When making decisions about use of the Pupil Premium funding spend at St Augustine’s it is important to consider the context of our school and the subsequent barriers faced by our pupils. There is no expectation that all Pupil Premium children will receive identical support. Some will need more than others and each child is individual with individual circumstances. The school considers how to allocate our funding on an annual basis, following data analysis, identified areas on the school development plan and the careful consideration of the needs of the pupils within this group.

At St Augustine’s we adopt an evidence informed approach to spending, in particular taking advice from the Education Endowment Foundation. We use Pupil Premium funding to improve quality first teaching therefore benefiting all students. We select a number of priorities to help aid in our success and follow a tiered approach to spending:

• Quality of teaching for all
• Targeted support
• Whole school wider strategies

We identify the barriers using data, observations and feedback from subject leaders and staff to aid us in identifying in school and external barriers to learning. From this we then identify key desired outcomes trying to limit the number of focused areas to aid in making them achievable.

The original phrase ‘Cultural Capital’ comes from the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in the 1970s. He believed the more ‘capital’ you had, the more powerful your position could be in society. This also correlated with Karl Marx’s theory on fiscal capital – the more capital you had the better off you were in life.

In our school setting, we see Cultural Capital as the essential knowledge that pupils need to become educated citizens. Cultural Capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours and skills that a student can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence

At our school we view improving children’s Cultural Capital as a way of enriching the lives of our young people. We endeavour to provide our pupils with as many enrichment opportunities as we can to develop their life experiences. In tandem with our mission at St Augustine’s we strive to ensure all our pupils fulfil their potential: spiritually, morally, academically, mentally and physically.

We aim to enrich our pupil’s school experience to develop as educated citizens by creating an environment where they are encouraged to be the best they can be in everything they do.

Cultural Capital involves providing pupils opportunities to explore new skills and experiences that nurture resilience, curiosity and creativity.

Through our curriculum we provide a number of planned enrichment opportunities across the year which include:

• Caring for our planet
• Safer Internet day
• National Health Week
• Black History Month
• Careers and Aspirations fair
• The Fiver Enterprise Challenge

The progress and achievement of all our children is monitored on a regular basis. Information from lesson observations, pupil’s books, pupil voice, feedback from subject leaders and staff voice also inform our analysis and help us to evaluate the impact of the spending, making any changes where necessary to increase effectiveness.

The school evaluates the impact of spending at the end of each academic year and this is then reported at the end of the following years Pupil Premium Strategy.

Please see links below to view our current Pupil Premium Strategy.

We want to make sure that we are providing your child with the best education and support we can.

Families who receive certain benefits may be eligible for free school meals. Your child is eligible for free school meals if you’re in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400.
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190

Registering for free meals could also raise an extra £1,480 for the next academic year 2024-25  for your child’s primary school to fund valuable support like extra tuition, additional teaching staff or school activities.

This additional money is available from central government for every child whose parent is receiving one of the benefits listed above.

To check if your child is eligible visit the online application process website by clicking the link below:

Free school meals and extra pupil premium funds for schools - Introduction - Coventry City Council

If you require help with the application process, then please pop into school, and we will be help to assist.