Pupil Premium
Equity in Education (EiE) at ECC
Exmouth Community College is a thriving and ambitious school at the heart of its community. At ECC, Pupil Premium students are known as EiE (Equity in Education) students; we believe this positive framing mirrors the vision and culture of our school community. Pupil Premium students are those who are in receipt, or have been in receipt, of Free School Meal funding within the last six years.
As well as those students who are in receipt of PP funding, other groups of students included in our EiE vision are:
- Children in Care – students who are looked after by the Local Authority.
- Post Looked After Children – students who left the care system within the last six years.
- Service Children – where one or both parents serve in the armed forces, or have done within the past six years.
- EAL (English as Additional Language) students – where the first language is not English.
- Young Carers – students who have significant caring responsibilities for a parent or a sibling in their home.
Our priority as a school is to enable our students to flourish through our core values of Belonging, Ambition and Responsibility (BAR): we want all our students to raise their BAR and to flourish.
Belonging:
- We focus relentlessly on developing our EiE students as individuals: their talents, their academic endeavours and acknowledge and address the unique barriers they face.
Ambition:
- We develop EiE pupils as leaders in our community: we believe in them. We prioritise them at every opportunity, proactively encourage them to take on leadership roles and ensure they develop the skills for them to be successful.
Responsibility:
- We instil a strong sense of responsibility in all our students, encouraging them to act with integrity, kindness, and respect. We empower students to make informed choices and take ownership of their actions.
What is the Pupil Premium?
PP funding is given to schools to work with students who have been in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) within the last six years. PP money is additional funding designed to help Equity in Education (EiE) students to achieve their full potential.
Service Children receive additional funding also, known as Service Pupil Premium.
PP funding is not ring-fenced for individual students, rather it is held in a central pot that is used to best support the individual needs of students.
ECC’s Equity in Education (PP) Strategy can be viewed below.
Accountability
As a school, we hold accountability for how we spend our PP funding. As schools can spend PP funding however they best see fit, they are held accountable for the decisions they make through:
- Annual Ted Wragg Trust Schools Reviews.
- Performance tables which report directly on the academic performance of PP funded students compared with their peers.
- The Ofsted Inspection Framework, under which inspectors have an area of scrutiny designed to assess the impact of a school’s inclusion policy.
How can I see if my family is eligible for PP funding?
All students who are in receipt of FSM can access PP funding.Your family may also be entitled to if they receive:
- Universal Credit (provided your annual net earned income is under the current threshold)
- Income Support (IS).
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA).
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (IRESA).
- The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit.
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
- Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and you annual gross salary is under the current threshold)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment you get for a further 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
You can check your family’s eligibility by applying the Devon Citizens Portal. This is the quickest and easiest way to apply and will result in you getting an instant decision. Alternatively, you can call the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019.
If you think you are eligible for any of the above please do let us know via admin@exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk so we can ensure that your child is receiving all of the funding they are entitled to.
Once confirmed that a FSM application has been successful, please contact helen.embley@exmouthcommunitycollege.devon.sch.uk with a screenshot of the approval so this can be added to our system.
Our EiE Team
All members of staff at ECC are dedicated to our EiE students. However we are lucky enough to have a dedicated team of professionals whose sole focus is ensuring that the dream of equity becomes a reality for our young people.
Assistant Head Teacher for Equity – Mrs S Lasker
Mrs Lasker oversees the EiE team and is responsible for ensuring the provision offered to these students.
EAL (English as an Additional Language)Co-Ordinator - Mrs M Jenions
Mrs Jenions is our experienced EAL Lead at ECC, working in small groups and 1:1 with students to help increase their English fluency. Her Support focusses on:
- Assessing each student’s level of English.
- Offering targeted 1:1 and small group support.
- Organising Exam Access Arrangements for home languages.
- Facilitating interpreters to support our families.
- Sharing best practice with teachers to help support EAL students
Aim Higher Mentors
Tasked with improving the academic outcomes of our EiE (PP) students are Mrs B Taylor (KS3) and Mrs P Lohmeyer-Browring (KS4). The team work across both sites with a targeted group of students every half-term. The support they offer include:
- Working within classrooms to support specific student outcomes.
- Supporting all EiE students within timetabled classrooms.
- Using measurables every half term to assess the impact of the intervention.
- Occasionally offering academic support outside the classroom, with teacher agreement.
- Mentoring EiE students.
- Sharing best practice with teachers to help support EiE students.
CiC (Children in Care) Lead Assistant Designated Teacher
Ensuring our CiC students are heard and are advocated for, is Mrs H Embley. She is based in The Study Hub and the English Faculty. Her support is:
- Being the ‘go-to’ person for our CiC students.
- Working closely with families.
- Working closely with external agencies.
- Ensuring ECC is ‘best practice’ for CiC PEP meetings.
- Mentoring CiC students.
Young Carers Lead
Putting Young Carers at the heart of our school, and making sure we are raising awareness so we can identify other need, is Mrs R Dumpleton. She is based over in Gipsy Lane where she is teaching – she is best reached via email. As the Young Carer Lead she looks after:
- Being the ‘go-to’ person for our Young Carer students.
- Working closely with external agencies, namely the Westbank Centre in Exminster
- Supporting staff and students when a new Young Carer is raised.
- Mentoring Young Carer students.
- Being the advocate for Young Carer.