At times, deciding how to spend Pupil Premium funding can feel overwhelming. With more families falling into poverty, and budgets already thinly stretched, there is immense pressure to make sure all funds available are used well.
There’s no “one size fits all” approach to supporting pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, but there are supports available to make the decision-making process more manageable for school leaders, and to ensure our strategies have a meaningful impact for target children.
The EEF’s tiered model has stood the test of time because school leaders have found it to be a helpful way to begin navigating the complexities of managing Pupil Premium spending.
Diagnosing the needs of our pupils
Before using the Tiered Model, leaders should firstly seek to diagnose the needs of eligible children in their setting. As Marc Rowland argues, the key to unlocking the potential of your Pupil Premium is grounded in a deep understanding of the context of your local community and relationships with children and their families.
The process of careful diagnosis of individual pupil’s needs under the Pupil Premium umbrella should be a collaborative process. Engaging with the child’s family and their teachers helps to paint a more detailed picture about the child’s life and needs.
In addition to information about a child’s attainment, the EEF’s Guide to the Pupil Premium advises consideration of broader factors, including:
- attendance;
- engagement and participation;
- behaviour;
- well-being, mental health and safeguarding.
Moving from overwhelmed to empowered
Once you have a detailed diagnosed the needs of children at your setting, you can communicate what disadvantage means within your context, building a shared understanding across your school. High-quality teaching is of course our most important lever, but you can consider a tiered approach as highlighted in the EEF’s Guide to the Pupil Premium.
1. High quality teaching
The first priority the tiered model asks us to consider is high-quality teaching. But what works best to develop this?
The guidance suggests considering investment into:
- Building educators’ expertise in teaching and effective assessment, to create a knowledge-based curriculum that meets the needs of all children;
- Providing professional development for evidence-informed approaches (for example, those listed in the Early Years or Teaching and Learning Toolkit);
- Mentoring and coaching; and
- Staff recruitment and retention.
2. Targeted academic support
Secondly, evidence shows interventions can be an effective use of funding, as a supplement to high-quality practice.
The Teaching and Learning Toolkit provides a summary of the best available evidence for teaching approaches. Use this evidence, alongside your detailed diagnosis, to decide which approaches are both relevant and practical for your setting.
3. Wider support strategies
Finally, consider what other factors may be influencing children’s development and progress. Some ‘best bets’ from research evidence include:
- Support for their social, emotional and behavioural needs;
- Access to breakfast clubs or meal provision;
- Parental support and the home learning environment.
4. From diagnosis to making a difference
Thinking beyond the ‘disadvantage’ label enables us to focus on what we do know: our local community, the children and their families. This knowledge, in conjunction with the updated EEF’s Guide to Pupil Premium provides a clear structure for leaders to apply to their approach.