Literacy and Numeracy Catchup

Y7 Literacy and Numeracy Catch Up Funding

In 2019/20 Bartley Green has 47 pupils eligible for Literacy and Numeracy Catch Up funding. The expected Literacy and Numeracy Catch Up funding for 2019/20 is expected to be similar to 2018/19. In 2018/19, the school received £25,862, Literacy and Numeracy Catch Up funding.

Bartley Green School uses Literacy and Numeracy Catch Up funding to maintain reduced class sizes in the sets that contain pupils who need catch up support. It also enables us to increase Maths and English teaching for those pupils and allows us to tailor support based on individual pupil needs.

Click on the links below to read more about our current use of Literacy and Numeracy Catch Up Funding and to read more about the impact of our strategies in 2018/19.

Catch Up Funding Overview

The transition process at Bartley Green is focused upon providing support for those in need. A variety of early interventions are in place to ensure that all pupils are able to progress as soon as they arrive and in many instances this involves intensive, collaborative work before the beginning of Year 7. Catch-up funding is used to support this process and contributes to the following strategies:

  • Head Space transition courses focused upon individual needs including:

  • Anxiety

    1. Parent Support

    2. Expectations

    3. School systems and Familiarisation

  • Transition meetings with parents and pupils

  • Senior Leadership visits to schools

  • English and Maths Primary visits

  • Subject based Primary competitions

  • School Sport Support

  • Summer School

Amount of Catch up Funding received

  • 2018-19 - £25,862

  • 2019-20 - £25,000 (Budgeted)

Catch up Funding – How it was used 2019-20

This funding supports us to maintain reduced class sizes in the sets that contain those pupils who need catch-up support.

In addition, our curriculum plan provides additional teaching time for those sets in English and maths:

  • One additional lesson in English in Year 8 and one additional lesson in maths in Year 7

  • Two lessons per week of specific intervention is also delivered to these pupils

    This small group work is delivered by Teaching Assistants who work with groups of three to six pupils. This withdrawal is split as follows:

    • 2x 1 hour Lexia Lessons

    • 2x 1 hour Maths Lessons

A great deal of investment has been made to ensure Teaching Assistants have received sufficient training and sessions are already planned, assessed and evaluated to ensure pupils are making progress.

  • Reading assessments are taken on entry through the Access to Reading Interactive tests which also cover comprehension. Support is then tailored through the intervention sessions highlighted.

  • Literacy intervention has been resourced through a new ‘Lexia’ software system with TA training complete and the programme up and running.

  • Reading for Meaning is a year-long intervention supporting pupils comprehension

  • Tailored additional support

    There are additional interventions within our planned support which are used to address specific issues for individuals within these groups for example:

    • Homework clubs – before and after school, break and lunchtimes.

    • Handwriting support – form times

    • Various Social Clubs – to build self-esteem and self-image.

    • Support Groups and Mentoring Groups – These are delivered to identified pupils.

    • Mentoring Support

    • Handwriting and Tables

    • Literacy and Comprehension

  • Accelerated Reader

    • The programme runs with Year 7 and 8 pupils

    • We have extended support in Year 9 with significant early success to improve literacy in pupils with the most need

    • We have introduced new intervention lessons based upon maintaining/consolidating KS3 progress. These sessions are delivered through Lexia (literacy) and MyMaths (numeracy)

    • We have also introduced a targeted Accelerated Reading programme for Yr9 boys.

  • Year 9 Peer Mentors

    • Recruited from Year 9 to support the early transition process

    • As they move into Year10 they provide support to Year 7 classes during the first term at school.

Due to the continued success of the intervention strategies in place, those highlighted above will continue to form the basis of our plan for this year.

In addition we also intend to implement the following interventions for 2019-20:

  • Review literacy across the curriculum plan and how this can develop to support the needs of these pupils

  • Review numeracy across the curriculum plan and how this can develop to support the needs of these pupils

  • Review of timetable allocation within our broader Curriculum Plan and School Timetable review

  • Work in collaboration with Speech and Language Support to consider intervention that could be developed, trial these in specific subject areas

  • Highlight targeted ‘catch-up’ pupils to the teacher i/c of accelerated reader to track and support their development

  • Expand our peer reading scheme to support catch up pupils

Impact of Catch Up funding 2018-19

In 2018-19 48 pupils were identified as the year 7 ‘Catch-Up’ cohort. This is the same proportion of pupils as were targeted under the old funding guidance. These were the 48 lowest pupils in year 7 according to their average scaled scores in the Reading & Mathematics KS2 tests

Early progress of the new literacy systems show positive progress (October 2019) and a detailed report is available on request.

Relative to the amount of progress expected to stay on track towards aspirational targets; the Catch-Up cohort in 2018-19 achieved marginally better progress, on average, than expected in English and are slightly behind in Maths with the GAP from peers being marginal.

Impact of Catch Up funding 2019-20

The impact of these measures will be assessed at the end of the academic year and the website updated in November 2020.