Covid Catch-Up
Children and young people across the country experienced unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). Those from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds will be among those hardest hit.
We know that we have the professional knowledge and expertise in the education system to ensure that children and young people recover and get back on track. Returning to normal educational routines as quickly as possible was critical to our national recovery.
The government announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up. This included a one-off universal £650 million catch-up premium for the 2020 to 2021 academic year to ensure that schools had the support they needed to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time.
Allocation
School allocations were calculated on a per pupil basis, providing each mainstream school with a total of £80 for each pupil in years reception through to 11.
Holyrood Academy received £90992 for the 2020/21 academic year. In addition the Academy will also received a post-16 tuition grant for £7778 to support our post-16 students
Utilisation
Schools used this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the guidance on curriculum expectations. Schools had the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their cohort and circumstances.
At Holyrood, we carefully considered the areas that would most benefit from this additional funding. The key areas of focus were:
Period 6 Lessons: Additional after school lessons run to close the knowledge gaps and enable students to return to expected levels.
Equipment purchase – additional IT equipment purchased to facilitate remote learning
Assessment: The school purchased additional assessment resources to identify student levels and track progress.
Student Services: Students emotional needs increased due to the pandemic and isolation of lockdown. Extra staffing were appointed and assigned to focus on students’ emotional needs and general well-being.
Accountability and Monitoring
As with all government funding, school leaders must be able to account for how this money is being used to achieve the goal of schools getting back on track and teaching a normal curriculum as quickly as possible.
Holyrood Academy are transparent in tracking and accounting for the funding.
16 - 19 Tuition Fund
The 16 to 19 tuition fund was ring-fenced funding for schools, colleges and all other 16 to 19 institutions who receive annual funding allocations from ESFA for the provision of 16 to 19 education, to mitigate the disruption to learning arising from coronavirus (COVID-19).
In 2020/21 Holyrood received £7778 in funding
At Holyrood, the 2020-2021 post-16 element of the Catch Up Funding was allocated to providing high quality online tuition to support students who have gaps in their learning.
This tuition provided post-16 students targeted support in a wide range of specialist subject areas. Assessment data was used to identify students in need. This funding was supplemented by the discretionary bursary fund to ensure that disadvantaged students had their needs met.
The 2021-2022 post-16 element of the Catch Up Funding was dedicated to face-to-face specialist maths tuition. Data over time shows that post-16 outcomes in GCSE Maths at Holyrood, and nationally, are not as strong when compared to GCSE English. Assessment data was used to prioritise those who have been disrupted most by the pandemic. This tuition was delivered in either, 1:1, 1:2, or 1:3 groups and was in addition to students’ usual curriculum allocation for GCSE Maths.