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Deciding on effective pupil premium classroom strategies can be difficult, especially with so many options to test and consider. However, we have 3 pupil premium funding best practices that can alleviate pressure from teachers, and, most importantly, support pupil premium students inside and outside of school.
At Your Favourite Teacher, we offer targeted academic support to help close the knowledge gaps at your school. Keep reading to find out more and sign up to a demo below to learn about how the Your Favourite Teacher platform works.
What is Pupil Premium funding and what responsibility do schools have?
All publicly-funded schools in England receive extra funding that must be used to help disadvantaged pupils. Generally, the aim is to provide support to improve their progress, attendance and exam results.
Schools that receive this grant have the responsibility to track and record spending and evaluate the effectiveness of the measures put in place. This means that having an effective pupil premium spending plan is key.
Which schools are most effective?
The schools that use their pupil premium funding most effectively are the schools that allow teachers to put forward bids for the budget, and have a senior staff member who tracks this.
Additionally, it is vital for schools to track assessment and progress in detail. Collecting data provides concrete evidence of what is working well, and what isn’t. Schools that make the most out of the pupil premium budget are also those that act on this data regularly.
Methods to integrate into your Pupil Premium spending plan
1. Effective Intervention
Short term interventions are an excellent way to regularly help students whose progress has either slowed down or is behind expected levels. These interventions are typically termly bursts of teacher-led extra tuition, which can be taught in groups or individually.
6-week breakfast and after school wider strategies give an effective and efficient way to offer interventions. With Your Favourite Teacher, bespoke targeted academic support can be built to meet gaps in knowledge. Students will use high quality, pre-recorded lessons created by qualified teachers, followed by a quiz or assessment. This way, schools can collect sufficient data to measure impact.
2. Making the best use of teaching assistants
Next, teaching assistants should be used effectively in the classes that are most in need of support, especially classes with SEND students. Higher-level teaching assistants can also deliver learning to groups themselves if given appropriate planning time with teachers.
Our solution at Your Favourite Teacher is to get a small group licence for up to 40 SEND students, or our KS4 package for use in intervention groups. Using our high-quality courses, teaching assistants can support and supervise students with ease.
Enhanced support should also be offered to SEND students through timetabled 1:1 sessions using the Your Favourite Teacher platform. This will allow students to learn at their own pace in a less pressurised environment.
3. Supporting those who have missed education
Some pupil premium students can fall behind on attendance due to exclusions or medical absences. These students are particularly at risk of missing school as they often come from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
This can quickly lead to gaps in learning when core lessons are missed. Assessments and feedback can also be missed when students are absent for long periods.
With Your Favourite Teacher, missed learning can be avoided. Teachers can allocate YFT lessons to students with the click of a button, meaning they can complete lessons that are in line with topics usually covered in class. This will also allow teachers to monitor real-time progress and engagement, and ensure that they can provide further support where necessary.
Incorporate Your Favourite Teacher into your school’s Pupil Premium budget
Your Favourite Teacher combines knowledge and assessment to create the perfect learning companion. Looking to use Your Favourite Teacher as part of your school’s pupil premium budget?
Request a demo to see how we could help your school through targeted academic support and assist with wider strategies throughout the academic year. To discuss the sign up of your school, please contact sales@yourfavouriteteacher.com.