Covid 19 Catch Up Funding Statement

The Alton received £16,640 during the academic year 2020-2021 from the government to support pupils who may have missed out on learning due to Covid 19.

How the grant was spent:

• Supporting the mental health of pupils and their families by the use of Place2Be, targeting counsellors to support pupils most affected. 
• Supporting whole school mental health though the use of Place2Be and the Learning Mentor.
• Providing Enrichment clubs led by teachers and support staff after the school day for all pupils to improve learning outcomes as well as providing extra-curricular activities.
• Training and using support staff to provide targeted interventions in small groups to help pupils close any gaps in their learning.
• Assessing pupils to establish where there were gaps in knowledge and using these assessments to inform the use of targeted support through well sequenced learning plans.
• Encouraging home learning by providing IT packages to pupils and their families such as Mangahigh, SPAG, Rising Stars Bug club and Busy Things and using these purposeful activities to support maths and English at home as well as for homework.
• Extension of the school day and adapting the timetable to provide increased core learning opportunities for all pupils and allow time for interventions within the school day.
   

How we assessed the effect of the grant

• All pupils were assessed using NFER and other low-key tests to assess their knowledge each term and at the end of the year, as is our usual practice, to assess progress and plan next steps.
• We used our Parents Questionnaires to determine whether their child was happy at school and to ask how we could improve their wellbeing. 
• Regular meetings, at least every half term with Place2Be to ensure the identified pupils continued to be supported with their mental health and wellbeing development. We held exit meetings when a child finished their session to establish progress and next steps.
• We did not narrow the curriculum nor increase teacher workload through additional assessments and bureaucracy.