Almost all students at The Fermain Academy are dual registered, with the main registration being their ‘home school’. We therefore do not usually receive any Pupil Premium Funding (PPF) directly , and assume that it makes up part of the commissioning fees to the Academy. The commissioning fees that the school receives are used to personalise learning through specialist teachers, mental health and pastoral support, incentives and rewards, educational visits, and other enrichment opportunities. This has helped students improve their attainment, attendance and engagement, and lead to extremely positive outcomes for all pupils, particularly in relation to their starting points.
Previous to 2024-25 we have reported our Pupil Premium funding based on the actual funding directly received by Fermain. Due to 67% of our cohort being eligible for Pupil Premium funding we have amended this from 2024-25 to reflect the challenges that those students and families face irrespective of where the funding is received.
Whilst this does provide a challenge for the school, we strategically plan and deliver on the model of full pupil premium funding to maximise support for our disadvantaged students and families. We base our disadvantaged provision on the number of PPG students and not the PPG money that we receive.
2024 – 2027
Pupil Premium Report 2024-2027 – The Fermain Academy
Prior to 2024-2025
During the 2020/2021 Academic Year, we received £467 in pupil premium funding. This funding was received directly from the ESFA and was all in relation to one pupil. This funding was used to help pay for Saturday school and holiday clubs which the pupil was able to access on several occasions. The total cost of these activities over the course of the year was circa £1,500. Activities such as recording studio time, football matches and other trips and excursions were used to help build confidence and enrich curricular learning. These opportunities are afforded to all our pupils, but especially those most vulnerable young people, and the pupil premium grant helped facilitate these experiences, greatly enriching the provision and support we can offer to young people, and helping to further build their self-confidence and independence.
In 2022-23 we received a similar amount of pupil premium funding which was spent on more enriching activities. Due to the small amount of funding we receive, the academy essentially ‘tops up’ the funding to provide these opportunities to its students through it’s normal High Needs top up funding.
In 2023 – 24, as in 2022-23, the school was in receipt of pupil premium funding for fewer than 5 pupils and was therefore not required to publish a report. The DfE guidance on this can be found here –