All schools in England have been provided with additional funding as part of National "Catch Up Strategy" in response to the disruption schools have experienced as a result of the Covid19 pandemic.

At St Hild's CE Primary School, we have created a Catch Up Strategy report which outlines how this additional funding will be invested to support our pupils. The impact of this funding and the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of our pupils will be monitored closely and will be reported to Governors regularly. 

Copies of this Catch Up Strategy document are available from our school office (free of charge) on request.

INFORMATION FROM THE DfE

Funding allocation (Mainstream Schools) Payments

This funding will be provided in 3 instalments. We will provide schools with an initial part payment in Autumn 2020, based on the latest available data on pupils. We will then distribute a second grant payment in early 2021, based on updated pupil and place data. For mainstream schools, we will use the 4 to 15 pupil headcount from the October 2020 census.

The second grant payment will also take account of the initial part payment made in Autumn 2020 so that schools will receive a total of £46.67 per pupil. A further £33.33 per pupil will be paid during the Summer Term 2021. Though funding has been calculated on a per pupil basis, schools should use the sum available to them as a single total from which to prioritise support for pupils according to their need. As the catch-up premium has been designed to mitigate the effects of the unique disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), the grant will only be available for the 2020 to 2021 academic year. It will not be added to schools’ baselines in calculating future years’ funding allocations.

Use of funds

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 guidance on curriculum expectations for the next academic year. (See also EEF- Schools planning guide 2020-2021). Schools have the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their cohort and circumstances.

Accountability and monitoring

As with all Government funding, school leaders must be able to account for how this money is being used to achieve our central goal of schools getting back on track and teaching a normal curriculum as quickly as possible. Given their role in ensuring schools spend funding appropriately and in holding schools to account for educational performance, governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ approaches to catch-up from September, including their plans for and use of catch-up funding. This should include consideration of whether schools are spending this funding in line with their catch-up priorities, and ensuring appropriate transparency for parents. (DfE guidance - Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium - updated 24/08/2020)