Core Beliefs and Statement of Intent
At Daubeney Academy, we firmly believe in providing an exceptional education to every student, regardless of their background, personal characteristics, or circumstances. We are dedicated to ensuring that students from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds excel in our school. Our goal is for students receiving pupil premium funding to make significantly greater progress compared to their non-disadvantaged peers nationally. This will likely take a number of years to achieve from the start points we have in 2023. To guide our use of funding, we analyse the academic performance and progress of students receiving pupil premium funding on a national level. It is evident from national data that there is more variation in progress between schools than within schools. Therefore, our focus is on measuring the progress of our disadvantaged students against their non-disadvantaged peers nationally, rather than solely comparing progress within our school. We firmly believe that students receiving pupil premium funding will achieve great success when they attend an excellent school where all students thrive. Our approach to pupil premium spending prioritises the establishment of an outstanding whole-school culture and ethos that benefits all students.
We emphasise high-quality teaching and learning to ensure a consistently excellent daily experience for all students. Extensive research has informed our practices at Daubeney Academy. We have studied effective teaching and learning methods, and specifically referenced research papers and tools such as the Sutton Trust's "What makes great teaching," strategies for closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students, the EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium, and the Education Endowment Fund Toolkit. A 2011 Sutton Trust project highlighted the significant impact of high-quality teaching on students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with these students gaining 1.5 years' worth of learning with effective teachers compared to 0.5 years with poorly performing teachers over the course of a school year. Additionally, research on closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged students emphasised the importance of early, phonics-based literacy interventions. Based on these findings, our spending priorities revolve around high-quality teaching and learning, as well as early intervention literacy strategies. We prioritise recruiting, developing, and retaining exceptional teaching staff and leaders, allocating funding accordingly.