This statement details our academy’s use of pupil premium funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged students.
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 academy.
Detail | Data |
| School name | Bradfields Academy |
| Number of students in school | 453 |
| Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible students | 45.7% |
| Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended) | 2023/24 to 2025/26 |
| Date this statement was published | December 2025 |
| Date on which it will be reviewed | August 2026 |
| Statement authorised by | Marie Sweetlove |
| Pupil premium lead | Elizabeth Halton – Vice Principal |
| Governor / Trustee lead | Leah Bernard Assistant Principal |
Funding overview
Detail | Amount |
| Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year | £164,248 |
| Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year | £0 |
| 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 | £164,248 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
The curriculum intent for Bradfields Academy is:Â
- Promote individual and personalised development of academic potential and the ability to transfer those skills to everyday life, work and career opportunities.
- Encourage all individuals to thrive, learn and achieve, to feel happy, safe and supported,
- Promote a healthy lifestyle,care for each other, celebration of success, and the ability to work through difficulties; within and beyond into the wider community.
- Develop strength of character and promotes the resilience needed to make the most of life that lies ahead. 
The curriculum model has been devised to deliver on the intent and is underpinned by 4 main pillars
- Excellence
- Character
- Learning to Learn
- Personalisation
We want the curriculum to deliver 4 outcomes for all:
Successful Learners
- That have high academic standards
- That know how to learn
- That make exceptional progress
- That have a love of learning
- That achieve aspirational transition
Strong Identity
- Where all have pride in themselves and their community
- Where staff teams progress and develop
- Where the academy enjoys a positive reputation
- Where all have a sense of their own character
Active Citizens
- That are employable
- That are engaged in their community
- That have a sense of place in their community
- That are independent
Impact on the Wider Community
- Resulting in robust collaborations and partnerships
- Supporting strong parental engagement
- Evidencing successful work with local business
 As a SEND provision, all of our students are considered vulnerable and as such, this is our intent for all students regardless of their background or the challenges they face. The activities we have outlined in this statement are intended to support the needs of all, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not.
High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which students require the most support. This is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap. Our data suggests that the attainment gap is not significant and so will at the same time benefit all students in our academy. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that all student’s attainment will be sustained and improved alongside progress for their Pupil Premium (PP) peers.
Our strategy is also integral to wider academy plans for education recovery, for students whose education has been worst affected by the pandemic.
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 all students excel. To ensure they are effective we will:
- Ensure disadvantaged students are challenged in the work that they are set
- Act early to intervene at the point need is identified
Adopt a whole academy approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged students’ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
Challenge number | Detail of challenge |
| 1 | Successful Learners Persistence absence continues to be an area to monitor and was an area of challenge from Ofsted (2022). Our attendance data for 2022-2023 shows no significant difference between Pupil Premium (PP) and the rest of the cohort. 91.91% compared to 90.73%. Persistent Absence category (attendance less than 90%) remains high at 31%. PP accounts for 33.5% of this (54 students). This would indicate that Persistent Absence for this group is a limiting factor that could negatively effect of progress. Update By the end of 23/24 the persistent absence rate for whole school was 27.25% and for PP students it was 26.79% showing no significant difference. It could be argued that strategies and spending are benefitting on all pupils. Figures for 24/25 showed a persistent absence rate of 29.02% for the whole academy and 28.57% for PP students. |
| 2 | Strong Identity Whole School – Current Academic Year
Pupil Premium Students – Current Academic Year
Whole School – Previous Academic Year
Pupil Premium Students – Previous Academic Year
You can see from the data above that PP students continue to have a higher average number of behaviour points compared to the rest of the academy, whilst the average for achievement points are very similar. This could suggest that conduct could be a barrier to learning and progress for PP students. In the academic year 24/25 the complete year showed that Average Achievement Points were higher amongst PP students. The academy has switched to Arbor from SIMS as the MiS. This has initially seen an increase in achievements being awarded as the mechanics are easier. A whole school comparison will be beneficial at the end of the year. We are still exploring all the functions on Arbor. |
| 3 | Active Citizens The employment figure for people with a learning disability in employment is 4.8% nationally. This figure has fallen from Pre-Covid rate of 6.2%. Low aspiration from students and parents continues to be a challenge along with the local economic climate. Despite reported skills shortages and a work force shortage, employers are still resistant to employing young people with an SEN diagnosis. Many recruitment procedures actively discriminate against our cohort, for instance, insisting on 5 GCSE’s at level 4 or above for Entry level roles. This also results in a limited number of roles models and a lack of representation in the local community.  Anxiety and poor mental health mean that many of our students are reluctant to engage in the community. Independent skills and concerns by parents/carers also mean that their sense of belonging is impacted. Anecdotal evidence tells us that this is felt even more so by LAC students and PP students. |
| 4 | Impact on The Wider Community Since the impact of Covid active engagement from parents has dwindled. There were fewer events for parents/carers to attend at the academy and be involved in the same way as before. The sense of community is not as strong as it once was. Added to that the recent disruption that the new build and then the temporary build has had on the local community and likely impact of further building it is important to engage parents and the wider community. The community and local businesses are often unaware of the potential of our students and we need to build these partnerships in order to be able to showcase their skills and talents. By having strong links we will be able to build more career opportunities, raise awareness and understanding and build better outcomes for the students. We are seeing an increase in engagement from parents. Primary events are fully attended by parents. The coffee mornings or afternoon teas are again strongly attended and this is improved further still if there is a focus to the event. For example Pine have runs session for parents on supporting ASD. The Pastoral Review Day where parents come in for meetings with their tutors has seen a return to a high percentage of parents attending. Well over 90% booked appointments and just over 90% overall turned up for appointments. This is higher than any previous face to face parents evening. The Academic Review Days are less well attended although these are better attended than traditional Parent Evenings. We need to work with parents and staff to ascertain the best model for these. Parents and carers appear more likely to attend school and events for less formal meetings. |
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 |
| To achieve and sustain improved attendance for all students, particularly our Pupil Premium (PP) students. | Sustained high attendance from 2023/24 demonstrated by:
|
| To achieve and sustain improved behaviour outcomes for all students, particularly PP students. | Sustain a lower rate of behaviour points for all students year on year up to and including 2025/26 and the average behaviour point to average achievement point for all students is 1:4 |
| Improved attainment in maths and English at both KS3 and KS4 for PP students. | KS3 and KS4 maths and English outcomes in 2023/24 show that all PP students are making expected progress in relation to their baseline data |
| Review and adapt current Careers curriculum to ensure necessary skills are being developed in students | Established and secure careers curriculum for all students adapted to need. The range of destinations from Bradfields continues to develop reflecting students aspirations Extended range of WEX opportunities are established both in house, external and supported |
| To achieve and sustain improved wellbeing for all students in our academy, particularly our PP students. | Sustained high levels of wellbeing from 2023/24 demonstrated by:
|
| Increase the opportunities for partnerships in the wider community | Increased diversity of WEX opportunities available Greater collaboration with Community in careers curriculum Higher proportion of students where appropriate taking an employability route in transition |
| Increase the range or opportunities for parents to engage with the academy | Strong links developed with PSP team Increased attendance by parents/carers at events, specifically those around student progress Increased parental satisfaction shown in surveys from 2023/24 to 2025/26 |
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: £88,000
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
Phonics 1)ensure training of new staff takes place 2)literacy intervention leads appointed to deliver targeted support to small groups or 1 2 1 3)monitor outcomes of interventions |
More information can be found here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk
| 1 |
Rebound Therapy – See also Targeted Academic Support
Investigate purchase of second trampoline subject to space in new build | There is a small positive impact of physical activity on academic attainment (+1 month). While this evidence summary focuses on the link between physical activity and academic performance, it is crucial to ensure that pupils access to high quality physical activity for the other benefits and opportunities it provides. Impact on attainment varies considerably between different interventions, and participation in sports does not straightforwardly transfer to academic learning. It is likely that the quality of the programme and the emphasis on or connection with academic learning may make more difference than the specific type of approach or activities involved. More information can be found here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk | 1, 3 |
Trauma Informed Practice Develop a common vocabulary across the academy | Social and emotional learning approaches have a positive impact, on average, of 4 months’ additional progress in academic outcomes over the course of an academic year. Three broad categories of SEL interventions can be identified: School-level approaches to developing a positive school ethos, which also aim to support greater engagement in learning; Universal programmes which generally take place in the classroom with the whole class; and more specialised programmes which use elements of SEL and are targeted at students with particular social or emotional needs. More information can be found here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk | 1, 2, 3 |
Teaching Vacancies Continue to monitor staffing to reflect the changing needs of the cohort. All recruitment will be dependent on sufficient budget being available | The academy currently has some vacancies, due to internal promotions and a staff member moving to F2E (Easter) | 1, 2 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £44,000
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
Recovery Leads Seek to move current students to a provision that can better support their needs so that the recovery leads can be utilised in the way it was envisaged. Formally measure impact using the data that is currently being gathered | Teaching assistants are generally deployed in two ways; to support the teacher in the general classroom environment, or to provide targeted interventions, which are often delivered out-of-class. The role can also include administrative support. Teaching assistants can provide a large positive impact on learner outcomes, however, how they are deployed is key. The average impact of the deployment of teaching assistants is about an additional four months’ progress over the course of a year. More information can be found here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk
| 1, 2, 3 |
Academy Behaviour Policy
Embed the new policy across all communities and ensure that new procedure are being delivered Formally measure impact and address any changes that may be needed | This academic year will see us embark on a full review of our behaviour policy. This is necessary because we have grown to 402 students and will grow further to 444. The original set of practices are not efficient across the larger site. There is also an increase in the complexities of some of the students and we need to ensure that the practices and policies fully support their needs. The review will incorporate full consultation with staff, students and parents. This review has occurred and we are entering the second year of the Behaviour Policy. There were a few amendments at the end of the last academic year. Noticeable areas is that there are fewer suspensions across the year as it appears that incidents are dealt with at a lower level. | 1, 2 |
Rebound Therapy – See also teaching Investigate possibility of rebound therapy being offered outside of PE lessons as a further therapy source | See Teaching Table Above | 1, 3 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £44,000
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
Occupational Therapy Increasing number of student are waiting to be assessed for OT. The academy has hired the independent services of a Physio and OT. This is the same person that provides the Physio and OT to those entitled to NHS provision | Preventing behaviours from dysregulation which results in students missing learning. | 1 |
Embedding principles of good practice set out in the DfE’s Improving school attendance: support for schools and local authorities. Further details can be found here: GOV Website Formalisation of the system to fine those parents who still take students out of school. Fully understand the process and adopt in the correct way | The DfE guidance has been informed by engagement with schools that have significantly reduced levels of absence and persistent absence. | 1, 2, 3 |
Therapy Service Continue to review changing cohort to ensure relevant therapist re available under increasing pressure of referrals. Investigate further ways of enhancing the Speech and Language provision to assist the SLOTP team in managing their caseload. | Provide ‘low level’ therapeutic support through interventions such as friendship groups therefore relieving some of the pressure on waiting lists which can then focus on students with higher level needs. | 1, 2, 3 |
Parents and Carer Partnership  Timely review of the support that can be offered is meeting the needs of our current Parents and carers and the needs of the academy | Parental engagement refers to teachers and schools involving parents in supporting their children’s academic learning. It includes:
Parental engagement has a positive impact on average of 4 months’ additional progress. It is crucial to consider how to engage with all parents to avoid widening attainment gaps. More information can be found here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk | 4 |
Networking in the local community and with local businesses  Strengthen and build on existing relationships | By aspirations we mean the things children and young people hope to achieve for themselves in the future. To meet their aspirations about careers, university, and further education, pupils often require good educational outcomes. Raising aspirations is therefore often believed to incentivise improved attainment. Aspiration interventions tend to fall into three broad categories: interventions that focus on parents and families; interventions that focus on teaching practice; and out-of-school interventions or extra-curricular activities, sometimes involving peers or mentors. More information can be found here: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk | 4 |
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.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
| Activity | Action | Progress to date | Next steps |
Training in Phonics for all Maple and Pine Teachers and English TAs
Training in phonics for all staff will benefit all students not just PP students | Suitable training sourced and staff enrolled on the programme
| All intended staff have now been trained in the phonics programme | 1)ensure training of new staff takes place 2)literacy intervention leads appointed to deliver targeted support to small groups or 1 2 1 3)monitor outcomes of interventions |
Training in Rebound therapy for all PE staff
Now offered across the curriculum not just PP students | Suitable training sourced and all staff enrolled | Staff training completed and rebound sessions extended across the academy during PE lessons | 1)investigate possibility of rebound therapy being offered outside of PE lessons as a further therapy source 2) purchase of second trampoline subject to space in new build |
All staff to develop knowledge and practice around Trauma Informed Practice
Although PP students will benefit as the vast majority will have experience trauma, improved practice of staff will benefit all students | Train the trainer training to take place for key staff Training to be rolled out to all staff | 3 key staff are trained to deliver the training to all staff. Training has been delivered at key points across the academic year to all staff MELSA training has also been purchased and attended to support this further | Develop a common vocabulary across the academy |
Ensure any teaching vacancies are filled | Recruitment of key positions | There are currently vacancies due to internal promotions and staff moving provisions within the trust. | Continue to monitor staffing to reflect the changing needs of the cohort. All recruitment will be dependent on sufficient budget being available |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
| Activity | Next Steps | Progress to date and cost | Next steps |
Embed the role of recovery leads across the academy and establish a system to measure impact to ensure success Recovery leads will work with all students across the academy who need the support | Ensure all staff are aware of the role of the recovery lead through staff training and information sharing | Recovery lead positions were fully staffed and then a vacancy became available that was then subsequently filled. Change of line management has been facilitated to ensure they are fully supported Impact has been shown but not in a way it was envisaged they were going to be used. Being utilised to support 2 students who don’t fit within current communities and need more intensive support | Seek to move current students to a provision that can better support their needs so that the recovery leads can be utilised in the way it was envisaged. Formally measure impact using the data that is currently being gathered |
Review of Academy behaviour policy to ensure this still remains appropriate due to changing cohort and size of academy
Updated behaviour policy is to be applied across the academy | Full review of behaviour Policy | Review completed and new behaviour policy written and implemented Staff training in new policy and procedures taken place Impact being measured in the reduced number of detentions that are at SLT level – currently vast majority held at MLT level Reduction in number of suspensions and exclusions compared to this time last year | Embed the new policy across all communities and ensure that new procedure are being delivered Formally measure impact and address any changes that may be needed. New restraint guidance comes into place on the 1st April 2026. We will need to review forms procedures and the Behaviour policy. |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
| Activity | Action | Progress to date | Next steps |
Embedding principles of good practice set out in the DfE’s Improving school attendance: support for schools and local authorities. More information is available here: GOV Website Continued support of SEAAS for all students | Review of attendance policy |
New attendance policy written that follows new guidelines on holidays Continue to gain support from SEAAs. This has now ended as the service is unavailable. It has been decided currently not to replace as the new Attendance Officer and the Parent Partnership Team have this well in hand. Potential increase in unauthorised absence due to holidays not being authorised in line with new guidance. We have had an issue with this already as we had two families stuck abroad at the start of this year. | Formalisation of the system to fine those parents who still take students out of school. Fully understand the process and adopt in the correct way |
Extend current provision of therapy service available to students All students have access to therapy but PP will go to top of the list due to funding | Review of current level of support | Continue to support newly qualified therapists with their training. Julie took part in the induction diploma so new staff have a full understanding of the therapy that is delivered at Bradfields. | Continue to review changing cohort to ensure relevant therapist re available under increasing pressure of referrals. |
Extend current provision provided by Parents and Carer Partnership | Review of current level of support | Capacity extended to three member of staff broadening the capacity and level of support | Timely review of the support that can be offered is meeting the needs of our current Parents and carers and the needs of the academy |
Engage in networking in the local community and with local businesses | Networking to support with careers activities and to enhance reputation in the community | Continue to network with the local business community and also the local authorities | Strengthen and build on existing relationships |
Externally Provided Programmes
Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help the Department for Education identify which ones are popular in England
Programme | Provider |
| IXL subscription | Online subscription |
| Times Tables Rock Stars subscription | Online subscription |
| Education City subscription | Online subscription |
| Beanstalk Reading Mentors | Coram Beanstalk |
Service pupil premium funding (optional)
We do not currently receive any Service Pupil Premium.
Measure | Details |
| How did you spend your service pupil premium allocation last academic year? | N/A |
| What was the impact of that spending on service pupil premium eligible pupils? | N/A |
Futher information (optional)
In addition to the interventions detailed above, Pupil Premium money has also been used for, and will continue to be used to:
- Employ high levels of staff in each class to meet individual needs
- Establish and maintain a wider pastoral support provision deemed by OFSTED and other external agencies as exemplar
- Provide targeted support for students in developing communication and social skills
- Provide English examination support by supporting the cost of external exam text based workshops.
- Provide welfare support for families during the lockdown period, by funding extra therapeutic hours so that students could access these remotely or in the academy.
- Utilising a DfE grant to train a senior mental health lead. The training we have selected will focus on the training needs identified through the online tool: to develop our understanding of our students’ needs, give students a voice in how we address wellbeing, and support more effective collaboration with parents.
- Offering a wide range of high-quality extracurricular activities to boost wellbeing, behaviour, attendance, and aspiration. Activities will focus on building life skills such as confidence, resilience, and socialising. Disadvantaged students will be encouraged and supported to participate.
Planning, implementation, and evaluation
In planning our new pupil premium strategy, we evaluated why the activity undertaken in previous years had not had the degree of impact that we had expected.
We triangulated evidence from multiple sources of data including assessments, engagement in class book scrutiny, conversations with parents, students and teachers in order to identify the challenges faced by disadvantaged students. We also used the EEF’s families of schools database to view the performance of disadvantaged students in schools similar to ours and contacted schools with high-performing disadvantaged students to learn from their approach.
We looked at a number of reports, studies and research papers about effective use of pupil premium, the impact of disadvantage on education outcomes and how to address challenges to learning presented by socio-economic disadvantage. We also looked at studies about the impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged students.
We used the EEF’s implementation guidance (available via this link: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/implementation) to help us develop our strategy, particularly the ‘explore’ phase to help us diagnose specific student needs and work out which activities and approaches are likely to work in our academy. We will continue to use it through the implementation of activities.
We have put a robust evaluation framework in place for the duration of our three-year approach and will adjust our plan over time to secure better outcomes for students.
Please see the below document for more information:
Contact David Waters, Principal, for more information:
- Email: david.waters@fortistrust.co.uk
- Phone: 01634 683990