Dr Colin Wilsdon with Minister of State Sarah Teather MP and Cllr Hazel Thorpe

Pupil Premium designed to close attainment gap – Dr Colin Wilsdon

Commenting on figures released recently which show that there is a significant educational gap in West Sussex,

Dr Colin Wilsdon, Lib Dem Spokesman for Children and Young People said:

“These are worrying figures for our area but we do need to look beyond the headlines. By the time people reach the age of 16, educational underachievement has become difficult to tackle.

“For example, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are half as likely to achieve five good GSCEs.

“This will not change overnight but requires action from the earliest age because the most important years for a child’s development are the early years.

“That is why Liberal Democrats in Government are extending free early years education to include the poorest two-year olds and are investing £3,443.25 in West Sussex in the Pupil Premium to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds right from the start of their education.

“This will make a real difference to close the attainment gap and ensures everyone child has the fair start in life they deserve.”

Notes:-

Numbers of West Sussex residents with no qualifications between the ages of 16-64

Breakdown by constituency

Mid Sussex 2,500 4.2%                                            

Worthing West 3,000 5.5%

Horsham 3,600 5.9%

Arundel & South Downs 4,200 7.5%

East Worthing & Shoreham 4,900 8.4%

Crawley 6,500 9%

Chichester 6,600 10.6%

Bognor Regis & Littlehampton 8,100 13.5%

Data supplied by the annual population survey carried out by ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis on 4 July 2011]

THE DEPRIVATION AND SERVICE CHILDREN PUPIL PREMIUM ACTUAL ALLOCATIONS WILL BE BASED ON THE JANUARY 2011 CENSUSES. THIS TABLE REPRESENTS ESTIMATES FOR THOSE PREMIUMS BASED UPON HISTORIC NUMBERS ONLY.
No. of pupils eligible for pupil premium (FSM) (1) No. of pupils eligible for pupil premium (looked after children) (2) No. of pupils eligible for pupil premium (service children) (3) Total (4)                     7,405                      470                     285      3,443,250
NOTES
All data is rounded to the nearest 5 and data is suppressed if there are fewer than 6 eligible Looked After Children
(1) Includes Reception to Year 11 pupils eligible for FSM in Primary, Middle-Deemed Primary, Secondary, Middle-Deemed Secondary, Academies, CTCs, Maintained Specials and DSG funded pupils in the PRU Census and Alternative Provision Census as recorded on the January 2010 School Census
(2) Number of Looked After Pupils by Local Authority who at some point in the year to 31 March 2010 were looked after continuously for at least 6 months, and who were aged 4 – 15 on 31 August 2009
(3) As recorded on the January 2010 School Census.
(4) The estimates illustrated here are based on January 2010 FSM and Service Children data. A contingency has been modelled for enhanced reporting of eligibility for FSM and of being a Service Child expected for the January 2011 School Census as a consequence of the introduction of the Pupil Premium.

Full reports available on request.

   Leave a comment