budget. You should also be able to pick a child on pupil premium and show exactly how monies were spent.

However you need to remember that the monies do not appear in the school accounts until the April following the September of the year. Although it does even out in the year that they leave.

Ds school have just been marked down on their Ofsted report for not spending pupil premium money to benefit the pupils it should benefit. At least 25% of pupils attract the premium.

PP+ is ring-fenced much more than PP. It has to be spent on that specific child.
I see that a lot, but haven't got anything official that I could take to school that shows this. I've seen that 'best practice' dictates that PP+ is accounted for separately too, as PP+ attracting children tend to have very different needs than standard PP children - so the money should be spent differently, and accounted for separately.
I did read somewhere semi-official that PP+ is not ringenced for the individual child, but is ringfenced for the cohort of PP+ children currently at the school. That allows for a child to benefit from a school's PP+ money even if they have just joined a new school and have not attracted any money that year; and for the money at their old school still needing to be spent on PP+ children, even if not on them themselves.
The first reaction I got when I asked about PP (I was alerting the school to the fact that their PP spending account on the website was very out of date, and asking for the newest one to be made available) was: "Thanks for alerting us to this oversight, you do know that PP is not ringfenced, right?"
So I need something in black and white, official.

Is the SENCO any good at your school, could they be a way in to the school in terms of getting whatever help your child needs via PP funding?
SENCO is the same person as the designated responsible for LAC/F-LAC. They are nice and will listen, but don't do anything. They had no idea that PP money was even available, let alone how to make best use of it, or processes. They said they would look into it but that was several months ago... nothing since.

There are not many PP at the school at all, but as it happens, right now there is a fairly large proportion of children attracting PP+, and more due to join. So there is actually a fairly large pot of money available, should be enough to employ a full-time TA specialising in developmental trauma, for example.

Thanks Badger anyway, all good advice. I'll seek another meeting with the designated person/Senco, get together with the other parents, and gently escalate.

OldBean
What does the school publish on their website to show how they spend their pupil premium? That is a statutory duty and expectation. Yes it is there on their website. It doesn't separate PP and PP+ though there was one child attracting PP+ already. Mine is just in reception, so money has been coming in for them since April this year, so obv no financial report yet; though they should update their spending plans soon.

The most recent report (2017-2018) to me reads like a bunch of post-fact made-up numbers tbh.
Around £18'000 for 14 children (PP and PP+ combined)
Spent:
£2000 to fully fund residential trips (that will have affected about 4-5 children. And our residential trips do NOT cost parents £400 per child)
£2000 for two free before/after school activities per PP child (the school's before/after school activities are free to all children, don't know how that can cost them £2000)
£2000 for "Funding of materials to assist learning of all children especially in Maths and Science."
£9000 for classroom TAs. The report states that they use the money to ensure that each class that has PP children in it will have a full-time TA. In fact that has not been the case, unless you count the 1-1s that are assigned an individual child due to SEN. The school has morning-only TAs in all classes except YR, and some 'mobile' TAs doing an afternoon here and another there, plus diverse 1-1s. I am pretty sure they would have those morning-TAs anyway, even without the PP funds. The school is financially very healthy.

Then there are
£1000 for small group maths/English work.
£2000 for an ELSA person (who is also a classroom TA) who supports individual children emotionally, self-esteem and confidence. (But hasn't seen any of the PP+ children this year). Never spoken to us to discuss what our child's needs might be. I've asked, and been told the ELSA person would be available if and when any 'needs' surfaced at school.

I honestly think the school would be in trouble if OFSTED turned up.

Can you ring ofsted?

Oh and the planned spending for 2018-19 includes over £5000 for building an outdoor classroom, and £2000 for a theatre production company coming in, and a visiting artist on 'arts day' - both whole-school events

*10.1 Use of the LAC premium
The LAC premium must be managed by the designated virtual school head (VSH) in the local authority that looks after the child, and used without delay for the benefit of the looked-after child’s educational needs as described in their personal education plan.

The VSH should ensure there are arrangements in place to discuss how the child will benefit from pupil premium funding with the designated teacher or another member of staff in the child’s education setting who best understands their needs. Processes for allocating funds to a child’s education setting should be as simple as possible to avoid delay*

From here

Can you ring ofsted?

I don't know, can I? I mean, does anybody know if that is likely to have any effect whatsoever?

That is the official document I think.

Contact the Virtual School Head at the LA. They are responsible for this.

FallenMadonna,
thanks, I came across that too. Unfortunately there are no LAC children at the school, the higher-rate PP applies to previously LAC in this case, and is managed by the school I believe.
Previously LAC don't by default get a PEP either.