Equalities & Additional Intervention
We believe that all children should be equally valued at our Academy. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe. We have a range of agreed policies.
Harris Academy Crystal Palace is committed to inclusion and part of the Academy’s strategic planning involves developing cultures, policies and practices that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties. This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways that take in to account their varied life experiences and needs.
We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, demographic group, ethnicity, additional need, attainment and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:
- Students from families that are financially disadvantaged (PP - Pupil Premium or FSM - Free School Meals)
- Students who arrive with below nationally expected ability in any area (Low Ability Pupils)
- Boys or girls
- Students from minority faiths, ethnicities, travellers, asylum seekers, refugees
- Students who have English as an additional language (EAL)
- Students who have Special Educational Needs or a Disability (SEND)
- Students who are most able (HAPs)
- Students who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT)
- Students who are Looked After Children (LAC)
Pupil Premium Provision
Our motto states that ‘All Can Achieve’ and equality of opportunity, and the removal of all barriers to that equality, is a key rationale to the decisions that we make here at HCACP.
Our policies and provision aim to remove the obstacles which prevent young people from achieving in life and we actively promote a culture and environment without prejudice and discrimination. Given that all students do not begin their secondary education from the same starting point, we will actively provide opportunities for those students who have faced disadvantage in their past, in order to ensure that ‘All Can Achieve’ in a community which is built around our core values of Community, Courage, Courtesy, Co-operation and Contribution.
PPG applies to students from families who have been disadvantaged at some point in the last six years and, along with students in receipt of free school meals (FSM), the school is able to provide additional funds and resources to counteract any disadvantage. If a student is eligible for either PPG or FSM, all matters regarding the use of this fund will be treated with discretion and in confidence.
Parents and Carers can check their eligibility for FSM, and apply online, without having to discuss the details of their circumstances with anyone at the Academy via https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals
Post-Looked After Arrangements
Adopted children are included by the DfE within a wider group collectively referred to as post-LAC (looked after child). Other children within this group include those who left local authority (LA) care on a special guardianship order (SGO) or child arrangements order (CAO). All children in these groups are eligible for post-LAC premium funding. Similar to other types of Pupil Premium, the purpose of post-LAC premium is to raise educational attainment and close the gap between these children and their peers. The pupil premium is additional funding given to us to improve the educational and personal outcomes for pupils who have been adopted from care, including (but not limited to) their attainment.
What are the current eligibility criteria?
Post-LAC pupil premium is allocated for each child recorded in the DfE spring school census and alternative provision census who:
- was looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted
- left local authority care on an SGO or CAO (previously known as a residence order (RO)).
Please note that children who have been adopted by a step parent, or adopted from overseas are not eligible for post-LAC pupil premium.
What year groups is post-LAC premium available for?
Children who meet the eligibility criteria can be in any year group from reception to Year 11.
How does Harris City Academy Crystal Place know that a child is adopted?
We will not necessarily be aware that we have adopted/SGO/CAO children on roll and will need to rely on parents and guardians to inform us of their child’s status. In order to trigger post-LAC premium, we need to have parental permission to register a child as adopted on our school census return in January. We also need to confirm that the child was in LA care in England or Wales, and will need evidence, for example, a copy of the adoption order.
Will parents and guardians who self-declared last year need to self-declare again?
Parents and guardians will not need to self-declare again if they have done so for a student that is continuing to study at Harris City Academy Crystal Palace. Parents and Guardians will need to self-declare again if the child has moved school since January of last year. This includes children graduating from Year 6 and transferring to Harris City Academy Crystal Palace to begin their KS3 studies.
Guidance on how to self-declare
For parents who wish to self-declare please do so by contacting our designated teacher for Looked-After and Previously Looked-After Children Ms B Sales: Salesb@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk
Additional Intervention through school-led tutoring
To further support the education recovery of our young people following the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has announced a recovery premium which schools can use to support students in catching up. The primary driver of this will be in effect in-class teaching following a careful curriculum review. We will also use the school-led tutoring guidance and our experience to support our young people who need support in catching up.
We will be employing a range of “catch up” tutors who will work on a pro-rata basis to support our students during and after the academy day. We will also be taking advantage of the National Tutoring Programme discount through the purchasing of small group tuition from Fleet Tutors as well as utilising the Key Stage 5 platform “Up Learn” to supplement the expertise of our own staff in delivering extra intervention sessions.
