Pupil Premium Strategy

At Ash Hill Academy we have a relentless desire that every student irrespective of background or prior attainment should make outstanding progress academically and gain a wealth of cultural capital and personal development experiences throughout their academic journey at Ash Hill Academy.

We understand that many students face barriers to their learning and as a learning community we work hard to overcome them. Some of these barriers can include:

Additional BarriersAcademic Barriers
Home Learning A higher percentage of disadvantaged students received detentions for lack of homework than non-disadvantaged students.Lower KS2 Attainment There are disproportionate number of lower prior attainment students which are disadvantaged than non-disadvantaged. This negatively impacts on the number of disadvantaged students achieving English and Mathematics (at grades 5-9).
Opportunity to Access Extra-Curricular Activities Fewer disadvantaged students access extra-curricular activities that non-disadvantaged students.Progress Gap There is a progress gap of +0.22 between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students nationally.
Attendance to Parents Evenings The attendance of disadvantaged students at parents evening and other events where parental participation is requested is lower than non-disadvantaged students.Higher Rates of Persistent Absentees There is a higher percentage of disadvantaged students who are persistent absent (absent for 10% or more sessions from school) than non-disadvantaged students.
Personal Development Many of our pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding do not have a wealth of cultural capital and personal development experiences.Lower Ebacc Entry There is a 26% gap between the current Ebacc entries for disadvantaged students compared to non-disadvantaged students nationally.

At Ash Hill Academy we have demonstrated how great teaching and careful planning can make a huge impact on the outcomes of disadvantaged children. Through evidence-informed planning teachers and leaders at Ash Hill Academy have combined findings from research with professional expertise to make informed decisions. We have been relentless in taking an evidence-informed approach to pupil premium spending by comparing how similar challenges have been tackled in other schools within the Trust and other schools locally and nationally, understanding the strength of evidence behind alternative approaches and considering the likely cost-effectiveness of a range of approaches. Using the Educational Endowment Fund research[1], Ash Hill Academy has implemented a tiered approach to pupil premium spending.

Quality First Teaching

Ash Hill Academy’s spending on improving teaching and implementing a knowledge rich curriculum has included professional development, training and support for early career teachers, combined with recruitment and retention of outstanding teachers. Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and that every teacher is supported to keep improving through quality continued professional development, is the key ingredient of our successful academy and is the top priority for our pupil premium spending.

Targeted Academic Support

Evidence consistently shows the positive impact that targeted academic support can have, including on those who are not making good progress across the spectrum of achievement. Ash Hill Academy uses teachers and teaching assistants to provide targeted academic support, in the form of structured one-to-one and small group intervention linked to classroom teaching, as a key component of our effective pupil premium strategy.

Wider Strategies

At Ash Hill Academy, wider strategies relate to our local communities’ significant non-academic barriers to success in school, including attendance, post 16 progression, aspirations, behaviour and social and emotional support are being addressed through our ambitious plan.

Our aim is to ensure at the heart of everything we do, the gap in attainment between pupil premium and non-pupil premium students is closed, that pupil premium students have access to the same knowledge and cultural capital as their peers and that levels of engagement in all aspects of school life are high.  We strive for all pupil premium students to have access to an extensive range of personal development opportunities in which pupils have access to a wide, rich set of experiences. These exceptional opportunities for disadvantaged student help them to develop their talents and interests and gain a love of learning. In essence, our mission is to provide our pupil premium students with an outstanding experience, allowing students to achieve their undoubted potential. Our goal is for all our students to leave us as happy, well-qualified, confident young adults who go on to excel in local sixth-forms, colleges, higher level apprenticeships, universities and the wider world.  

Finally, the academy has a relentless desire to ensure that pupil premium students have the same access to remote learning and distance learning during times of isolation as a result of COVID.