The Catch-Up Premium provides schools with additional DfE funding to support Year 7 students who arrive at secondary school having not made expected standards in reading and/or maths at the end of KS2. The grant is in additional to the main school budget and used to help students ‘catch-up’:

• To increase the progress of identified students
• To ensure that their attainment is, at least, in line with their peers
• To support the transition of identified students through to their secondary phase.

At Central Academy, Catch-Up Funding is used to provide small group interventions in both literacy and numeracy, as well as online packages to support this work.

Year 7 Catch Up Funding Received 2018-19

Year 7 Catch Up Funding Allocation 2018-19

Activities

• Withdrawal from lessons for small group / one to one literacy and numeracy sessions 
• Hegarty Maths support
• Accelerated Reader Programme

Impact of Intervention 2018/19

In Maths 22% of students who had not reached the expected maths levels at KS2, were now at an age-related grade 4, with a further 18% only one grade away. 

In English 49% of the 45 catch-up students achieved an age-related grade 4 or above by the end of year 7. A further 22% achieved an age-related grade 3. 

Interventions Planned for 2019/20

We will continue with the current interventions for this academic year, with funding expected to increase due to the increase in cohort size in year from 170 to 240. 

In addition to the interventions above, we will also be doing the following:

• KS2 Maths and English leads: The appointment of these posts will improve the strategic leadership of catch up in each subject area. 
   
• Tutor reading: Students will be read to for 15 minutes a day in class. This is to support their literacy levels, as well as develop character within all students and their wider knowledge of literature. 
   
• Literacy in Lessons: We will train all staff on literacy best practice during INSET, including how to effectively read text in class together and how to improve student’s literacy skills. This whole school approach will increase the impact of effect of the work that the English department doing on reading and literacy.