Funding Information
PUPIL PREMIUM GRANT – WOODLANDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE 24-25
What is the pupil premium grant (PPG)?
The pupil premium grant is a sum of money given to schools each year by the government (introduced in April 2011) to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap with their peers, and to support pupils with parents in the regular armed forces.
Is your child eligible?
If your child fits into one of the following three categories, then your child eligible to receive support from the PPG:
Free School Meals and Ever 6:
The PPG for 2024-25 will include pupils recorded in the January 2024 census who are known to have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) in any of the previous six years (i.e. since summer 2018), as well as those first known to be eligible in January 2017.
Children in care / adopted from care or who have left care:
The PPG for 2024-25 will include pupils recorded in the January 2024 census and alternative provision census who were looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted, or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangement order (previously known as a residence order).
Ever 5 service child:
Pupils who have a parent / carer in the armed services, or have been within the last five years, or have a parent / carer in receipt of a service pension.
How to claim your child’s pupil premium grant
Your child may be eligible for free school meals (and therefore the pupil premium grant) if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Income support
- Income based jobseekers’ allowance
- Income related employment and support allowance
- Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of state pension credit
- Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16 190 or less
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
If you are unsure, please contact Sarah Healey (sarah.healey@woodlands.southampton.sch.uk) or call 02380 463303 and we can help you complete all necessary forms to register your child as eligible.
How much is the Woodlands pupil premium grant?
Woodlands Community College has received £477,750 within the school’s budget allocation for the pupil premium for 2024-25.
How is the Woodlands’ pupil premium grant spent?
This funding is used to increase the outcomes for our most vulnerable students. We invest money in making sure we support issues around attendance, literacy, behaviour, progress and attainment and the specific needs of our looked-after children.
The document below details how Woodlands uses its pupil premium grant. Rigorous analysis of performance gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers enabled the identification of three priorities:
- Improving the attendance of our disadvantaged students
- Improving the outcomes of our disadvantaged students
- Improving the behaviour and welfare of our disadvantaged students
There is no single strategy that makes an overall positive difference to the progress and life chances of disadvantaged pupils. It is the coherence of the school’s approach that enables us to narrow the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils, although this remains a focus as part of the school’s development plan. Senior leaders set aspirational targets for disadvantaged pupils and do not accept disadvantage as a reason for poor performance – a message consistently communicated to staff. The strategy has been created using National research projects evidenced as having an impact of progress of disadvantaged pupils. This is evidenced throughout the strategy as +..months
All tutors and teachers are aware of who the PPG eligible pupils within their classes are, and they personalize their planning for these pupils by using specific teaching and learning strategies to maximize progress within lessons. For some pupils, one-to-one or smaller group academic interventions are more effective, and therefore implemented to ensure academic gaps are bridged.
The Woodlands pastoral team prioritizes and targets our vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils for emotional support and puts significant emphasis on resilience, motivation and good mental health. The pastoral team works with outside agencies, where appropriate, to support pupils, including during the school day.
The effectiveness of the pupil premium grant spending is measured through Ofsted inspections and termly key performance indicators.
Nicola Iverson is responsible for the Woodlands pupil premium strategy, and reviews the document annually and reports this to governors, the Headteacher and other members of the Woodlands senior leadership team
Parental contact
Any parental queries regarding the pupil premium grant please contact the Assistant Headteacher, responsible for the Woodlands pupil premium strategy, Helen O’Leary (helen.oleary@woodlands.southampton.sch.uk)
Date of the next review of the Woodlands pupil premium strategy
September 2025
Woodlands full PPG Strategy Document can be downloaded here.