Detail

Data

Number of pupils in school

285

Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils

45.8% (93 pupils)

Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers

2025/26

Date this statement was published

December 2025

Date on which it will be reviewed

December 2026

Statement authorised by

Graham Cunningham

Pupil premium lead

Amy Willis

Governor leads

Phil Haige and Juliette Skinner

Detail

Amount

Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year

£99,975

Pupil premium (and recovery premium*) funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable)

£68,897

Total budget for this academic year

£168,897

Statement of intent

The Pupil Premium (PP) is additional funding provided to publicly funded schools in England to support disadvantaged pupils of all abilities, helping them achieve their full potential and close attainment gaps with their peers. In the academic year 2025/26, Meadow High School will receive £99,975 in Pupil Premium funding to support students across Key Stages 3 and 4. Additional funding is also provided for Children Looked After (CLA) and Children Previously Looked After (CPLA). This funding will be ring-fenced to support these students, with CLA outcomes reported separately through the Hillingdon Virtual School.

Leadership and Accountability

 Responsibility for Pupil Premium outcomes is embedded across the school’s senior leadership team. Our Vision at Meadow High School is that we are committed to ensuring that all pupils, regardless of background or disadvantage, achieve high levels of attainment, make strong progress, and experience a broad and enriching education. Our PP strategy is informed by a thorough analysis of school performance data and an understanding of the local context. We serve a large, diverse community, where all our pupils have significant special educational needs. As a result we observe differences in outcomes compared to peers, particularly in:

• Access to opportunities in the community 

• Academic attainment

• Employability

• Independence and life skills

• Access to secure housing 

Strategic Objectives

Our Pupil Premium strategy focuses on:

• Building trusting relationships and understanding behaviour through a therapeutic lens.

• Using robust assessment and reflection to identify strengths and needs.

 • Promoting equity through inclusion.

• Embedding Meadow’s values in everything we do!

Key Principles

The following whole-school priorities underpin our PP strategy with the first being our unremitting focus:

• Quality First Teaching – ensuring all pupils access effective, engaging lessons every day.

• Attendance – promoting regular attendance and engagement, with a target of 95%.

• Celebrating Academic Success – recognising achievement to motivate and inspire all learners.

EEF Three-Tier Approach

Our strategy aligns with the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) framework:

1. High-Quality Teaching and Learning – adaptive, personalised, and evidence-informed instruction.

2. Targeted Academic Support – summer schools, interventions, and additional resources for students requiring extra support.

3. Wider Strategies – social, emotional, and behavioural support, development of cultural capital, and parental engagement. By prioritising these approaches,  Meadow High  School aims to deliver a robust and equitable education, ensuring that disadvantaged students achieve their potential and are prepared for future success.

It is worth noting, Meadow High School is moving to a split-site establishment from September 2026, with a significant pupil number increase anticipated from this date. Although it is not anticipated to change the proportion of pupils eligible for PP, it will increase the number of pupils.

Challenge number

Detail of challenge

1

Attendance and persistent absence

Attendance remains a barrier for a proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Persistent absence, including emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA), reduces learning time and has a direct impact on attainment, wellbeing, and engagement.

2

Social, emotional and mental health needs

Disadvantaged pupils are more likely to experience anxiety, low self-confidence, and emotional challenges. These needs can affect behaviour, attendance, and readiness to learn if not identified and supported early. Some people report, via our school council, that they would  like additional mental health support.

3

Limited aspirations and cultural capital

Some disadvantaged pupils have fewer opportunities to develop confidence, cultural capital, and awareness of future pathways. Financial constraints and limited exposure to enrichment and role models can restrict ambition and progression. Some disadvantaged pupils have fewer opportunities to engage in limited age appropriate social opportunities due to their additional needs.

4

Attainment and progress gaps

Despite high-quality teaching across the school, disadvantaged pupils are more likely to underperform compared to their peers, particularly at key assessment points. Our pupils are advocating wanting a wider range of meaningful and purposeful accreditation opportunities to further enrich the curriculum. Some pupils require additional concrete resources  and additional intervention to access the curriculum appropriately.

Intended outcomes

Success criteria

Outcome 1:

Improved attendance and engagement

Overall attendance for disadvantaged pupils improves.

Rates of persistent absence reduce, including for pupils experiencing EBSNA.

Pupils feel supported to attend regularly and engage positively with school.

Specific 2025/26:

• By July 2026, overall attendance for disadvantaged pupils will increase by at least 3% and the proportion of disadvantaged pupils classified as persistently absent will reduce by at least 3% from the September 2025 baseline, including those experiencing EBSNA.

• Key group attendance (PPMs) will reduce by 3%.

Outcome 2:

Improved wellbeing and readiness to learn

Disadvantaged pupils demonstrate improved emotional wellbeing, resilience, and self-confidence.

Social and emotional barriers to learning are identified early and addressed effectively.

Specific 2025/26:

• At least 80% of disadvantaged pupils receiving pastoral or wellbeing support will show improved emotional wellbeing and resilience, evidenced through reduced referrals, improved attendance or engagement, and positive pupil voice feedback.

Outcome 3:

Reduced impact of financial and external barriers

Disadvantaged pupils have full access to resources,  uniform, trips, and enrichment.

Financial hardship does not prevent participation, progress, or a strong sense of belonging.

Specific 2025/26:

• All PP pupils in year 9-11 have the option to attend a residential trip for four nights, appropriately subsidised to make it affordable and accessible.

• 90% of PP students have attended an enrichment activity (club or trip) during 2025-26

Outcome 4:

Improved attainment and progress .

Disadvantaged pupils make strong progress from their starting points across all key stages.

The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers continues to narrow, particularly in English and Mathematics.

Specific 2025/26:

All disadvantaged pupils access Entry Level or Functional Skills qualifications in Mathematics and English. Most disadvantaged pupils access life skills or vocational qualifications. Some disadvantaged pupils access GCSE Mathematics and English qualifications.

Activity in this academic year

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Budgeted Costs

Supporting pupils mental well-being:

Development of a relational behaviour management approach through high quality staff CPD and the development of a student behaviour curriculum.

A significant number of pupils require additional support with behaviour, attendance, and learning due to their underlying special educational needs.

Social and emotional learning | EEF

Behaviour interventions | EEF

Improving Behaviour in Schools | EEF

2

£1,000

Diagnostic Assessments: 

Purchase of standardised diagnostic assessments to target classroom base and withdrawal interventions. Further CPD for staff on the use of diagnostic assessment so that the application of knowledge tasks identify gaps in knowledge

Standardised assessments, provide reliable insights into the strengths and areas for development of individual pupils, ensuring that students can access appropriate targeted interventions.

This assessment data inform our CPD programmes, supporting staff to adapt their curriculum to meet the needs of every student. Additionally, findings from the EEF Diagnostic Assessment Toolkit are incorporated into teacher training to further enhance evidence-informed classroom practice.

Diagnostic_Assessment_Tool.pdf

4

£5,000

Curriculum Resourcing

Pupils to benefit from accessing high quality, age-appropriate concrete resources to enhance the curriculum offer in light of the school's growth over 2 sites and to support a wider cognitive range of pupils than previously.  

4

£40,000

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Budgeted Costs

Supporting pupils mental well-being and our families

Following pupil advocacy and observed needs amongst our population we are offering access to a school councillor and music therapy for pupils with an identified need beyond our extensive universal offer. 

Research consistently shows that supporting pupils’ social, emotional, and mental well-being has a positive impact on learning, particularly for disadvantaged students. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) reports that social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions can help pupils manage emotions, build resilience, and improve relationships.

Social and emotional learning | EEF

Research reveals alarming decline in youth mental health in England

EEF guidance on closing the disadvantage gap also highlights that disadvantaged pupils benefit most from approaches that address wider barriers such as mental-health needs, attendance challenges, and family circumstances. Strengthening protective factors—such as access to counselling, trusted adults, and targeted support for emotionally based school non-attendance—aligns with these findings. Closing the Disadvantage Gap (EEF Toolkit) ASE IIS.pdf

2

School Councillor (2 days per week): £12,500

Music Therapy (2 days per week): £11,000

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge
number(s) addressed

Budgeted
costs

Pupil Assistance Fund

The pupil assistance fund aims to ensure that students can access the full range of academic support necessary to reach parity with their peers.

Implement a comprehensive support programme
for any student resources required to include:

• Uniform 

• PE kit

School uniform | EEF

1, 3

£2,500

Enrichment Fund

The Enrichment fund is in place to help ensure all students have equal access to school opportunities.

By covering costs for trips, resources,
residential breaks, and more, we remove
barriers to learning and support students
from disadvantaged backgrounds. This
ensures they can fully participate in school
life without feeling different

Development of extra curricular opportunities
to ensure all pupils develop  cultural capital, confidence and a life-long love of learning
beyond the school.

To include:

• Funding support for trips and visits (including our residential opportunities for all pupils year 8-11)

• Extra-Curricular Clubs

• Covering/ supporting cost of equipment

Outdoor adventure learning | EEF

Physical activity | EEF

Research also points towards cultural participation having an impact on analytical and academic competence: Cultural capital, teacher bias, and educational success: New evidence from monozygotic twins - ScienceDirect (Jaeger & Mollegaard, 2017)

1, 2, 3, 4

£35,000

Hardship/ Contingency Fund

Based on our experience and that of similar local schools, we have set aside a small discretionary fund to respond quickly to emerging student needs. Staff can apply for support for students from this fund through the PP Lead,, ensuring timely and targeted assistance for students as new challenges arise. These needs will be identified through observation and close working partnership with parents and other care givers.

This support is designed to remove non-academic barriers to learning, improve attendance, and ensure that disadvantaged students and their families receive timely, specialist help above what is already accounted for.

Parental engagement | EEF

REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICE IN PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT

1,2

£5,000

Supporting improved attendance:

Attendance interventions based on regular data analysis embedding principles from DfE’s :Improving school attendance: support for schools and local authorities - GOV.UK

• Attendance officer to monitor and support attendance and work with senior leaders to develop monitoring

• Pastoral leads in each key stage, with specific knowledge of students and families (regular phone calls and home visits), develop  key individual plans to focus on target group 80 – 90% and Persistent absence students.

• Individualised and group rewards to reinforce good school attendance.

• Practical support through transport support, where this is an identified barrier to school attendance,

Attainment of students will only improve if they are attending school.

Current attendance monitoring shows that disadvantaged students have higher absence than their peers.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/framework-for-securing-full-attendance-actions-for-schools-and-local-authorities

Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils

We aspire for 95% attendance across our pupil population. Supporting a cultural shift in attitudes of parents was felt to be key in a small number of situations. Our pastoral leads, alongside our attendance officier,  works with the most hard-to-reach families and support families and students with exceptional needs to identify and overcome individual barriers.

1

£3,000

School Holiday Club

Pupils have access to a school holiday club, subsidised to ensure all can access if they wish. The summer school is run by teachers and teaching assistants known to the pupils,to provide additional experiences, such as community engagement, arts and sporting activities.

Summer schools | EEF

3,4

£5,000

Behaviour Mentor

Additional Teaching Assistant Support

School Councillor

Play Therapy

Residential Trips

Programme

Provider

Music Therapy

Teach Major

School Counselling

Connect-Ed School Counselling & Therapy Service

Relational Behaviour and Behaviour Curriculum

Therapeutic Thinking