COVID Catch-up

Background

The government has announced £1 billion of funding to support children to catch up after lost learning time in the 2020. This includes a one-off universal £650 million catch-up premium for the 2020-2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time. A further £350 million has been targeted for a National Tutoring Programme aimed at providing additional, targeted support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

Schools have been allocated funding on a per pupil basis, equating to £80 for each pupil in Reception to Year 6. Schools should use this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching, in line with the curriculum expectations for the next academic year. 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.

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.

Catch-up Funding Plan 2020-2021

Catch-up Funding Plan Updated 2021-2022