Pupil Premium
Background and Strategy
Pupil Premium funding is additional funding to enable schools to provide greater support for children eligible for free school meals (FSM).
Here at Broadmeadow, the barriers to learning for our pupils are developmental rather than as a result of social background. As the majority of our pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium funding have additional communication and social interaction learning needs, these areas form the basis of targeted interventions.
Pupil Premium funding has been utilised also to employ a Home/School Liaison Officer, whose role is to engage families in improving social and educational outcomes for their child. This is a designated role for providing early intervention for families in relation to accessing appropriate support and services to ensure a consistent, child centred approach to learning. Families are given opportunities to engage in informal and structured learning opportunities through a programme of coffee mornings.
Our Home Learning Co-ordinator offers activities for all families to continue pupils learning at home. For parents of children in receipt of Pupil Premium funding, additional support is provided.
The remainder of the grant is spent on priorities identified by teaching teams for individual pupils. Evidence is gathered through data and termly pupil progress meetings.
Reporting to governors is undertaken termly, with governors challenging spend and outcomes.
Pupil Premium 2025/26
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium for the 2025 to 2026 academic year to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.
It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school.
School overview
| Detail | Data |
| School name | Broadmeadow School |
| Pupils in school | 75 |
| Proportion of disadvantaged pupils | 55% |
| Pupil premium allocation this academic year | £65,145 |
| Academic year or years covered by statement | 2025-2026 |
| Publish date | 18/12/2025 |
| Review date | 01/12/2026 |
| Statement authorised by | H Andrioli |
| Pupil premium lead | H Andrioli |
| Governor lead | Preya Kumar |
Funding overview
| Detail | Amount |
| Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year | £65,145 |
| Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) | £0 |
| Total budget for this academic year If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year | £65,145 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
| Our aim is to use pupil premium funding to help us achieve and sustain positive outcomes for our disadvantaged pupils. Whilst socio-economic disadvantage is not always the primary challenge our pupils face, we do see that all pupils have additional needs or multiple needs as detailed within their Education Health and Care Plans such as: Communication and Interaction needsNumber of pupils with a diagnosis of Autism or Autistic traitsNumber of pupils requiring additional Speech and Language InterventionNumber of pupils requiring sensory or physical interventionNumber of pupils requiring care support for toileting and medical needs At the heart of our approach is high-quality teaching focussed on areas that the pupils require it most, targeted support based on robust diagnostic assessment of need, and enabling pupils to access a broad and balanced curriculum. Although our strategy is focused on the needs of disadvantaged pupils, it will benefit all pupils in our school where funding is spent on whole-school approaches, such as high-quality communication strategies. Implicit, in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that outcomes for non-disadvantaged pupils will be improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers. Our strategy is integral to wider school plans, notably through the engagement of various interventions in school to provide additional support for pupils who do not make expected progress in comparison to their peers in mainstream schools and who struggle to access the full national curriculum. Our strategy will be driven by the needs and strengths of each young person, based on formal and informal assessments, not assumptions or labels. This will help us to ensure that we offer them the relevant skills and experience they require to be prepared for adulthood. |
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
| Challenge number | Detail of challenge |
| 1 | Social, emotional and educational learning needs of pupils are severe and complex, as evidenced through assessments and observations and as detailed in Education Health Care Plans. |
| 2 | Assessments and observations show that, due to their significant diverse learning needs, our pupils’ abilities to communicate and express their needs – non-verbal, limited language and understanding, social interaction difficulties – are significantly greater than their peers. |
| 3 | Our assessments, observations and discussions with pupils show that disadvantaged pupils generally have greater challenges around communicating and expressing their needs than their peers, including non-verbal, limited language and social interaction difficulties. |
| 4 | Through regular discussions, we have identified that our families require additional support for their children re issues with anxiety, attachment, sleep, eating, communication and behaviour. |
| 5 | Our assessments, observations and conversations with pupils indicate that pupils often require additional support to develop personal skills and manage their emotions appropriately. |
| 6 | Our assessments, observations and discussions with pupils and families demonstrate that the education, wellbeing and wider aspects of development of many of our disadvantaged pupils have been impacted. This also impacts on the number of children being persistently absent. |
Intended outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
| Intended outcome | Success criteria |
| Improved attainment for disadvantaged pupils in all subjects, relative to their starting points as identified through baseline assessments. | Through achievement of improved performance, as demonstrated by our end of year assessments. Identify and provide additional support and interventions for pupils not making expected progress. |
| Improved language comprehension for disadvantaged pupils so that they can independently comprehend the curriculum content. | Designated staff team to provide additional support for individuals and groups of pupils result in improved communication. Progress demonstrated through end of year assessments. |
| Pupils can use a range of communication systems to aid their understanding and to develop expressive communication skills. | Through achievement of EHC plan termly outcomes. |
| Increase time spent in class through having additional care support when needed. | Classroom staff are able to remain in class. More pupils develop their self-care skills so that can manage independently. |
| Provide support for Health and Well being Improve attendance for pupils identified as being persistently absent for reasons other than sickness. | Identify pupils requiring mental health or behavioural support through the internal referral system. Provide interventions through the mentoring programme. Provide behaviour management strategies to enable pupils to access learning for longer periods of time. Provide opportunities to develop social skills through outdoor education activities. Provide CPD for staff to enable them to further support pupils in class. |
| Provide additional Physical and Sensory support for physical development | Identify pupils requiring additional physical support Provide interventions as required Identify pupils requiring sensory interventions CPD for staff as required. |
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium (and recovery premium funding) this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: £500
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| CPD for staff to develop strategies for pupils requiring additional Sensory provisions. | Sensory interventions used more frequently and based around pupils’ needs as detailed in EHCP’s. | 3, 4, 5 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £55,645
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| Employment of intervention mentors and intervention programmes in place for pupils as required. | There is strong evidence both Nationally and Locally that children and young people suffering from mental health issues has significantly increased over the last 2-3 years. Local support remains mostly inappropriate for children and young people with learning disabilities and those services that are suitable are hugely oversubscribed with waiting times anywhere between 18 months and 24 months for initial screening appointments. Improve attendance by working with pupils and families who are persistently absent from school. | 1, 3, 5, 6 |
| Employment of Speech and Language Intervention Mentors (50% of the costs) to support the implementation of individual programmes with communication. | The number of individuals requiring Speech and Language Therapy has increased. The number of pupils being discharged from the SALT service has increased. The number of pupils requiring SCERTS, PECS and Makaton to assist with communication has increased. | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| Employment of Behaviour Intervention staff in school to support pupils struggling with Emotional Regulation. | Interventions and strategies targeted at specific pupils to reduce the number of incidents and effectively use proactive strategies. Pupils identified through analysis of behaviour monitoring data. | 1, 6 |
| Employment of Physical and Sensory Intervention staff in school. Individual programmes in place as required. | The number of pupils requiring physical therapy and sensory regulation has increased. This is reflected in EHCP outcomes. | 1, 3, 5, 6 |
Wider strategies
Budgeted cost: £9000
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| Enhancing the sensory regulation equipment available for PP learners with enhanced sensory needs, including autism. We will also fund staff training. | We have observed that sensory equipment and resources such as sensory circuits and sensory “snacks” are beneficial for pupils. Lease of Cubbie to enable targeted emotional regulation sessions for individual pupils. | 1, 3, 5 |
| Developing Teaching and Learning by delivering CPD for staff to use a range of approaches and strategies such as SCERTS. | Recommended by the schools Educational Psychology team. | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| Develop wider curriculum opportunities | Enable pupils to access other curriculum activities such as music and Outdoor Education. | 1,3,6 |
Total budgeted cost: £65,145
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year
Pupil premium strategy outcomes
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
| Our internal assessments during 2024/25 indicated that disadvantaged pupils academic and wider development outcomes were marginally below what was anticipated from their individual starting points. The outcomes we aimed to achieve in our previous strategy by the end of 24/25 were therefore not fully realised for all curriculum areas, however, 82% of pupils did make expected progress in reading from their individual starting points. Our assessment of the reasons for these outcomes still points primarily to Covid-19 impact. This disrupted the learning and development for our youngest pupils prior to attending school and had a negative impact on their development to varying degrees, particularly in limiting opportunities to progress social and communication skills and independence. This is still applicable for this academic year as many pupils are still affected. Our assessments and observations suggested that for many pupils, their difficulties with communication impacts greatly on their ability to progress, hence we will continue to support Social Communication across the school for all pupils. More pupils in school experience sensory distress at times during the school day and therefore require more support to enable them to learn to regulate their own needs over time. More pupils struggle to regulate their own emotions and therefore we will continue to support each pupil in various ways which include 1:1 support, classroom support and access to wider curriculum opportunities such as Outdoor Education. Development of the curriculum model throughout the academic year 2025/26 will support all pupils to make expected progress in line with their starting points and primary area of need as detailed within their EHC Plans. |
Externally provided programmes
N/A as externally provided programmes such as PE and Sport projects are funded through different grants.
| Programme | Provider |
Further information (optional)
| Additional activity Our pupil premium strategy will be supplemented by additional activity that we are not funding using pupil premium. That will include: Utilising the local area and community to enhance the curriculum through Educational Visits.Providing all pupils from Key Stage 2 upwards with subsidised opportunities for residential visits Developing communication and interaction skills through the local School Sports Partnership and opportunities for competitionEnabling further training for the School Councils representatives to become Digital Ambassadors (Wider Learning)Other professional colleagues visiting school to enhance the curriculum such as the Music Service Planning, implementation and evaluation In planning our new pupil premium strategy, we evaluated why activity undertaken in previous years had not had the degree of impact that we had expected. We looked at several reports, studies and research papers about effective use of Pupil Premium and the intersection between socio-economic disadvantage and SEND. We also looked at a number of studies about the impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged learners. The pandemic has also given us deeper insights into family life for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and we have been able to forge stronger relationships with parents/guardians as a result. We have also put a sharp focus on supporting teachers to develop their professional practice and train in specialist areas, allowing them to develop expertise and share them with other staff. |
Pupil premium strategy statement
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium for the 2024 to 2025 academic year funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.
It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school.
School overview
| Detail | Data |
| School name | Broadmeadow Special School |
| Number of pupils in school | 73 |
| Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils | 59% |
| Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers | 2021/22 to 2024/25 |
| Date this statement was published | December 2024 |
| Date on which it will be reviewed | September 2025 |
| Statement authorised by | Lisa Walker |
| Pupil premium lead | Dawn Beamer |
| Governor / Trustee lead | Claire Baronenas |
Funding overview
| Detail | Amount |
| Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year | £63,640 |
| Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) | £00 |
| Total budget for this academic yearIf your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year | £63,640 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
| Broadmeadow is a special school for pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties. All of our pupils have Education Health Care Plans and due to the complexity of their needs, it is not possible to identify the degree to which their achievement is affected by social background. Barriers to learning are primarily developmental with a focus placed upon enabling pupils to acquire communication and independence skills and socially appropriate behaviours within school, home and the wider community. Our strategy is underpinned by evidence informed research, with a focus on 3 main principles of improving outcomes: high quality teaching focussed on areas that our pupils and families require as a priority; removing barriers to learning through targeted support; providing early intervention for pupils and their families. Although our strategy is focused on the needs of disadvantaged pupils, it will benefit all pupils in our school where funding is spent on whole-school approaches, such as high-quality teaching and proven interventions. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that outcomes for non-disadvantaged pupils will be improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers. Our strategy is integral to wider school plans for education recovery, notably through engagement of parents and provision for enhanced family support. Our strategy will be driven by the needs and strengths of each young person, based on formal and informal assessments, not assumptions or labels. This will help us to ensure that we offer them the relevant skills and experience they require to achieve greater independence and to prepare them for the next stage of their learning journey. |
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers.
Intended outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
| Intended outcome | Success criteria |
| Improved attainment and progress for disadvantaged pupils in all areas of learning and development, relative to their starting points as identified through baseline and ongoing assessments. | Demonstrated by our end of year assessments, observations and detailed pupil progress records at the end of our strategy in 2024/25.Staff provide high quality teaching evidenced through lesson observations, learning walks, and pupil progress data, measured over time from their individual starting points and as identified through assessments and achievement of EHCP termly outcomes. |
| Targeted support and interventions enable pupils to use a range of communication systems to aid their understanding and to develop expressive communication skills and be successful in their learning. | Through achievement of EHC plan termly outcomes. Pupils are safe, happy and secure; are resilient to change; able to communicate; make choices; and are mentally healthy. |
| To ensure that all pupils needs are well met in terms of their well-being and increase the proportion of parents supporting all aspects of learning and life skills at home. | Sustained high levels of well-being demonstrated by:· staff expertise in identifying needs
· having necessary resources in place Evidenced through discussions with pupils and families, behaviour logs, observations and sensory integration programmes. |
| Disadvantaged pupils have reduced anxieties, greater confidence, independence and self-help skills to help them engage more with the wider community and prepare for adulthood. | Through observations and discussions with pupils and their families.Parent comments during termly outcome planning meetings, EHCP reviews, family survey and end of year report feedback. |
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: (a) £1,000 (b) £ 29,885 (c) £745
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| a) Implement a weekly twilight professional learning group, supporting new and developing staff to increase knowledge of specialist strategies for teaching. | Pupils benefit from correct and consistent specialist approaches. Analysis of pupil progress made from individual starting points, evidenced through learning logs, school reports, assessment data, monitoring of EHCP termly outcomes and through observations of teaching and learning.https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-cost-of-high-quality-professional-development for-teachers/
| 1,2&3 |
| b) School will develop a specialist workforce to ensure our provision continues to maintain excellent standards for all children. | Develop and support staff to gain further professional qualifications and to enable them to meet criteria for post graduate courses with QTS. Teacher apprentice and completion of the assessment only route into teaching.Where necessary facilitate mainstream teaching opportunities and evidence teaching standards.
Effective Professional Development | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
| 1,2,3&4 |
| c) Key staff attend CPD in specific therapeutic approaches and begin to introduce these as required. | Additional therapeutic approaches are introduced to individuals. Outcomes are monitored through observation and discussion with all caregivers. | 1,2,3,4&5 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: (a) £26,522 (b) 30,639 (c) £1,500
| Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| a) To provide additional support through targeted interventions for reading, fun with food, fine motor skills, communication, and sensory integration, taught either 1:1 or in small groups | Broadmeadow assessment level data; Reading records; progression through communication phases; observations of engagement in learning; improved eating skills and improved attention, co-operation and motivation to learn.
https://pecs-unitedkingdom.com/research/ One to one tuition | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
| 2,3,4&5
|
| b) Sustain higher staffing ratios in order to maintain reduced class sizes across school. | Pupils are more focussed as distractions are reduced. Pupils have more opportunities for working together as part of a small group and fewer transitions are necessary. | 2&3 |
| c) Over the course of the academic year a series of curriculum open days will take place. | In line with feedback received from parent surveys staff will showcase specialist strategies used in school to support parents and family members to implement these into the home. Working with Parents to Support Children’s Learning | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) | 4&5
|
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: (a) £5,815 (b) £1,000
| Activity 3 | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
| a) Supporting families to access appropriate support, services, structured learning programmes, workshops supported by the Mental Health Support Team (Reflexions service), home learning activities, coffee mornings, home visits, and engage with other professionals. | Demonstrated through attendance and engagement in sessions; through discussions with other professionals and service providers, all culminating in reduced referrals to statutory services.
Supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities | NSPCC
| 4&5 |
| b)Health and well being of pupils is improved due to consistency and continuity between home and school. | Pupils and families receive school nursing input covering a variety of subjects to include eating disorders and puberty.Pupils are able to transfer learning and skills and to extend knowledge within their home and the community.
Parental engagement | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
| 1,2,3,4&5 |
Total budgeted cost: £97,106
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year
Pupil premium strategy outcomes
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
| Intended outcome | Success criteria | Actual 2023/24 |
| Improved attainment and progress for disadvantaged pupils in all areas of learning and development, relative to their starting points as identified through baseline and ongoing assessments. | Demonstrated by our end of year assessments, observations and detailed pupil progress records at the end of our strategy in 2024/25. Staff provide high quality teaching evidenced through lesson observations, learning walks, and pupil progress data, measured over time from their individual starting points and as identified through assessments and achievement of EHCP termly outcomes. | End of year assessments indicate that children in receipt of pupil premium continue to make good progress. During monitoring of all pupils termly learning outcomes for 2023-2024 the figures remain comparable to those of their non-disadvantaged peers.
Increased opportunities for 1:1 and small group work continue to benefit our disadvantaged pupils. Planned sessions are based around individual need and have included: additional phonics teaching; speech/language and communication; oral motor programmes; rebound therapy; developing independence and play skills. Pupils termly learning logs identify areas of learning and development whereby our disadvantaged pupils have benefitted from increased opportunities and/or specific interventions. Comments include: Child R continues to benefit from considerable input in respect of her speech and language. Her confidence to speak during off-site visits has increased significantly. She regularly informs others of things she has observed in her immediate environment; Child D has received additional phonics support and using picture prompts is now able to identify the majority of phase two sounds; Colourful semantics continue to support child I’s expressive language skills, she has begun to combine symbols and words to identify subject, noun, verb to describe a simple picture; Child J’s comprehension skills have continued to develop well. He can answer a range of who, what and where questions when reading his daily reading book. As a group our disadvantaged pupils have this year made slightly less progress in both practical maths and writing. On closer inspection reasons for this are identified as a lack of motivation, focus and attention to tasks, under developed fine motor and an inability to generalise learning and skills. It is also worth noting that not all children are working at subject specific levels and therefore continue to participate in activities within the areas of engagement. |
| Targeted support and interventions enable pupils to use a range of communication systems to aid their understanding and to develop expressive communication skills and be successful in their learning. | Through achievement of EHC plan termly outcomes. Pupils are safe, happy and secure; are resilient to change; able to communicate; make choices; and are mentally healthy. | The school works closely with designated Specialist Speech and Language Therapists who devise programmes that school staff implement.
A wide range of augmentative communication tools and techniques are used throughout school. These include Makaton, Intensive Interaction, PECs, ALDs to include core vocabulary throughout the school environment, choice boards, now & next boards, symbol schedules and electronic devices. One disadvantaged pupil has made 12 steps of progress in the area of speaking and listening, evident from his end of year assessments. This is a great achievement and largely due to his new-found voice, knowledge and skills in using a voice output electronic device. Parents have commented on how well he uses “his talker,” which travels with him across all settings. Mum goes on to say “…he can hold a conversation with his family, which is wonderful. (Name) uses this to inform us about his day in school and to ask and answer questions.” |
| To ensure that all pupils needs are well met in terms of their well-being and increase the proportion of parents supporting all aspects of learning and life skills at home. | Sustained high levels of well-being demonstrated by: · staff expertise in identifying needs · having necessary resources in place Evidenced through discussions with pupils and families, behaviour logs, observations and sensory integration programmes. | Staff CPD in implementing the ‘Colours of me’ has ensured this program is now accessed by all classes at a developmentally appropriate level for individual pupils. Some children continue to require adults to support and direct them in respect of taking steps towards managing their emotions, whilst others are becoming increasingly independent in this area.
We continue to be supported by the Mental Health support team – Reflexions. This has benefitted individuals and their families. Our Sensory Integration co-ordinator regularly undertakes sensory modulating activities with pupils. She produces sensory ladders, profiles and provides specialist resources as needed in liaison with the Occupational therapist. 90% of our pupils in receipt of pupil premium have benefitted from resources and/or advice being given to their caregivers. Reports indicate that pupils and parents are greatly benefitting. A number of staff have completed training in therapeutic play, which ensures pupils who need this input are able to access it swiftly. All pupils have participated in a day trip during the summer term: Attendance has increased by 1% during this academic year. Approaches to promote parental engagement are continually evolving: A series of sensory workshops have continued to take place this year. Parents are encouraged to attend these sessions and their participation has been very positive. These relatively informal sessions are a good opportunity for parents to ask questions and engage their children in activities alongside staff. Fifteen parents attended communication workshops in the spring term. Several requested resources and support to use strategies and resources that they observed being used effectively with their own children. A further session focussing on developing independence skills did not take place as planned, this will now be rolled over to next academic year. Attendance at parent consultation meetings has decreased slightly this year, achieving 85% in the summer term. A ‘pick and mix’ of home learning activities has been piloted by some class groups over one term. Feedback from families has been mostly positive, as such this is due to be rolled out across school during the next academic year. Feedback from end of year school reports include: “I have been amazed at (name) achievements this year. She has developed so many new skills and has become so much calmer and more confident!” “We are really happy with the progress in using PECs and we want to incorporate this more at home.” “…we are so happy, he seems less anxious and more relaxed in school.” “We are yet again blown away with the progress (name) has made, your comments made me cry with how proud we are!” “We are very happy with (name) report and progress…we cannot wait to see her progress next year.” “…loved the homework idea, hope to see it back in September.” “He loves school and is always happy to come, this shows what a positive experience you have created for him.” “You are providing outstanding teaching. You are changing our children’s’ future!” |
| Disadvantaged pupils have reduced anxieties, greater confidence, independence and self-help skills to help them engage more with the wider community and prepare for adulthood. | Through observations and discussions with pupils and their families.
Parent comments during termly outcome planning meetings, EHCP reviews, family survey and end of year report feedback. | The gym equipment installed last year is proving to be a popular addition to our outdoor environment. This provides pupils with increased levels of challenge and motivation, with the aim of improving overall fitness levels.
The school tuck shop continues to be very popular. Pupils are supported to prepare healthy snacks and to serve their peers. This provides good opportunities for pupils to engage socially with peers from across school. Our after-school club continues to have a focus on physical activity. This remains well attended. Additional barriers preventing the non-attendance of some of our disadvantaged pupils are to be further explored. |
