Covid Catch Up Grant Report

COVID CATCH UP GRANT REPORT:

In deciding how to use this government grant, Sacred Heart School has embarked upon extensive programmes of whole school assessment, followed by departmental meetings, followed by careful identification of pupils’ needs.

Sacred Heart is committed to maximising the effect of the grant by introducing tailor-made, catch-up programmes developed by the staff who best know the pupils identified.

Two main elements of this catch-up process took place during the Autumn and Spring terms in the form of extra Saturday classes, as well as in half-term holidays and the Easter holidays. The majority of these classes focused on Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 pupils who had upcoming public examinations, or internal assessments relating to TAGs.

Departments used their internal assessment data and tracking data to identify pupils in need of catch-up, and these lessons then took place either in school or online.

Some examples of catch-up initiatives:

A targeted two-week English intervention online course during the Easter holidays for Year 11 pupils badly affected by Covid whose mock results in December were below expectations
A targeted series of Maths intervention classes during the Easter holidays for Year 11 pupils badly affected by Covid whose mock results in December were below expectations
Regular Saturday morning sessions for A Level Biology, Chemistry and Physics students to enable them to catch up on time missed in class during lockdowns
An extra month of Saturday morning lessons for GCSE Drama students, which enabled them to complete a practical unit from Year 10 which they otherwise would not have been able to complete. Additionally, a programme of rehearsals during the Easter holidays which enabled pupils to prepare for their final practical unit and compensate from missed time from the second lockdown
A week of varied online enrichment activities for pupils in all year groups to help compensate for the many missed extra curricular activities during lockdowns
A programme of online RE lessons for Year 10 pupils badly affected by Covid whose mock results were below expectations

We then extended our Catch-up programme into an ambitious series of Summer Schools for 30 pupils in every year group from the new Year 7 to the current year 10 (a total of 150 pupils). (Some funding for these is also being applied for in September through the government’s Summer School programme)

In addition, the employment of extra staff, in English and Maths, has allowed for much improved pupil/teacher ratios to take place, in most year groups. The intention is that this will allow teachers to accelerate their teaching and, therefore, ensure any gaps, caused by lock down, are addressed.

For example, in 2021-22 we have ensured:

Seven Maths sets in all Years 7-11 (as opposed to 5 or 6 in most of these year groups in recent years)
Seven English sets in all Years 7-11 (apart from year 8, as opposed to 5 or 6 in most of these year groups in recent years)
Extended school day provision where necessary, with additions of timetabled seventh lessons for many pupils.

We have created a new post of responsibility for a member of staff in order to further identify pupils that have in some way faltered. Highly data driven, we will endeavour to expand upon the previous work done and increase the number of personalised, academic, catch-up programmes for all year groups.

Staff have been encouraged to look at resources that may need to be purchased to enable the extra teaching and learning that will have to take place. A budget has been set aside by governors to ensure extra resources can be purchased over and above the usual departmental capitation.

With these, and other intervention strategies, Sacred Heart is determined that Covid 19, and the subsequent lockdowns are not allowed to undermine our usual standards, and more, importantly, expectation levels. With a dedicated staff determined to work together to this end, a resumption of our usual high standards will occur assuming that normality, in terms of education provision, returns in September 2021.

As of 31 August 2021, the full £52,230.00 had been spent.

Mr S Cefai
Head Teacher