What is Pupil Premium? 

Pupil Premium was introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.

Disadvantaged children are those who are in receipt of Free School Meals, Looked After Children or previously looked after and Forces Families.

All schools are entitled to Pupil Premium. It is calculated by the number of pupils we have who are or were eligible for free school meals in the last 6 years or who are identified as looked after by a Local Authority (children in care or foster care).

At Norwich Road Academy, we have a high percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals compared to the national average.

                                                                       Equality and Equity

What is the difference between equality and equity? Equality means to ensure everyone has the same opportunities and received the same treatment and support. Equity is about giving people what they need in order to make things fair. This is not the same as equality or inequality, it is simply giving more to those who need it so they can reach their full potential.

Why Is Pupil Premium Important?

Nationally, there is a strong link between economic disadvantage and poor achievement in schools. Across the country there is a significant gap between the progress made by pupils eligible for free school meals and those who are not eligible. There are many reasons why this gap exists. Pupil Premium is given to schools to help us try to close this gap. It is important because it enables us to counteract the disadvantages that poverty imposes on children. It ensures we can put the support in place to help every child in our school thrive and fully master each stage of the curriculum.

All members of staff, governors and teaching assistants accept responsibility for ‘socially disadvantaged’ pupils and are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs within the school environment.

Norwich Road Academy is committed to ‘Diminishing the Difference’ between vulnerable pupils and their peers. The pupil premium forms a vital part of this process. The governors reserve the right to allocate the pupil premium funding to support any pupils or groups of pupils the school has identified as being socially disadvantaged.

How Can We Spend Pupil Premium?  

As a school, we plan for and closely monitor the progress of disadvantaged children; using this funding to support their learning and participation in school life.  Annually, schools must create a clear strategy statement to detail exactly how they will spend this funding.

The work of the Education Endowment Foundation has been used (along with our Academy values) by our Leadership Team to underpin the strategy and decisions in our Pupil Premium Strategy. The Education Endowment Foundation’s Families of Schools database ensures that good practices by similar schools can be reviewed and shared. We use this to inform our practice.

We are here to help our families:

Norwich Road Academy is well equipped to support our families in many ways.  This support can individual support to a family, parenting classes and groups or referrals to external services.

Please contact our academy office on 01842 753279    or pop into the academy office and a member of our team will meet with you.  Mrs Marshall (Inclusion Lead) is able to provide a wide range of support to children and families.  She is able to provide support on a range of areas, including positive behaviour, parenting, healthy routines and managing emotions.  She is also able to signpost you to external agencies that will be able to provide specialist support.  

If you need support with a food bank voucher or school uniform please contact the academy.  Norwich Road Academy works closely with Thetford's Grow Kids Charity, who aim to support the families of Thetford. 

Mrs Purvis is our Pupil Premium lead, she works alongside all staff to promote and embed the academy's Pupil Premium Strategy.

The reports below outline our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils last academic year.

Pupil Premium 2024-2025

For a full breakdown of our 2024-25 spend, please click 

Pupil Premium 2023-2024

For a full breakdown of our 2023-24 spend, please click  here

Pupil Premium 2022-2023

For a full breakdown of our 2022-23 spend, please click  here

Pupil Premium 2021-2022

For a full breakdown of our 2021-22 spend, please click  here

Pupil Premium 2020-2021

For a full breakdown of our 2020-21  catch-up spend, please click here

For a full breakdown of our 2020-21 spend, please click here

Pupil Premium 2019-2020

For a full breakdown of our 2019-20 spend, please click here

Pupil Premium 2018-2019

For a full breakdown of our 2018-19 spend, please click here