At St Mark’s we are committed to the early identification of all those students who are at risk of not achieving their potential academic progress, whatever the cause. Sadly, there is a ‘gap’ in achievement nationally, and this is even more marked in Wiltshire. The Pupil Premium money is used at St Mark’s with the high goal of eliminating this gap and the minimum standard of narrowing it. We recognise that this is a challenge, but we are determined. We also recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged.

At St Mark’s we do this by:

• Supporting the whole family
• Knowing the children, understanding their circumstances, knowing their needs, capturing the whole picture – whether they are looked after, from service families or from any vulnerable group. Disadvantage comes in many forms.
• Responding to individual needs – particularly through quality first teaching
• Providing access to a specialists from across the campus and external providers
• Providing a specialist ELSA (Emotional Literacy Supprt Adviser)
• Clarity on behaviour expectations
• Fostering collaborative learning, peer tutoring and group work
• Providing opportunities or resources to find and develop skills in wide areas in addition to core subjects (sports, ICT, cookery, gardening, arts, music, etc)
• Taking especial care that these children are receiving clear feedback
• Small groups are used (where possible and appropriate) to provide targeted support
• Working in an atmosphere that encourages engagement:
• Making sure that
  • everyone knows their steps for success in each lesson
  • each student assesses their own understanding before and after
  • all students know what they’re learning, how and why they’re learning it and, of course, where all teaching is good or better.

We reserve the right to allocate the Pupil Premium funding to support any pupil or groups of pupils the school has legitimately identified as being vulnerable. Pupil Premium funding is allocated following a needs analysis which will identify priority classes, groups or individuals. Limited funding and resources means that not all children receiving free school meals will be in receipt of Pupil Premium funded interventions at any one time.

We aim to remove any stigma that may be attached (or perceived to be attached) to accepting help.