Pupil Premium

The government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM), looked after children & service children and other pupils.  Three categories of pupils are eligible:

• Pupils recorded as ‘ever 6 FSM’ (pupils who are or have been eligible for FSM at any point during their 6 years of Primary school education)
• Looked after children and those children who have been adopted from care
• Children of Service personnel

Our Pupil Premium funding for 2025-2026 is £63,055
This money is currently spent on providing individual or small group teaching for specific children who need extra support or challenge in order to achieve their targets. We look carefully at every child in our school to provide the best possible education for them, and make every effort to ensure that no child is disadvantaged by their circumstances. 

Barriers to Learning

We understand that all pupils may face different challenges that might affect their learning.  

At St Matthew’s, we identify potential barriers to pupils’ learning so that we can ensure that every child makes progress and is successful at school – academically, socially and emotionally.

Some barriers to learning that some children might face at various times during their time at primary school include:

• Poor attendance and punctuality
• High mobility
• Low starting points on entry to primary school
• Speech, Language and Communication Needs
• Attachment and trauma

We realise that these barriers may not affect every pupil and are fully aware of the individual needs of the children in our school.  We ensure that through our curriculum planning and pastoral care, barriers can be addressed so that pupils are able to flourish in all areas of their learning.