Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium
As a result of the pandemic and school closures, the government announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up lost time after school closure. This is especially important for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. School allocations are calculated on a per pupil basis. Mainstream schools will get £80 for each pupil in from reception to Year 11 inclusive.
Within the Pegasus Academy Trust the following funds have been allocated:
Ecclesbourne Primary School |
£32,000 |
Whitehorse Manor Juniors |
£35,760 |
Whitehorse Manor Infants |
£28,440 |
Cypress Primary School |
£44,520 |
Beulah Infants School |
£13,520 |
The DfE has published guidance on what information must be published on schools’ websites. This information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-academies-free-schools-and-colleges-should-publish-online
The guidance states that:
‘If your school gets the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium grant in academic year 2020 to 2021, you should publish details of:
• How it is intended the grant will be spent;
• How the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school will be assessed;
How it is intended the grant will be spent
Across the Trust, it has been agreed that the funding will be used to provide interventions for identified children. Children may be identified as eligible for a variety of reasons. This could be that they are:
• disadvantaged (PPG);
• vulnerable, for example LAC;
• SEND;
• EAL;
• or as a result of their experiences over lockdown.
We acknowledge that over the period of school closures children have had very differing experiences. Some children lacked access to technology despite The Trust providing laptops and dongles to many. Some children lacked parental support at home, either due to parental engagement, parental understanding or work commitments for parents. Some children had very little social interaction and often this was in a language other than English. Sadly, some children have experienced increased anxiety and even bereavement.
All of these factors have contributed to gaps in understanding. The interventions will focus on areas of particular need that will link to schools’ known development priorities. For example, reading may be a focus for children who lacked access to books during the lockdown or children may work in small groups with a focus on emotional wellbeing and social support, allowing children to reintegrate back in to school. The interventions will be delivered by teachers known to the pupils who are working with them on a daily basis. This familiarity will help to build on daily classroom practice. The intention is that these sessions will allow the school to return to normal curriculum delivery as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
How the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school will be assessed
Teachers will assess the impact of this expenditure through formative and summative assessment. Teachers delivering these sessions will measure the impact of the classes or groups by assessing the progress the children make academically and socially. The teachers will then report back to school leadership on the effectiveness of the interventions through pupil progress meetings.
School leaders will assess the impact of the expenditure by discussing pupil progress when meeting with teachers. These discussions will form the basis of whether or not children should continue with the intervention or are back on track and other children can be supported. These meetings will also help to determine whether or not the nature of the intervention needs to be changed or if it should continue. Expenditure will be tracked through a specific budget code and school leaders will report on the effectiveness of the intervention when reporting to Academy Councils.
Further information on the Covid catch up funding can be found here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/catch-up-premium-coronavirus-covid-19
