Covid19 catch up
We were allocated a one-off sum of £2560 to help children catch-up as a result of the lockdown in the Spring/Summer of 2020. We used the principles below in terms of supporting children who were already identified as disadvantaged prior to the lockdown and who didn’t make good progress during the school closure, and additionally to support children who were newly classified as disadvantaged as a result of their lockdown experience and lack of progress. One to one and small group tuition were prioritised for this funding, utilising school staff and the Third Space programme where numeracy levels required support.
Principles for Allocating Funding
Consistent high quality teaching and learning in classrooms, which meets the needs of all pupils, is key to maximising progress. For pupils to access the curriculum it is essential they have mastered the basic skills of literacy and numeracy.Targeted interventions were focussed primarily in these areas. Data was used regularly to monitor impact and adapt interventions as necessary. The most effective staff, with a proven track record of achieving success with pupils,deployed to support disadvantaged pupils. Disadvantaged pupils with a range of needs and were not treated as a single group. Specifically, eligibility was not confused with ability. Able disadvantaged pupils were challenged to achieve their potential. Individual barriers to learning including behaviour, attendance, welfare and access to extracurricular opportunities were identified early. Transition from primary school identified the basic skills gaps that existed among eligible pupils so that appropriate early intervention could be delivered. Disadvantaged pupils had a high profile with all staff and at the centre of planning decisions at all levels of leadership. Disadvantaged pupils were given opportunities to develop their aspirations and provided with clear advice and guidance on future pathways. Effective links with the parents of disadvantaged pupils were established to help support children’s learning. Pupil Premium funding allocation was carefully coordinated with a strategic overview by SLT and the governing body.
The schools identified the requirement to address the lack of access to suitable IT equipment. Both schools were able to deliver blended learning.on a learning platform (Teams) so that pupils could catch up with their peers and so that they
would not be further disadvantaged by isolation/further school closure. Therefore funding allocation was used to invest in laptops and internet access for our disadvantaged pupils. This was to be measured in analysing numbers of pupils who have access to technology at home and engaged in home learning and homework, and through termly academic progress reviews coordinated by SLT.