Pupil Premium
At St Paul’s, we believe every child deserves to thrive.
The Pupil Premium funding allows us to offer targeted support to students who may face additional challenges, helping them to grow in confidence, succeed academically, and fully participate in the life of the school.
We do this not because it’s required, but because it’s part of who we are.
Helping Every Child Reach Their Potential
Nationally, there is a recognised gap in achievement between students from lower-income families and their peers. The Pupil Premium is additional funding from the government designed to help close this gap but at St Paul’s, it’s about more than funding. It’s about ensuring that every student has the support, resources, and opportunities they need to flourish.
How We Support Our Pupil Premium Students
At St Paul’s, our approach to Pupil Premium is personal, responsive, and rooted in our mission to ensure every child can thrive. We use funding flexibly to provide high-impact support, carefully matched to individual needs — whether academic, emotional, practical or aspirational.
We group our support into three broad areas:
Mentoring
Students in need are offered structured one-to-one and small-group mentoring that supports their confidence, wellbeing and academic progress.
- Cross-year peer mentoring and subject-specific mentoring
- One-to-one mentoring with Heads of Year or senior leaders
- ‘Early Intervention’ mentoring in Year 10
- Pastoral mentoring and referrals for professional counselling
- Social and emotional wellbeing support
Personalised Support
We remove barriers to learning by offering tailored help, practical resources and inclusive opportunities to ensure every child feels seen and supported.
- Smaller class sizes in core subjects (English, maths, science)
- Personalised Learning Support (PLS) lessons
- Access to a bespoke or adapted curriculum
- Support for trips, uniform and Free School Meals
- Access to music tuition and enrichment opportunities
- Booking help for Parents’ Evening
- Attendance watchlist support and early contact
- Access to pre-loved uniform and iPad scheme assistance
- University of Sussex Widening Participation partnership
- Priority access to careers advice and guidance
Tutoring & Study Skills
We deliver targeted tutoring and study support to help students achieve their potential and prepare confidently for assessments.
- Small group or individual tutoring in English, maths and science
- Organisation skills and exam technique sessions
- After-school ILTs and study support clubs
- Help with anger management and social communication where appropriate
About Pupil Premium
Who Qualifies for Pupil Premium?
A student appears on our Pupil Premium register if they meet certain national criteria — each one reflecting a circumstance that may present barriers to learning. These include:
- Being currently in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM)
- Being part of a service family
- Being looked after by the local authority (CLA)
- Having been adopted from care
We use this funding to provide timely, effective support that meets individual needs, academic, emotional or practical. All schools must be accountable for how this funding is spent, and we carefully monitor the impact of our interventions to ensure they make a real difference.
Our Pupil Premium Strategy
Our approach to Pupil Premium is rooted in the same principle that guides everything we do: that every child should be known, loved, and supported to fulfil their God-given potential. We work closely with each student to understand any barriers they may face and put personalised interventions in place to help them flourish, both academically and personally.
How we measure it
We monitor the impact of our Pupil Premium provision through a range of measures, including academic progress, attendance, and pastoral indicators. Most importantly, we look at each child’s overall wellbeing and personal growth.
Our strategy is reviewed annually by governors and throughout the year as part of our ongoing evaluation processes.
The Funding
Pupil Premium Funding by Academic Year
How we spend it
We use our Pupil Premium funding to support students in a variety of ways, from providing additional curriculum resources, tutoring and mentoring, to personalised learning support from teachers, Heads of Year and LSAs.
Each student’s progress is reviewed regularly through profiles, interim reports and day-to-day observation. Where there are concerns, the relevant Head of Key Stage works closely with the student, their teachers, and our College Leadership Team (CLT) to ensure the right support is in place.
In addition to government funding, we use hardship funds from the Governors and our E-Learning Foundation to support students with devices, uniform, home learning resources, educational visits, music tuition and more, ensuring every student can participate fully in school life.
Pupil Premium Outcomes
Progress 8
Attainment 8
Free School Meals
Free School Meals provide a free, healthy lunch each day at school for eligible children, helping families with the cost of living while supporting students’ wellbeing, focus and learning.
Does My Child Qualify for Free School Meals?
If you think your child might be eligible, you can check quickly and easily using the West Sussex Free School Meals Checking Service.
Once approved by West Sussex Council, children will receive free school meals if they meet the eligibility criteria and attend school both before and after lunch.
Eligibility & Application Guidance
Eligibility is assessed using the Department for Education’s Eligibility Checking System (ECS). A child may qualify if their parent or guardian receives certain benefits.
If your child is currently in receipt of Free School Meals out of West Sussex then you must re-apply when they join St Paul’s Catholic College.
