COVID-19 'Catch Up' Premium

In June 2020, a £1 billion fund for education was announced by the government. Further guidance was released in July 2020 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium) outlining how the money would be distributed and how it should be spent.

The catch-up premium is funded on a per pupil basis at £80 per pupil based on the previous year's census.

Torrisholme School will be in receipt of £33,120 (414 x £80).

Schools have the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their children and circumstances.

As with all government funding, school leaders must be able to account for how this money is being used to achieve the central goal of the government, of getting schools back on track and teaching a normal curriculum as quickly as possible.

Spending

At Torrisholme School, this money will be used in order to:

• Purchase curriculum resources and materials that support pupils to get 'back on track'. These include subscriptions to online learning resources such as Mathletics and Collins Big Cat online reading.
• Fund additional support staff to develop the outcomes of children who have been identified as needing 'catch up' in their learning.

Aims

​​​​​​​The broad aims for 'catch up' at Torrisholme are:

• Attainment outcomes at the end of 2020-21 for all year groups will be broadly in line with those at the point of lockdown in March. This means that if a child was working at an age-related expectation in a subject in March, they are working to an age-related expectation in that same subject by the end of the year.
• By the end of the 2021-22 year, attainment outcomes for all year groups will be at least in line with those at the end of the 2018-19 year.
• The mental health needs of pupils that have arisen as a result of the pandemic are met and supported by the school.

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Strategy

At Torrisholme we are using the Education Endowment Foundation’s ‘Three Tiered Approach’. 

Tier 1 – Quality First Teaching 

• Teachers assess learning of basic skills in English and maths to identify gaps. 
• The core curriculum is carefully planned to cover any gaps in learning and move learning on appropriately. 
• The English and maths curriculum focus on the consolidation of basic skills such as handwriting, spelling of high frequency words, recall of times tables, basic addition and subtraction recall and reading skills relevant to age. 
• Time is spent on mental health, well-being, social skills and behaviours for learning   
• Summative assessments will take place on a termly basis to monitor progress. 

Tier 2 – Targeted Academic Support 

• Regular progress meetings are held between class teachers and senior leaders.  
• Individuals and groups of children requiring intervention are identified and staffing is deployed accordingly. 
• Intervention is planned specifically for the needs of the groups/individuals by the class teacher. 

Tier 3 – Wider Strategies 

• The school’s Learning Mentors will work with individuals and groups of children identified by class teachers and senior leaders to address any barriers to progress, which might include attendance, behaviour, self-esteem or anxiety. 
• Communicating with and supporting parents to ensure children are supported in their learning. 
• The school will encourage the use of online resources such as Times Tables Rockstars, Mathletics and Collins Big Cat Readers for children to practise and consolidate basic skills outside the school day.