Detail

Data

Number of pupils in school

1027

Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils

12%

Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3-year plans are recommended – you must still publish an updated statement each academic year)

2025-2028

Date this statement was published

19.6.2025

Date on which it will be reviewed

19.6.2026

Statement authorised by

Paul Stubbings

Pupil premium lead

Dominik Rumun

Governor lead

TBC

Detail

Amount

Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year

£147,610.00

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

£147,610.00

At The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, we strive to support and provide life chances for all students irrespective of their background or the challenges they may face academically, pastorally, socially or personally. We aim to ensure all students have access to high quality education and opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.

High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which

disadvantaged pupils require the most support. This is proven to have the greatest

impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap and at the same time will benefit

the non-disadvantaged pupils in our school. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed

below, is the intention that non-disadvantaged pupils’ attainment will be sustained and

improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers.

Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in

robust diagnostic assessment, not assumptions about the impact of disadvantage. The

approaches we have adopted complement each other to help pupils excel. To ensure

they are effective we will:

• ensure disadvantaged pupils are challenged in the work that they’re set

• act early to intervene at the point need is identified

• Improve the cultural capital of our disadvantage students

• adopt a whole school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve

Challenge number

Detail of challenge

1

Low aspiration of learners.

2

Weak Numeracy/Literacy skills.

3

Poor Metacognitive strategies.

4

Monitoring and supporting pupil’ social, emotional and behavioural needs.

5

Learners not being willing to buy into the culture of the school.

6

Adequate preparations for public examinations

Intended outcome

Success criteria

Improve the reading level of disadvantaged students in KS3.

Close the gap between pupil premium and non-pupil premium students. See an increase in the number of pupil premium students using the library. Currently 14/100 of the top book borrowers are pupil premium.

To improve the opportunities of disadvantaged pupils to attend trips and other enrichment activities within the school.

To offer opportunities/priority to pupil premium students both internally and externally, focusing on cultural capital.

Improve weak literacy/numeracy skills

Year 7-11.

Close the gap between pupil premium students and non-pupil premium students in summative internal assessments,

Improve engagement in school for disadvantaged students with curricular and extra-curricular activities. 

Further close the gap between pupil premium attendance (93.62%) and non-pupil premium attendance (95.22%).

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

ECT training and new staff induction

Effective implementation requires schools to pay regular attention to specific, additional activities; however, the busy everyday life of a school can make this investment of time and effort difficult. (EEF)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Tracking of student engagement

Teachers need to know students’ individual needs to help them make progress (EEF)

1, 3

Use of effective assessment and feedback

Teachers need to know students’ individual needs to help them make progress. ‘Feedback studies tend to show very high effects on learning’ (EEF) ‘Students need to reflect on the teacher comments in their books and their needs to be evidence of how they are responding to teacher feedback and actively using it to improve their work.

2, 3, 6

Cost of Staff to allow setting and small groups

Create opportunities for explicit discussions around how to apply new ideas and strategies to classroom practice and adapt existing practices. (EEF)

2, 3, 6

Support and challenge plans for learners. Learning walks and audits.

‘Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and every teacher is supported to keep improving, is the key ingredient of a successful school’ (EEF)

1, 3, 5, 6

Developing metacognitive and self-regulation skills in all pupils. This will involve ongoing teacher training. CPD for all staff on supporting PP students.

Teaching metacognitive strategies to pupils can be an inexpensive method to help pupils become more independent learners. There is particularly strong evidence that it can have a positive impact on maths attainment: ‘Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and every teacher is supported to keep improving, is the key ingredient of a successful school’ (EEF)

2, 3, 6

Staff committing to NPQ programs

“Supporting high quality teaching is pivotal in improving children’s outcomes. Indeed, research tells us that high quality teaching can narrow the disadvantage gap.” (EEF)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

6^th form led maths intervention sessions

Peer tutoring approaches have been shown to have a positive impact on learning, with an average positive effect equivalent to approximately five additional months’ progress within one academic year. (EEF)

2, 3

After school interventions in core subjects (Year 10/11)

‘Overall, the pattern is that small group tuition is effective’ (EEF)

2, 3, 6

Mentoring sessions

‘SEL interventions in education are shown to improve SEL skills and are therefore likely to support disadvantaged pupils to understand and engage in healthy relationships with peers and emotional self-regulation, both of which may subsequently increase academic attainment.’ (EEF)

1,4,5

Maths and Literacy sessions for KS3

‘Small group tuition approaches can support pupils to make effective progress by providing intensive, targeted academic support to those identified as having low prior attainment or at risk of falling behind.’ (EEF)

2,6

Lexia

‘Children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) who were offered Lexia made, on average, the equivalent of two additional months’ progress in reading compared to other children eligible for FSM’ (EEF)

2

Touch, Type, Read, Spell for KS3 & 4

‘Overall, the pattern is that small group tuition is effective’ (EEF)

2, 6

Study Skills intervention for KS4

‘Overall, the pattern is that small group tuition is effective’ (EEF)

6

Homework Club

‘Surveys in England suggest that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to have a quiet working space, are less likely to have access to a device suitable for learning or a stable internet connection and may receive less parental support to complete homework and develop effective learning habits. These difficulties may increase the gap in attainment for disadvantaged pupils.’ (EEF)

1, 2

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Future Frontiers organisation

Students will be taken on trips to improve their cultural capital. Supporting pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural needs (EEF recommendation)

1

Youth Action Alliance

Students will be taken on trips to improve their cultural capital. Supporting pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural needs (EEF recommendation)

1,4,5

Mentoring Sessions

Alongside academic outcomes, SEL interventions have an identifiable and valuable impact on attitudes to learning and social relationships in school. (EEF)

1

Social Groups

‘SEL interventions in education are shown to improve SEL skills and are therefore likely to support disadvantaged pupils to understand and engage in healthy relationships with peers and emotional self-regulation, both of which may subsequently increase academic attainment.’ (EEF)

4,5

Breakfast Club

The EEF ‘Magic Breakfast’ research showed that pupil behaviour and attainment improved for schools that ran a breakfast club (EEF research)

1,4

KS3 Community Club

‘An inclusive school removes barriers to learning and participation, making sure pupils feel seen, understood, and safe is a crucial starting point for supporting attendance, especially for more vulnerable students who may have fewer protective factors than others.’ (EEF)

1,5

Wider School Trips

Including but not limited to Eton College, Imperial College, The Supreme Court.

Students will be taken on trips to improve their cultural capital. Supporting pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural needs (EEF recommendation)

1,5

Pupil Premium students at The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School continued to do well in public examinations (see table below).

To try and bridge the gap between the school average and pupil premium results, the English department ran targeted intervention sessions twice a week before moving to three times a week aimed specifically at pupil premium students. The sessions focused on micro timings, study skills and exam technique. These intervention sessions were mirrored in all core subjects with the data highlighting their effectiveness. In the January, 19.2% of pupil premium students were predicted 9-7 in English and Maths, with this figure rising to 26.9% in the public examinations. Equally those predicted 9-4 in English and Maths in January were 88.5% rising to 92.3% in the public examinations.

Furthermore, pupil premium students also excelled in KS5 and university application with 100% continuing their education at degree level and 56% of the cohort gaining places at Russel Group Universities. This was partly due to our continued partnerships with various Russel Group universities that offered easier access for pupils of a disadvantaged background.  

At KS3 and KS4, pupils were given a termly reading book which they were encouraged to read at the beginning of English lessons or in forms. The scheme focused around improving the reading level of many of our pupils. The books varied by year group, both fiction and non-fiction, and covered topics such as diversity in Britain, geo-politics and age-appropriate problems.   

To further support the exceptional progress of our students, we combine robust social, emotional, and mental health initiatives with comprehensive career guidance to prepare them for future success. This can be seen in the Future Frontiers programme which we enrolled members of the year 10 cohort into. The programme followed a three-phase approach of inspiring pupils to think about their futures, creating an action plan of how those visions could be achieved and finally providing support post GCSE results.

This ran in tandem with a dedicated school wide careers programme which brought in experts from finance, publishing, journalism and medicine to inspire students to consider their futures. Along with the dedicated in-school programme, pupil premium students also attended educational visits to TFL headquarters, Imperial College, Eton College and the Supreme Court.