Pupil Premium Strategy Statement – Brookfield Community School

Detail

Data

School name

Brookfield School

Number of pupils in school

1851

Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils

13.8%

Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended)

2024/2025
to 2026/2027

Date this statement was published

December 2025

Date on which it will be reviewed

December 2026

Statement authorised by

Stuart Parkes, Headteacher

Pupil premium lead

Rachel Jones, Director of Learning

Governor / Trustee lead

Martin Wright

Amount

Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year

£294,663

Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year

Recovery Premium: £0

Catch Up Funding: £0

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

£0

Total budget for this academic year
If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year

£294,663

At Brookfield School, our mission statement of ‘Aspire, Act, Achieve’ applies equally to every one of our students, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face.  Our aim is that all of our staff, working in partnership with parents, carers and external agencies will provide opportunities and support to enable our students to make good progress and achieve their potential across the curriculum. In addition to this, our school-wide focus on helping students to display our Brookfield Characteristics of Self-confidence, Resilience, Kindness, Leadership and Respectfulness will ensure that they are prepared and able to look forward to their next steps beyond Brookfield. 

We regularly remind ourselves that excellent teaching for all students has a particular benefit for disadvantaged students (evidence from EEF research) and this can be seen in the high expectations in classrooms across the school. High-quality teaching is at the heart of our whole school approach, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support.

We collect progress data at regular intervals and analyse this data thoroughly to ensure that appropriate ‘catch-up’ interventions are swiftly put into place.  These interventions may involve both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students.  Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in robust diagnostic assessment, not assumptions about the impact of disadvantage.
The quality of relationships between staff and vulnerable students is strong.  This is demonstrated by the fact that we know our students well and do everything we can to remove barriers to engagement.  We ensure that our disadvantaged students are prepared for their next steps after Brookfield.

This strategy document links closely with our whole school action plan.  The activities we have outlined in this statement are also intended to support the needs of young people with a social worker, or who are young carers, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not.

Detail of challenge

1 Reading

Assessments, observations and discussion with KS3 pupils indicate that disadvantaged pupils generally have lower levels of reading comprehension than their peers. This impacts their progress in all subjects. 
In the academic year 2025/26, 36% of our disadvantaged pupils joined us with below age-related expectations in Reading, compared to 19% of the full year 7 cohort.    

2 Attainment

Our key priorities for 2025/26, based on thorough analysis of our 2025 GCSE results are:

• Attainment 8 for the disadvantaged cohort remains in the top 25% of Hampshire schools, ranking 15th of the 68 mainstream secondary schools, up from 42nd in 2023.  This supports the ongoing strategies implemented in the last 2 years.
• Continue bespoke action plans for disadvantaged students following mock exam results in year 11.
• Continue to tailor the option choices for disadvantaged students, especially the impact/workload of students studying several vocational courses in place of more traditional GCSE courses
• Tailor the pastoral provision for disadvantaged students to ensure comprehensive support and remove barriers to learning.

3 Social and Emotional Well-being

Our assessments, observations and discussions with pupils and families have identified social and emotional issues for many pupils, such as family relationship issues, anxiety and low mood.  These challenges particularly affect disadvantaged pupils, including their attainment.  We are also noticing a lack of resilience in many of our young people.  
The number of referrals for our internal mental health provision and for our commissioned counselling support continue to increase.

4 Attendance

Our attendance data over the last 3 years indicates that attendance among disadvantaged pupils has been 5-10% lower than for non-disadvantaged pupils.
45% of disadvantaged pupils were ‘persistently absent’ compared to 19% of their peers during that period. While these are inline with national figures, our assessments and observations indicate that absenteeism is negatively impacting disadvantaged pupils’ progress.

5 Wider school engagement

Our internal data on disadvantaged pupils’ engagement in co-curricular activities shows that similar numbers of disadvantaged/non-disadvantaged students sign up in the lower years, but that engagement declines at KS4.

Success criteria

Improved reading fluency and comprehension among disadvantaged pupils.

For students participating in the ‘Thinking Reading’ intervention programme, data shows that the gap between their reading age and their chronological age is decreasing very quickly.
Teachers should also have recognised this improvement through engagement in lessons and book scrutiny.
Targeted interventions will show improved levels of reading comprehension which will be evident in literacy-based subjects and lead to improved assessment results and overall attainment.      

Improved attainment among disadvantaged pupils across the curriculum at the end of KS4

By the end of our current plan in 2026/27, KS4 outcomes demonstrate that disadvantaged pupils continue to make progress that places them in the top quartile of secondary schools in Hampshire local authority.

To achieve and sustain improved wellbeing for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.

Sustained high levels of wellbeing demonstrated by qualitative data from student voice, student and parent surveys and teacher observations.

To achieve and sustain improved attendance for all pupils, particularly our disadvantaged pupils.

Sustained high attendance demonstrated by:

• the overall absence rate for all pupils being no more than 5%, and the attendance gap between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers being reduced by 2-5%.

To achieve regular engagement in co-curricular activity for our pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. 

By the end of our current plan, a greater percentage of our disadvantaged students will attend at least one co-curricular activity each week.

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Recruitment of highly skilled subject specialists.  We were fully staffed with subject specialists in September 2025. 

Supporting the Attainment of Disadvantaged Pupils (DfE, 2015) suggests high quality teaching as a key aspect of successful schools. 

1, 2

High quality teaching across the school based on the principles of data driven instruction; departments have clear processes for support before and after assessments.

Supporting the Attainment of Disadvantaged Pupils (DfE, 2015) suggests high quality teaching as a key aspect of successful schools. 

2

Develop Metacognitive and Self-regulation skills for all students. We are currently in the second year of a whole school focus on Metacognition.  In the academic year 2024/5 we agreed a common language to be used by staff and students when talking about learning and this is now well embedded across the school. Our specific area of focus this year is on Oracy.
All staff are involved in carousel groups which provide opportunities to explore and trial specific teaching strategies around the theme of metacognition, initially starting with Modelling, Checking for Understanding and Feedback.  Progress in these areas is then tracked and monitored through our system of Instructional Coaching.  

Teaching metacognitive strategies, and regularly reviewing key learning is supported by the Education Endowment Foundation as having a positive impact on learning

2

We offer excellent provision for ECTs, including 1:1 mentoring from a Lead Practitioner in year 2 of their ECT programme.   

We have a strong team of experienced Middle Leaders.  Regular Middle Leader meetings focus on a defined set of key areas for example driving forwards our work on metacognition, and Adaptive Teaching/supporting SEN learners.

2

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Additional 1:1 and small group Maths and English tuition, delivered by highly skilled tutors, focussing on year 7 students who were below ARE at the end of KS2 and year 11 students at the 3/4 and other key grade boundaries. 
A significant proportion of the pupils who receive tutoring will be disadvantaged.

Evidence indicates that one to one tuition can be effective, delivering approximately five additional months’ progress on average.  (EEF 2020)

2, 3

Continue to use Thinking Reading to ensure that all students have a reading age which at least matches their chronological age - this is a 1:1 reading intervention programme designed to quickly improve reading fluency and enable students to catch up so that their reading age matches their chronological age. We will aim to have ‘caught up’ students in all year groups by the end of the Spring term 2026 and our focus will then shift to the new year 7 intake each year, and any mid-year admissions. 

Evidence shows that behaviour and mental health issues can follow as a consequence of low reading ability.

‘Thinking Reading’ is a well respected evidence-based intervention programme.

1,2

All year 9 students completed a reading assessment in October 2025.  In Spring/Summer 2026 we will introduce a targeted intervention programme to tackle issues with reading comprehension and inference.  Many of the students involved in this programme will be disadvantaged.

We will ensure that our chosen comprehension intervention programme is an evidence-based intervention, based on the principles of Direct Instruction. 

1,2

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Comprehensive careers programme where Disadvantaged students are prioritised for 1:1 careers appointments and to attend external careers fairs in years 8 and 9. 

An EEF report (2016) found that:
Careers education works best when it is personalised and targeted to individuals’ needs from an early age. This, together with school-mediated employer engagement alongside independent and impartial career guidance, is key to supporting young people’s transitions into education, training and employment. 

2,3,4

Remove barriers to opportunities which provide cultural capital e.g by fully funding places for Disadvantaged students on all school theatre trips.   
We run a weekly year 7 enrichment/cultural capital group which provides a wide range of co-curricular opportunities for disadvantaged students, including strong links with our school governors and the local community.  This is led by a member of our Disadvantaged staff team.

3

We run regular parenting sessions (approx. 6 per year) led by an experienced specialist practitioner focussing on a wide range of issues including positive discipline, dealing with worry and anxiety, social media use and peer pressure.
House Leaders, the SENCO and PSOs will refer parents to these sessions where families would benefit from additional support in these areas.

The EEF Teaching and Learning toolkit states that ‘parental engagement has a positive impact on average of 4 months’ additional progress. It is crucial to consider how to engage with all parents to avoid widening attainment gaps’.

3

Increased attendance % for disadvantaged pupils through the enlargement of the Attendance Team

Increasing the capacity of the Attendance team so that they can engage with the families of those pupils who are persistently absent, alongside supporting the pastoral and teaching staff to develop a culture of good attendance, is supported through the recommendations in the government guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/framework-for-securing-full-attendance-actions-for-schools-and-local-authorities
The DfE guidance has been informed by engagement with schools that have significantly reduced persistent absence levels. 

4

We have proactively sought additional support from external agencies which is suitable for students (and their families) on the CAMHS waiting list, and those who just fall below the threshold for CAMHS support.

This is necessary as there are generally more complex needs across the school.

3

Increase participation in co-curricular activities; our co–curricular lead has produced sign-up lists for tutors so they are aware of which disadvantaged students in their PD groups have not signed up for any clubs, enabling them to target discussions with these students and encourage attendance.

Historically we have seen a close correlation between those pupils who actively engage in the wider offer the school provides and those who attain or exceed their target grades, including our disadvantaged pupils. With the appointment of a co-curricular lead, this internal school research has become more accurate and will enable a more targeted approach at ensuring participation.

5

Implement a 1:1 mentoring programme for a group of disadvantaged year 10 students whose attainment, progress and behaviour will be monitored closely throughout years 10 and 11.  This will involve close communication with parents/carers, their teachers and pastoral staff and will be led by a member of the disadvantaged team.

2,3,4

Sustained pastoral provision and welfare support for disadvantaged pupils.

Changes to the pastoral support office/student reception processes will give additional capacity and a quiet space to provide immediate and pre-arranged support to vulnerable students.

With the rising cost of living and other challenges, we have seen an increase in the need for welfare support for many of our pupils, but particularly our most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils.

3

Continue to develop robust programme of support for students who are young carers.  A member of the disadvantaged team will oversee this area and will ensure that these students are identified, and that appropriate support is provided during their time at Brookfield.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Young Carers has cautioned that many students who are young carers were not being identified at school, leading to inconsistent support and decreased academic outcomes.

3

Significant support provided for students on the FSM register, including those who are just below the FSM qualification threshold, who need additional financial help in order to have equal access to the curriculum.

2,3,4

Continue to ensure that student leadership and student voice includes representation from our disadvantaged students. We will aim to remove any barriers that prevent students from applying for the role.  

Student voice and student leadership raises aspirations and can contribute to the continued development of progress of the school. Student leaders are seen as role models for the wider school.

5

To continue to develop links with community partners to support students and their families – eg. Tesco, Waypoint Church, St Margaret Mary Church

Community partnerships to support health and wellbeing for students and their families. Happy and healthy communities support the foundation for positive education at school.

3

Contingency fund for acute issues.

Based on our experiences and those of similar schools to ours, we have identified a need to set a small amount of funding aside to respond quickly to needs that have not yet been identified.

2,3,4

In Summer 2025, for Attainment 8, the ranking for the disadvantaged cohort was equal to the cohort as a whole (15/68 schools in Hampshire) – this is a significant improvement from 2023.  The progress of disadvantaged students is driven by the individual students in the cohort, so is naturally variable year on year. 

The students who did not have all slots filled all had significant family, academic or mental health issues and had received a high level of support throughout their time at Brookfield. 

Areas of success in 2024/25 include: 
Attainment

• We have a strong and experienced team of Learning Leaders who review progress data regularly, ensuring that disadvantaged students are well supported in their subjects, with opportunities for additional support/catch up sessions provided where necessary.
• We have a well organised system for supporting Disadvantaged students through the options process, so that they choose suitable courses for their ability.   
• We have a rigorous process for students where there is a request to drop an option and this is carefully thought through (e.g. some students are better placed to continue with subjects where the assessment is by terminal exams, rather than heavy coursework subjects)
• We continue to have weekly student progress meetings for key vulnerable students involving a range of staff – 2 x Directors of Learning, Senior PSO, SENCO, House Leader and the Phoenix Centre lead.  This enables us to work together to support these students, to review progress and agree key actions, many of whom are disadvantaged. 
• Our most vulnerable or challenging students are allocated a ‘lead professional’ to oversee their support and build a positive relationship with the young person.
• This year we have introduced a fortnightly SLT panel meeting where we discuss all referrals to our on-site alternative provision, The Phoenix Centre, so that we are confident that this will not impact on the student’s overall attainment. 

Reading

• Thinking Reading (TR): More than 30 of our weakest students have now ‘graduated’ from the Thinking Reading programme, meaning that their reading age matches their chronological age.  This is a significant achievement and milestone for these students.  There are an additional 15 students currently on the programme.  Teaching staff are fully supportive of the programme and students are released from lessons for 3 x 30-minute sessions per week. We have received very positive feedback from parents, teachers and the students themselves, and the results have been amazing!  In a recent visit from our LLP, the feedback from an observation of a Thinking Reading session was that this programme is ’transformational’. 
• We have led several CPD sessions to share the Thinking Reading programme with all staff and have encouraged them to use the TR strategies in lessons when introducing new vocabulary (e.g. the procedure of ‘model, lead, test’)

Social and Emotional Well-being

• To support students’ social and emotional well-being, we offer significant input from a range of in-school and external professionals
• We ensure that there is additional support provided for students on the CAMHS waiting list or who fall below the CAMHS threshold– we have put in place a significant amount of additional support/counselling provision (through EYCS) which is accessed by students and families, in addition to our own TALA/ELSA/advocacy support.
• Parenting courses – we have successfully organised a programme of parenting support sessions, led by a fantastic external speaker with a background in Child Psychology and positive parenting to provide advice and support on a number of key parenting issues e.g. peer pressure, positive discipline, and the pressures of social media.  Attendance at these sessions has been very good and we have received extremely positive feedback from parents.  Our pastoral team have been able to signpost vulnerable families to these sessions. 
• Support for young carers – a member of Disadvantaged team has been appointed to this role and we have significantly raised the profile of young carer support across the school, ensuring that students are quickly identified and receive appropriate interventions.  We are proud that we have recently been awarded the ‘Young Carers in Schools’ award (run jointly by The Children’s Society and Carers Trust) in recognition of the support that we offer to these students.
• The lead Pastoral Support Officer, DSL team, SENCO and their SLT line managers all work very closely together as there is a large overlap of students who are both disadvantaged and on the SEN register.

Careers Support

• We ensure that Disadvantaged and SEN students are prioritised for careers appointments.  All these students have at least one appointment during Years 10 and 11.  Students receive a very comprehensive action plan following each careers appointment.  Students can request additional careers appointments if they need further support, and any concerns (e.g. where students haven’t made college applications) are shared with the relevant staff.
• To support students who might have difficulties attending a college interview at Itchen College, we host the interviews on the school site.  We also give priority for school transport to year 10 college taster days so that students aren’t disadvantaged if parents can’t provide transport to local colleges. 
• Priority given to disadvantaged students in years 8 and 9 to attend the ‘Get Inspired’ careers fairs, which are always positively received by students.  
• Year 10 mock interviews – bespoke support for students who find this process challenging (e.g. due to anxiety).  Students are offered a 1:1 mock interview with the careers practitioner at Brookfield instead of an unfamiliar visiting employer.

Areas that we continue to embed include: 
Attendance

• We have increased the capacity of our attendance team to further support students and their parents.  We continue to make regular welfare calls or home visits for students who are severely absent from school, and there is a clear plan in place for each of these students. 
• The Deputy Headteacher responsible for attendance holds regular attendance meetings with students and parents as part of our normal parents evening structure.
• As with many schools since the pandemic, attendance continues to be one of our ongoing areas of challenge. 

Reading

• We continue to support students who have appropriate decoding skills but who struggle with reading comprehension and inference.  In Spring/Summer 2026 we will introduce a targeted intervention programme to tackle issues with reading comprehension and inference, initially with students in year 9.
•  

Wider strategies

• Co-curricular – engagement is high for disadvantaged students in year 7 but tails off as students move through the school.  Our co-curricular coordinator is monitoring attendance and is working on creative ways to encourage increased attendance from disadvantaged students in other year groups.  These include greater involvement from PD tutors to encourage disadvantaged students to participate and removing barriers by supporting them through the sign-up process.