Covid Catch-up Premium

The Covid Catch Up Premium was introduced to help get students back to following a ‘normal curriculum’ as quickly as possible with minimal learning gaps.

Children and young people across the country have 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. The aggregate impact of lost time in education will be substantial, and the scale of our response must match the scale of the challenge.

The government announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up. This 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.

The DfE has also set out the following Curriculum Expectations, to ensure that all pupils – particularly disadvantaged, SEND and vulnerable pupils – are given the catch-up support needed to make substantial progress by the end of the academic year. DfE asks that schools meet the following key expectations:

1. Teach an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term, but make use of existing flexibilities to create time to cover the most important missed content...In particular, schools may consider how all subjects can contribute to the filling of gaps in core knowledge, for example through an emphasis on reading.

2. Aim to return to the school’s normal curriculum in all subjects by summer term 2021.

3. Plan on the basis of the educational needs of pupils. Curriculum planning should be informed by an assessment of pupils’ starting points and addressing the gaps in their knowledge and skills.

4. Develop remote education so that it is integrated into school curriculum planning.

For the year 2020-2021, the academy received a total of £152,880. You can find a summary of our strategic plan, proposed impact and overall spending below: