1. Introduction Southend Virtual School Looked After Children s Pupil Premium Policy 2015/16 The Pupil Premium Grant for looked after children is available for the financial year 2014-15 in order to raise the attainment of looked after children and support closing of the achievement and attainment gaps with their peers. Looked after children, nationally, have lower educational outcomes than all children. There exists a wide gap between their attainment and that of all children. Results for 2014 in Southend-on-sea show that at Key Stage 1, looked after children achieve broadly in line with their peers. However the gap at the end of Key Stage 2 for children achieving Level 4+ in Reading, Writing and Mathematics is -18%. The overall percentage of young people in care achieving 5 A*-C GCSEs including English and Mathematics increased to 20% however, the gap against all children nationally is -37%. As a borough we recognize that outcomes for our looked after children and young people are poor and that this needs to be addressed in order to improve their life chances. This policy and the arrangements for the Pupil Premium for looked after children from April 2015 are informed by the following key Department for Education (DfE ) documents 1. Pupil Premium Grant 2015 to 2016 Conditions of Grant 2. Promoting the educational achievement of looked after children July 2014 3. Pupil premium and the role of the Virtual School Head 2014-15 Frequently asked questions Throughout this policy, the pupil premium for looked after children will be referred to as Pupil Premium Plus to distinguish it from other forms of pupil premium allocations. The main changes are as follows:- Children and young people will be eligible from the first day they enter care, Local Authorities through the Virtual School Headteacher, continue to be responsible for distributing the Pupil Premium Plus payments for looked after children to schools and academies. In addition, Virtual School Headteachers are responsible for making sure there are effective arrangements in place for allocating Pupil Premium Plus funding to benefit children looked after by their authority. The overall grant allocated to each LA will be calculated on a per pupil basis. However, it does not have to be distributed on a per pupil basis, given that children and young people in care have differing levels of need at different stages whilst in care The grant must be managed by the Virtual School and used to improve outcomes and narrow the gap as identified in the Personal Education Plan (PEP) in consultation with the Designated Teacher. As a result, PEPs will be monitored even more closely by Designated Teachers, the Virtual School team, social workers, team leaders and Independent Reviewing Officers. Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 1
As a result of the above changes, our allocation process will move to a child s needs driven model managed through the completion of high quality PEPs. 2. Pupil Premium Plus Policy 2.1. Overarching principles underpinning our child s needs driven model The Virtual School Headteacher is responsible for the use of Pupil Premium Plus to improve outcomes for all children in our care, wherever they live (approximately 50% of Southend-on-sea looked after children are educated in schools outside of the borough) The funding will be provided according to the needs of the child, on the completion of a high quality PEP, each academic term The grant will not be used to pay for Virtual School management or administration or other Local Authority services Southend-on-sea Borough Council and the Virtual School Headteacher are corporate parents, so the question would this be good enough for my child? is central to making decisions regarding and evaluating the effectiveness of the use of Pupil Premium Plus In view of the variety of needs there may be a significant difference in the amount of Pupil Premium Plus allocated to schools. 2.3. Circumstances in which Pupil Premium Plus will not be provided Pupil Premium Plus will not be used to double fund or replace funding which should already have been allocated to the school to support the child and specifically; To fund services that should be provided via a statement, or EHC plan Other statutory work e.g. statutory assessment or support from health The interventions put in place do not require any funding The school s own funding covers the cost of the interventions The PEP action plan does not meet requirements (Please see PEP criteria, Appendix A) 3. Management and accountability The Headteacher of the Virtual School will be accountable to the Corporate Parenting Group for setting up a transparent and rigorous allocation process and ensuring maximised impact of the grant. 3.1. Personal Education Plans (PEPs) From April 2015 we will not require schools to submit a separate application form for Pupil Premium Plus. The PEP action plan will double up as the application for Pupil Premium Plus funding. However this will be reviewed in the light of practice. Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 2
The Pupil Premium Plus will only be provided to meet the needs identified in a high quality action plan in the PEP with clear SMART targets for academic improvement, underpinned by well-targeted support. (Please see SMART targets, Appendix B) The Pupil Premium Plus must be used to improve outcomes for children in the following areas in order of priority: Academic achievement and progress Wider achievement e.g. in an area in which the child is gifted and talented Attendance Inclusion (by reducing internal and external exclusion) Transition into the next key stage and/or a new learning provider Social Skills Mental health which includes overcoming the effects of attachment and developmental trauma, where this affects learning Out of hours activities that support any of the above The PEP will show the baseline data, and the action plan will contain the looked after child s targets for improvement, expected outcomes and cost of support. (Please see example Appendix B) Please note that national and international studies have shown the one to one tuition has a disproportionately positive impact for children in care. To aid transparency and audit we will fund one to one tuition with a qualified teacher at the standard rate of 30 per hour. For learners who start reception or year 7 in September 15, schools can apply for a maximum of 1260 to cover the period September 15 - March 16 unless the needs of the child/young person are such that they need an enhanced package of intervention. For learners in current year 6 or 11, the maximum grant that can be applied for is 630 to cover the period April 15- July 15 unless the needs of the child/young person are such that they need an enhanced package of intervention. For all other learners, schools can apply for a maximum of 1,900 unless the needs of the child/young person are such that they need an enhanced package of intervention. We have redesigned our Personal Education Plans with the new school based PEP being introduced from April 15. We will continue to consult with Designated Teachers and social workers on the design of the new PEPs to ensure it meets the needs of the child, ready for full implementation in September 2015. The new guidance suggests that PEPs should take place each term from April 2014, we did not implement this best practice last year however, and it is our expectation that schools will fulfil this guidance from April 2015. 3.2 Allocation of funding to Southend and Out of Borough Schools and recoupment policy The Pupil Premium Grant will be transferred three times a year June, November and February on receipt of a fully completed, high quality PEP in line with the PEP criteria sheet Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 3
Subsequent payments will be based on a high quality PEP and fully costed action plan Where there is a need to clarify the amount of funding a school is providing from its own resources, a school may need to provide this evidence before Pupil Premium Plus can be allocated. We will not recoup Pupil Premium Plus where a child moves during the term, unless the termly amount is greater than 630 We reserve the right to recoup the funding if there is evidence that the funding is not being used to address the looked after child s needs 3.3. Allocation of grant to out of borough residential providers and recoupment policy We will provide extra funding to independent providers to a maximum of 1900, this is because residential settings are already funded at a high level by central budgets to meet the needs of each looked after child. The Pupil Premium Grant allocation will have to be approved by the Virtual School Headteacher, on receipt of a high quality PEP and fully costed action plan. We reserve the right to recoup the funding if there is evidence that the funding is not being used to address the looked after child s needs 4. Pupil Premium Plus for Children and Young People from other Local Authorities Different approaches will be adopted by different Local Authorities, as their individual contexts vary so much, in terms of number of school-aged looked after children, the size of Virtual School Team s and any operational budget for the Virtual School Team s Southend schools who have on roll, children and young people in care from other Local Authorities must contact the Headteacher of the relevant Virtual School in order to request their Pupil Premium Plus policy, and allocation. The name and contact details of other Virtual School Headteachers can be requested from the Southend Virtual School Team. 5. Early Years Pupil Premium From April 2015, Virtual School Heads will also be responsible for managing the early years pupil premium (EYPP) for looked after children and its allocation to early years providers. Early years providers are any organisation that offers education for children under the age of 5, including nurseries and childminders. Looked after children become eligible for EYPP when they access and receive free early education from the term after they turn 3 years old. The amount allocated for EYPP is 302.10 for each eligible looked after child who is in receipt of the full 570 hours of state-funded early education. Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 4
Looked after children do not have to be in receipt of the full 570 hours of early education they are entitled to, in order to receive EYPP. 4 year old looked after children, who are in the Reception Year of a school will be entitled to the Pupil Premium Plus allocation of 1900. 5.1 Virtual School Headteachers Responsibilities The identification of the looked after children eligible for EYPP funding that live in the borough of Southend-on-sea Informing social care and the Early Years Team which looked after children are eligible for EYPP The allocation of the EYPP to ensure looked after children benefit from the funding as soon as possible. To work with settings to ensure EYPP meets the needs of each looked after child as identified in a high quality PEP and fully costed action plan. Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 5
Appendix A PEP Outstanding Good Requires Improvement Inadequate Student Voice Young person s views have been Young person s views have Young person s voice is partially Young person s voice is not recorded recorded using their own language been recorded recorded Young person s views have not been Evidence that young person s Young person s views have Young person s views have acted upon views have been acted upon been acted upon been partially acted upon Student s Educational Young person receives full curriculum entitlement at school Young person receives full curriculum entitlement at Some aspects of the young person s curriculum The young person does not receive curriculum entitlement Experience Evidence of a rich and varied school entitlement are missing Curriculum offered does not meet the (Full time experience at school Ready for a successful Curriculum offered partially young person s needs school/ alternative Ready for a successful transition to the next stage transition to the next stage meets the young person s needs Young person is not prepared for the next stage education Young person is not fully prepared for the next stage Student Progress Young person s progress is exceeding expectation Young person is making expected progress towards Young person is making limited progress Young person is not making sufficient progress Actions and SMART targets are meeting targets Actions and targets are not in Actions and targets are not in place to effective and will maintain present Actions and SMART targets are place to confidently close the close gaps level of progress in place to close the gaps in gap in Literacy or numeracy Previous PEP actions and targets have Previous PEP actions and SMART literacy and/or numeracy Previous PEP actions and had no impact on progress targets have had an outstanding impact on progress Previous PEP actions and SMART targets have had a positive impact on progress targets have a limited impact on progress Current attainment Current attainment for all subjects provided Current attainment for all subjects provided Current attainment for Literacy and numeracy provided Current attainment not provided Target Setting Target setting is highly aspirational and achievable, taking into account all aspects of the young person s life Target setting is aspirational and achievable, taking into account all aspects of the young person s life Target setting is not aspirational in all aspects of the young person s life Target setting is not achievable Target setting is not aspirational and set below expectations from young person s starting point. No targets set or only partially completed Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 6
PEP Outstanding Good Requires Improvement Inadequate Attendance Attendance is above 95% Attendance is between 92% Attendance is below 92% Attendance is below 92% Actions are in place to 95% maintain/improve this Actions are in place to maintain/improve this Actions are in place to improve this Actions are not in place to improve this or inadequate Graduated Personalised provision Personalised provision Some personalised provision Little or no personalised Response evidenced (including evidenced Outcomes positively provision evidenced external support) Outcomes positively affected affected Outcomes positively affected Pupil Premium Plus Use of PP+ funding is evidenced, its impact is Use of PP+ funding is evidenced and its impact is Use of PP+ funding is evidenced and its impact Use of PP+ funding and its impact is not evidenced measured and shows measured not evidenced PP+ spend is not specific to accelerated progress Detailed costing of PP+ Some costing of PP+ against targets set Clear, detailed costing of PP+ against SMART targets against SMART targets targets PP requested for specific interventions but not acted on PEP recording All relevant sections are completed in detail All relevant sections are completed Some relevant sections are incomplete Limited completion of each section PEP Actions All actions from the PEP are Actions from the PEP are Some actions from the PEP Few actions from the PEP are embedded in the PP+ action embedded in the PP+ action are embedded in the PP+ embedded in the PP+ action plan plan plan action plan Targets are not SMART Targets are not SMART Targets are SMART, fully meeting the needs of the young person Targets are SMART Alternative Education (where applicable) Alternative Education is used to enrich young people s educational experience, monitored, has a positive impact Literacy and numeracy are embedded in the curriculum Alternative Education is planned to meet identified needs, monitored, has a positive impact Literacy and numeracy are embedded in the curriculum Alternative Education contributes to young people s educational experience; monitoring is insufficient to ensure positive outcomes Literacy and numeracy are Alternative Education is not carefully planned or monitored Literacy and numeracy are not adequately addressed in the curriculum Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 7
Appendix B addressed in the curriculum SMART targets help all those involved with the looked after child to be successful. S.M.A.R.T. Term Definition Science/literacy example S Specific Say what is to be achieved very clearly To improve the spelling of key words in Science To improve behaviour To score /achieve a behaviour score of good Participation in class/taking risks To join in class discussions/questions M Measurable Tells you exactly what needs to be achieved/done A Achievable Something that can be done and by whom Key words spelt correctly in written work Practice 5 key words each week with foster carers To score Good In one subject that needs improving To put hand up or respond to teacher questions 3 times each lesson To join in favourite lesson R Relevant Will achieve the target Key words will be based on the topic being taught. Mathematics is the lesson that needs improving (eg geography) T Timed To be completed by a fixed time Once a week until end of term in end of year report Each lesson until end of term Southend Virtual School 2015 Page 8