The EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium

Published

Step 3

Develop your strategy

As you develop your Pupil Premium strategy, ensure it is an integral part of your wider school improvement planning. Wise investment of your Pupil Premium funding can drive meaningful and lasting improvements in practice leading to better outcomes for pupils.

In this step we offer questions for reflection which pick up on key points from steps one and two as you develop your activity for this academic year.

Put it into practice

Take time to plan your Pupil Premium strategy

Do approaches to develop high quality teaching for Pupil Premium pupils sit at the heart of your plans? Are the three areas from the tiered approach represented in your thinking?

How do aspects of the strategy align with the existing beliefs, assumptions, and practices of staff? Do any of these need challenging or development in order to enable success and ensure staff and values are united around the change?

In order to be strategic, each subject has an implementation plan. These are reviewed twice in each academic year. Strategic curriculum development, like implementation, is a process – not an event. It centres around the people at the heart of the curriculum’s delivery, our teachers and subject leaders. Invest time in providing clarity for them and the process of implementation (e.g. monitoring, evaluating) becomes easier.

Hydeh Fayaz

Deputy Head and Assistant Director of St Matthew’s Research School

Meaningfully engage school colleagues in the process to set goals

How does your strategy align with other strategic school improvement documents such as your school improvement plan?

How can you involve people in developing your strategy (for example, subject leads, SENCo, teaching and learning lead, parents, pupils)?

How will you consult, as applicable, governors, academy trust leadership, and trustees, when developing your strategy?

I’ve always been bothered by the term ​‘buy-in’. It’s often bandied around by us leaders (including by me, I’m sure) and is usually intended to be seen as something positive and virtuous: that we, the leader, recognise that it would be much better for staff to agree and like our proposed changes. The problem is that ​‘buy-in’ is not really collaborative – it simply involves ​‘buying-in’ to some kind of predetermined set of actions that someone else has taken, and that usually have an impact on everyone else. It’s consensual at best; underhanded at worst…This is not just about improvement, but culture and climate too. A school that values its staff and involves them in its decision-making, is likely to get good results and be a great place to work.

Phil Stock

Director of Greenshaw Research School

Consider fit and feasibility of your planned approaches – plan for sustainability

Is your funding allocated to evidence-informed strategies that align with the DfE ‘menu of approaches’? What evidence have you drawn on and why? Have a look at our evidence brief.

Does the approach require changes to processes or structures, such as timetables or team meetings?

By reflecting on the fit and feasibility of an evidence-informed intervention, schools can select the best bet for their setting.

John Rodgers

Director of Cornwall Research School

Take action

Do take a longer-term approach to Pupil Premium planning even though your strategy statement needs to be updated annually.

Don’t forget to publish your updated strategy statement every academic year before 31st December on your school website.

Do align your Pupil Premium strategy with other strategic school improvement documents such as your school improvement plan.

Don’t work alone to create a Pupil Premium strategy, build an implementation team to look at options for your pupils and your school.

Do consider how you communicate your plans with stakeholders. Your Pupil Premium strategy is a public facing document on your school’s website.

Don’t try to write your strategy in the autumn term - start planning and preparing early to give yourself the best chance of success.