Research School Network: Disadvantage in the South West By Dave Fordon, Pupil Premium Lead at St Bartholomew’s CofE Primary School.

St Bartholomew’s CofE Primary School is a member of the Quantock Education Trust. At the school, 21% of children are on the SEND register, and 32.9% are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding. Notably, 35% of those receiving Pupil Premium funding are also on the SEND register. Given this overlap, it has been crucial for the School SENCO, Lucy Edwards, and me to work closely together. The attendance rate for children in receipt of Pupil Premium funding was 93.38% during the 2023 – 2024 academic year.

The SENCO and I attended Somerset and Gloucestershire Research Schools’ Tackling Disadvantage Conference in November, where we focused on creating a Pupil Premium strategy statement for the new three year plan. The conference emphasised the importance of a collaborative approach within the school, involving all staff in shaping the Pupil Premium Strategy.

Throughout the year, the Headteacher and I also participated in the South West Disadvantaged Network Meetings, which supported the implementation within school. Marc Rowland, from Unity Research School, stressed the importance of identifying barriers for children receiving Pupil Premium funding ​“in the eyes of the learner,” leading to staff collaboration in identifying specific barriers for children in their classrooms. During professional development meetings, our teaching staff discussed the challenges faced by children receiving Pupil Premium funding to ensure the key barriers and strategies to reduce these were specific to our children.

According to The EEF Guide to Pupil Premium, it is crucial to understand the children ​‘inside and out’ to best support them, beyond just their data and background. Teachers identified the barriers perceived for children eligible for Pupil Premium funding, determining what we can and cannot help with, providing insights on effectively supporting each unique child. Our Headteacher, Gemma Coward, collaborated with other Attendance Champions across the South West through the South West Attendance Network, while the SENCO worked with Malcolm Reeve, National SEND Leader. Using a method identified in the South West Network meetings, we aimed to improve attendance within our school. 

Existing research, synthesised in the attendance section of the EEF website, suggests that building a culture of community and belonging supports school attendance. We identified children from under-resourced backgrounds and created the Belonging Project, underpinned by our school Christian virtues, where every vulnerable or persistently absent child was greeted by every staff member daily to enhance the culture of community within our school.

With the collaborative approach and an understanding for the need for equity, all members of staff can identify children who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding and recognise specific barriers for individual children, providing the specific support necessary. As a result of the implementation so far, 60% (3 out of 5) of persistently absent children in receipt of Pupil Premium funding have improved their attendance since the introduction of the Belonging Project:

• Child A: 63.2% to 70.83%
• Child B: 59.7% to 79.1%
• Child C: 82.4% to 100%

Case studies have been created within our school to share the support provided and the progress made. The case study below highlights a child eligible for Pupil Premium funding who has made strong progress since the start of the year:

Through a firm commitment from all staff to reduce suspensions, collaboration with and referral to additional agencies and staff members identifying specific barriers, suspensions have been reduced over the last three academic years. In the 2022/23 academic year, there were 15 suspensions, all linked to under-resourced backgrounds. In the 2023/24 academic year, there were 9 suspensions, again all linked to children from under-resourced backgrounds. To date, in the 2024/25 academic year, there have been 2 suspensions for children from under-resourced backgrounds.

Within this data set, it is important to note the number of children supported within mainstream until places were allocated in appropriate specialist provision.

• Inset time is being used to create an overview based on the Secondary Equity Scorecard
• The links between a discretely taught Character education, the Equity Scorecard and outcomes for those from under resourced backgrounds are being explored
• Continuation of the Character Connections Club and belongings project