🎙️ THE LEADERSHIP LENS Episode: Pupil Premium in Practice: Using the DfE Menu of Approaches With Integrity In this in-depth episode of The Leadership Lens, Rachael Snowdon-Poole explores one of the most significant levers for educational equity and inspection: the Pupil Premium — and how school leaders can use it with integrity, clarity and impact, in line with the Department for Education’s Menu of Approaches and the Education Endowment Foundation evidence base. This episode is designed for headteachers, senior leaders, trust leaders and governors who want to move beyond compliance and develop a strategic, defensible and morally grounded approach to supporting disadvantaged pupils. 🔍 What this episode covers Across the episode, Rachael unpacks: The true purpose of the Pupil Premium Why it exists, what it is (and isn’t), and why it sits at the heart of inclusion, leadership and inspection. The national disadvantage gap How gaps widen from Early Years through to GCSEs — and why early, evidence-informed intervention matters. Understanding disadvantage in context Why socio-economic disadvantage often overlaps with SEND, SEMH, attendance and language barriers — and why one-size-fits-all strategies don’t work. The four funding streams Early Years Pupil Premium Main Pupil Premium Pupil Premium Plus (Looked After and Previously Looked After Children) Service Pupil Premium Including how funding is allocated, managed, and monitored. Looked After and Previously Looked After Children Why this group faces some of the largest attainment gaps nationally, how funding is routed through Virtual School Heads, and how Personal Education Plans (PEPs) should drive decision-making. Grant conditions and statutory responsibilities What schools must do — including publication requirements, evidence-based spending, and impact evaluation. The DfE Menu of Approaches explained clearly How all Pupil Premium spending must align to: High-quality teaching Targeted academic support Wider strategies Practical examples within each tier From CPD and curriculum development, to targeted tutoring, language interventions, attendance strategies and pastoral support. The five-step planning approach How leaders can: Identify real barriers Use robust evidence Develop a coherent plan Implement with fidelity Evaluate and sustain impact What inspection really focuses on How inspectors evaluate leadership thinking, alignment with the menu, quality of teaching for disadvantaged pupils, and the impact of spending — not just paperwork. 🎯 Why this episode matters The Pupil Premium is not a bolt-on or a budget line. It is a moral, strategic and legal responsibility. Used well, it: Changes life chances Strengthens inclusion Improves teaching for all pupils Used poorly, it becomes: A list of disconnected activities A compliance exercise A missed opportunity This episode helps leaders ensure their Pupil Premium strategy is coherent, evidence-informed, defensible and impactful. ⭐ Premium Members’ Resource Leadership Lens Premium members receive exclusive resources linked to this episode, designed to turn insight into action. Premium members receive: ✅ A full training presentation A ready-to-use slide deck that explains: The purpose of the Pupil Premium The DfE Menu of Approaches The three-tier model What effective spending looks like in practice ✅ A detailed training script A facilitator script that enables senior leaders to: Deliver confident CPD to staff Support governors’ understanding Align team thinking around evidence-based spending Strengthen inspection readiness These materials are ideal for: SLT meetings Trust-wide CPD Governor briefings Strategy planning sessions 👉 Join the Premium Members’ Hub here: https://the-leadership-lens.mykajabi.com/premium-membership 🎧 How to listen You can listen to The Leadership Lens for free on: Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Search The Leadership Lens in your preferred podcast app and follow or subscribe to stay up to date with future episodes.

⭐ Show Notes — The Leadership Lens:

Teaching That Sticks: The Mechanisms Behind Truly Effective Professional Development

Welcome back to The Leadership Lens — the podcast for primary and secondary school leaders who want to improve teaching, strengthen culture, and build thriving schools without burning out their staff.

In today’s episode, we explore something every leader spends huge amounts of time and energy on… but which doesn’t always translate into classroom change:

🎧 Effective Professional Development

What actually makes PD stick? Why do some schools see huge impact, while others see none at all? And how can you design CPD that leads to real, sustained behaviour change? This research-based episode will give you a complete blueprint for designing PD that actually changes practice — not just great INSET, but great teaching.

🔍 In This Episode,

We Cover:

01 — PD as a Curriculum, Not an Event Why the most successful schools sequence, align, and build coherence into their PD offer — across whole school, subject, and individual layers.

02 — The 14 Behaviour-Change Mechanisms A deep dive into the Sims et al. (2021) systematic review and the EEF guidance report, including: Building knowledge Motivating teachers, Developing teaching techniques, Embedding practice

03 — Case Studies From Three Schools - How three schools used the same PD content with wildly different results — and what made the difference.

04 — Three Power Mechanisms The three mechanisms that drive the biggest behaviour change in teaching: Modelling Rehearsal Action planning Why PD without these is almost guaranteed to fail.

05 — Implementation: What You Can and Cannot Adapt - The biggest leadership mistakes in PD, how to avoid them, and what to protect at all costs.

06 — Three Big Leadership Takeaways

Clear, actionable insights you can start using this week.

🧠 Key Research Mentioned

Education Endowment Foundation (2021) – Effective Professional Development Guidance Report

Sims, Fletcher-Wood et al. – Systematic review of PD mechanisms

Deans for Impact – Practice with Purpose (expertise and deliberate practice) Cognitive Load Theory, formative assessment literature, instructional coaching research

🛠 Premium Members: Your Exclusive Resources Premium members get two powerful companion resources for this episode:

⭐ 1. A Fully Editable PD Presentation: Teaching That Sticks: The Mechanisms Behind Truly Effective Professional Development. Perfect for INSET days, SLT training, trust events, or coaching your middle leaders.

⭐ 2. A Word-for-Word Training Script Deliver the session yourself with confidence — ready for any CPD setting, at any time.

To access your resources, head to the Premium Members Hub. Not a Premium Member yet? You can join instantly — all the details are in the link: https://the-leadership-lens.mykajabi.com/premium-membership

📋 Show Notes Episode 4 – Building Strong Foundations in Pre-Reception: How Young Children Grow and Learn

In this episode, Rachael explores what high-quality early-years provision looks like for children aged two to four. She unpacks how talk, relationships, and routines combine to create the strongest possible foundations for learning.

Key discussion points

• Why the two-to-four window is critical for brain development.

• How Development Matters supports but doesn’t replace curriculum design.

• The role of adult interaction as a form of teaching.

• Building executive function and self-regulation through play. • Practical examples of language-rich routines.

• Why nursery practice should remain play-based, not a mini-Reception.

• How to observe and evaluate talk for impact.

Premium Member Resource:

👉 The Language of Interaction: A Practical Framework for High-Quality Talk in Nursery and Pre-Reception

Includes strategies and reflection tools to support leadership, coaching, and everyday pedagogy.

Sign up to the Premium Members' Hub to access this resource and all resources for the previous 16 podcast episodes: https://the-leadership-lens.mykajabi.com/premium-membership

Links mentioned

• EYFS Framework (2025)

• Development Matters (2023)

• Birth to 5 Matters (2023)

• Ofsted Early Years Research Review (2023)

• EEF Preparing for Literacy (2021)