Year 7 Catch Up Funding

The literacy and numeracy catch-up premium gives schools additional funding to support Year 7 pupils who did not achieve the expected standard in reading or maths at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2).

Year 7 Catch-Up Funding: Overview

Financial:

In 2017-2018 the school received £12, 000 in additional funding.

Current Numbers:

There are currently 74 students with a standardised score of under 100 in reading, 34 students in maths of which 25 have a low score in both reading and maths.

Strategy

Identification:

On entry to the College all students, regardless of ability, are tested for NGRT group reading test in order to triangulate data and prioritise which students need intervention first. In maths all students undertake a base line assessment at the start of Y7, again to standardise information.

Some students enter the college with no data and this allows us to identify any students who potentially would also benefit from the funding.

Intervention

Reading:

Depending on the level of need the students with the lowest triangulated scores and most need are placed in small group literacy, which they attend rather than mainstream English (3 periods per week). Whilst these students do follow a comparable curriculum, it allows work to be closely targeted to need with additional scaffolding and high level support. The groups only consist of 6-8 students so that literacy confidence can be increased. If a student makes good progress they can be returned to mainstream English at an appropriate point in the year. Likewise, if a student in mainstream is struggling they may move into this group is appropriate.

For other students targeted, short-term intervention is employed. Wave 1 consists of the students with the next lowest group of scores. These students are tested at the start of the group work using the Kirklees Reading Test and again at the end of the intervention so that progress can be monitored and informed decisions made about next steps. The intervention consists of 16 thirty minute sessions based on inference work and improving confidence in reading.

Wave 2 begins in term 2 and involves the next level of need for inference work.

Students who have particular needs (linked to reading and spelling) will also be offered acceleread/accelewrite, which is a 1 to 1 programme based on computers.

In a typical year for Y7:

A minimum of 16 students will access small group literacy per year

96 students in will have received inference support

30 students access acceleread/accelewrite

It is worth noting that these strategies also continue into Y8 and Y9 (according to need) to ensure all students have the best possible chance to catch-up and access the curriculum.

Maths:

The catch-up funding in 2016-17 was used to support identified students who would benefit from small group maths teaching, which again followed the mainstream curriculum but focussed on ensuring that the key skills were embedded and employed. After school sessions were on offer to provide additional support for some students. These groups were led by non-specialist.

This year we have taken the decision that all students should be taught by specialist maths teachers and the funding enables us to make the group size of the lowest set to be smaller. From September, the 6 data snapshops will allow progress of these students to be monitored closely and additional after College support to be put in place. Maths have also introduced a new system of assessment which allows progress to be forensically analysed.

Impact

English: 17-18

In year 7 inference reading intervention lead to an an average increase in reading age of 6.6 months (based on a 16 week programme of a weekly 20 minute session).

In year 8 this rose to 8.6 months and by year 9, 14.2 months.

For acceleread and accelewrite, across years 7, 8, 9 the average increase in reading age was 7.4 months.

Maths: 17-18

In year 7 when comparing the baseline assessment taken at the start of the year with the end assessment point 13 students showed an improved score, 5 remained static and 16 showed a slight decrease.

The approach used to catch up the numeracy skills of these students in 2017-8 clearly didn’t have enough impact and further more targeted intervention needs to be put in place next year to support those lowest attaining students on entry.

From 2018 a designated member of SLT will plan and oversee the Catch up Strategy which has not been the case in the previous 2 years.

Year 7 Catch Up Funding