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.
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.
It is anticipated that Dolphinholme CE Primary School will receive £7,040 in the catch-up premium grant (based on 88 children x £80 per child).
Since September 2020, we have been implementing our ‘catch-up’ programme which, broadly speaking, consists of:
- Identifying pupils in need of extra input in phonics, reading, writing and maths
- Providing extra adult support (headteacher, supply teacher cover, extra TA sessions) for pupils either during the school day and in a small number of cases, after school
- Continuously monitoring progress to inform the impact of these approaches whilst constantly monitoring the progress of all pupils across the school and identifying pupils who are in need of input
- Purchasing curriculum resources to support pupils getting ‘back on track’