• Lack of time, space resources and support for working at home.
• Lack of technology to access e-learning sites.
• Lack of enrichment opportunities.
• Poor literacy and numeracy skills.
• High mobility – where pupils have attended several primary or secondary schools.
• Low self-esteem.
• Low aspiration.
• Poor attendance and punctuality.
• Challenging behaviour.
• Social/community issues.

The strategy covers teaching priorities, targeted academic support and wider strategies.

1. Pupil Support – Teaching

• Extra staff hours to allow smaller groups in English, Maths and Science.
• In class support, intervention and one to one pre tutoring.
• Focus on responsive teaching to meet the needs of all students.
• Focus on independent study skills and knowledge retrieval.
• Focus on the recovery curriculum- Safety, Trust, Learning.
• Blended Learning as and when required

   2. Pupil Support – Curriculum Enrichment and Pastoral Support

• Out of Hours Learning and educational visits
• Gifted and Talented programmes e.g. The Brilliant Club, Aim Higher
• Accelerated Reading Programme.
• Student support.
• Behaviour and pastoral support programmes
• Recovery Tuition

3. Pupil Support – Music Tuition
4. Pupil Support – Study support and learning to learn

• Metacognition, revision programmes and packs e.g., ‘Learning Scientists’ and ‘Flipped Learning’, and Knowledge Organisers.
• Extended Learning and ‘Satchel One’.
• Learning Programmes -Languagenut, My Maths, Maths Watch, Hegarty, Seneca, Flash Academy

5. Pupil Support – Individual Resources (via dept bids)
6. Pupil Support –  Pastoral and external agencies

• IIAG Advisor, Education Welfare and Emotional Well-Being support worker.

Year 11 2020-21 – 54% of students at Hillcrest were eligible for pupil premium funding

The impact on educational achievement arising from Pupil Premium expenditure are the outcomes for disadvantaged students, as demonstrated in their achievement, attendance and reward data.

2020-2021 figures show that Year 11 disadvantaged pupils at Hillcrest achieved well:

• GCSE Attainment 8 Score of 51 which is above the A8 score for non-disadvantaged students nationally in 2019.
• GCSE Grade 4-9 in both English and mathematics percentage of 63% compared to 43 % (Disadvantaged students nationally 2019)
• GCSE Ebacc percentage of 46% at grade 4+ in Maths, English, Languages, Humanities and Science compared 29% (Other students nationally 2018) and 25% (All students nationally 2019).
• GCSE Ebacc percentage of 30% at grade 5+ in Maths, English, Languages, Humanities and Science compared 21% (Other students nationally 2018) and 17% (All students nationally 2019).
• The attendance of disadvantaged students was above all students nationally in 2020-21 (up to 30^th June), but below non-disadvantaged students at Hillcrest.
• The transition onto further education, training or work is excellent with 100% of 2021 leavers starting KS5 courses or apprenticeships.

The most recent IDSR for Hillcrest School for shows:

• Progress 8 was in the top quintile (20%) for at least two years for prior attainers and disadvantaged pupils (2018 + 2019)
• In 2018, Progress 8 was significantly above average and in the highest 10% for the following groups of pupils: all, middle prior attainers disadvantaged.

• One of the main barriers to learning identified by students and staff was the successful completion of homework to prepare students for the next stages of their learning. To support students with this the school introduced ‘Satchel One’ in 2016/17 to give students and parents access to homework tasks and resources online and via their smart phones. The homework facilities in school are available 8am each morning, at lunchtime and after school to allow students access to IT facilities and teacher support.
• The gap between students in receipt of pupil premium funding is closely monitored at each data entry point.

Disadvantaged students achieved the average points per entry of 37.95 and other students 38.63. In the sixth form. 38% of Year 13 in 2020-21 were eligible for free school meals in the last 6 years. All Year 13 students eligible for pupil premium funding achieved University places, apprenticeships or employment

• Raise attainment and increase progress for all students, especially those in receipt of pupil premium funding and having high prior attainment.
• Close the gap between students in receipt of pupil premium funding and others in attainment in grade 4+ and 5+ and 7+.
• Recovery Curriculum – Safety, Trust, Learning.
• Recovery Tuition
• Blended and Remote Learning

• Ask your child about their day and what they have been learning.
• Provide a quiet place at home for students to work and encourage your child to attend homework club.
• Make sure your child has the basic equipment needed to do her homework and establish a routine for when homework is completed.
• Use your Show My Homework login to check what homework your child had and monitor that it has been completed.
• Ensure your child arrives at school on time every day with the correct equipment and in correct uniform.
• Praise your child and talk about their aspirations for the future.
• Watch current affairs programmes and discuss as a family.
• Arrange visits in the school holidays and weekends to the many free museums and cultural sites locally.
• Promote the importance of school and reward success.
• Attend school events such as parents’ evenings, review meetings, parental support sessions, concerts and awards mornings.
• If you have any concerns about your child’s education or well-being contact school for support.

The literacy and numeracy catch-up premium gives schools additional funding to support year 7 pupils who did not achieve at least level 4 (or score below 100 from 2017 onwards) in reading and/or maths at the end of Key Stage 2.

Allocations

2016-2017                                      £9,765

2017-2018                                       £9,647

2018-2019                                       £11,647

2019-2020                                       £11,647

2020-2021                                       Funding ended

English impact 2020-2021

• In their writing, by the end of the year, the Hillcrest PP students outperformed the national average by 15 months.
• This performance is comparable with Non-PP students who also outperformed the national average by 15 months

• PP students progressed their writing age by 9 months over the course of the year, which again, is higher than the average national progress. 

Maths impact 2020-2021

Work was highly differentiated to meet the needs of all students, including variant tasks, Knowledge Organisers adapted for accessibility and extensive use of mini whiteboards.

• Pupils were assessed using KS2 topic-based assessments at the end of each unit.  
• 100% progressed from their pre-topic to post-topic grades for all topics studied.
• 71% of pupils improved from their overall baseline assessment grade before Christmas  
• 96% of pupils improved from their overall baseline assessment grade, with 67 % over 1 grade and 66% now at or above year 7 expected level

For more information, please visit the Department for Education Website

The following strategies are being used to support students ongoing educational recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those students seen as the most socio-economically deprived.

• Targeted small group tutoring before and after school
• Targeted mentoring and emotional wellbeing support
• Provision of teaching and learning resources to departments to support educational recovery
• Provision of resources to individual students to support educational recovery

The strategies will be kept under review in 2021-22.