What catch-up Funding is for -
The government announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up lost time after school closures. This is especially important for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding includes: a one-off universal £650 million catch up premium for the 2020 to 2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time.
Funding allocations -
School allocations will be calculated on a per pupil basis.
Mainstream school will get £80 for each pupil in from reception to year 11 inclusive
Kirkbride Primary School will receive £6,400 (based on 80 pupils.)
Payment schedule -
Schools will get funding in 3 tranches:
Autumn 2020 – £1620.00
February 2021 – £1460.00
Summer 2021 term - £3320.00 (approx. as numbers have increased since January 2021)
Using Catch-up Funding -
Schools should use this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the curriculum expectations for the next academic year in actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak.
While schools can use their funding in a way that suits their cohort and circumstances, they are expected to use this funding for specific activities which will help pupils catch up on missed education.
Kirkbride Primary School has used the Catch-up Funding to employ two Senior Teaching Assistants. This extra support means that each class has a teaching assistant for at least 17 hours a week.