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 closure. This is especially important for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding included 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.
School allocations were calculated on a per pupil basis.
Mainstream schools got £80 for each pupil in from reception to year 11 inclusive.
For the academic year 2021 – 2022, schools offer is referred to as the Recovery Premium and is accounted for through the Pupil Premium Strategy.
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.
School leaders must be able to show they are using the funding to resume teaching a normal curriculum as quickly as possible following partial or full school closure.
Governors should scrutinise schools’ approaches to catch-up from September 2020, 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.
