What is The Pupil Premium?

The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged learners in state-funded schools in England. The following groups are eligible for pupil premium:

• pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals, or have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years, including eligible children of families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
• children looked after by local authorities, referred to as looked-after children
• children previously looked after by a local authority or other state care, referred to as previously looked-after children

How many students at Coombe Dean are eligible?

Current number of eligible Pupil Premium learners (academic year 2025-26)

Year 7 – 29

Year 8 – 33

Year 9 – 44

Year 10 – 41

Year 11 – 40

This represents 20% of the total number of Year 7-11 learners at Coombe Dean School. This figure is  slightly below the national average across all schools which is 23.8%.
 

The total Pupil Premium funding allocated to Coombe Dean School for the academic year 2025/26 is approximately £190,000. Further detail of this can be found within our Pupil Premium Strategy document below. Please note that the Pupil Premium Strategy document for the academic year is due to be published in December 2025. You can, however, access the Pupil Premium Strategy Document from 2024/25 below. 

At Coombe Dean School, we have identified 7 core challenges facing our disadvantaged learners (or facing us as an educational establishment in meeting the needs of disadvantaged learners). These are addressed through our Pupil Premium Strategy. Further detail of these challenges and the ways in which we plan to address them are contained within the strategy, but the headline challenges are:

1. Attendance
2. Progress and Attainment
3. Literacy
4. Parental Engagement
5. Behaviour, Self-regulation and metacognition
6. Poverty proofing access to school, the curriculum and extra-curricular activity
7. Staff Continuing Professional Development

Impact and Outcomes

To see our Review of the Impact of our Pupil Premium funding for 2023/2024 please see section B of the 2024/25 Pupil Premium Strategy. The Pupil Premium Strategy for 2025/26 will be published in December 2025 and contained within this will be a review of the impact of our PP funding for 2024/25.

Coombe Dean School’s Pupil Premium Team

All staff at Coombe Dean School are fully committed to closing the attainment and progress gaps that exist between eligible learners and their peers.  As educators working in non-selective state education, we are collectively driven by the belief that a child’s socio-economic background shouldn’t pre-determine their outcomes and life chances, and so – in the interest of the continued pursuit of social justice and equality of opportunity - we challenge ourselves to ensure that we do all we can to close attainment and progress gaps between disadvantaged learners and others.

Key staff with specific responsibilities for leading improvements in outcomes for disadvantaged learners are: 

Mr Charlie Jacks – Assistant Headteacher (Pupil Premium Strategic Lead)

Mrs Caroline Granville – Headteacher

Ms Natasha Dulson - SENDCO 

What are the documents below?

You will see that there are three documents below. In order to help you find what you’re looking for, here is a short summary of the purpose of each.

1. Pupil Premium Strategy 2024/25: This document is the most in-depth summary of Coombe Dean’ approach to spending the Pupil Premium funding. It outlines the challenges that we have identified in our school context, our intentions for disadvantaged learners and the ways in which we intend to use the funding. This strategy outlines our intentions and aims over the next three academic years. This document (section B) also reviews the impact of spending in the previous academic year.

2. Pupil Premium Tiered Model 2024/25: This document is a shorthand guide to the ways in which we approach our use of Pupil Premium funding. The document lists ways in which we aim to reduce the gaps between disadvantaged learners and others under headings which categorise our spend. These headings are ‘Teaching’, ‘Targeted Academic Support’ and ‘Wider Strategies’. Please note that this will be updated in line with the 2025/26 PP Strategy in December 2025. 

3. Pupil Premium Policy: This document outlines the school’s policy relating to Pupil Premium spending and the approach of supporting disadvantaged students. The policy also outlines the key roles and responsibilities relating to the Pupil Premium and the ways in which Pupil Premium funding and its use is monitored and reviewed.