At Aqueduct Primary School we recognise that the impact of school closures of the period of the COVID 19 pandemic affected children’s learning. As a school we were proud of the online offer that we gave children during periods of lockdown, but we recognise that the lack of personal, face to face teaching left some children at a disadvantage.
We have altered our curriculum to ensure that children catch-up on learning; focussing on key areas of the curriculum to plug gaps in skills and knowledge, that are appropriate to individuals’ levels of development.
We have increased the levels of interventions within the school day to target specific pupils who benefit from instant and regular pre and post teaching to embed learning. We have also identified pupils who we feel would benefit from additional tutoring outside of the school day. This is supported by targeted funding and more details information can be found via our COVID Catch Up Action Plan.
What is The National Tutoring Programme?
(DfE School Led Tutoring Guidance - September 2021)
The NTP is intended to help close the education gap which widened as a result of COVID-19. We know that disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils faced more barriers during school disruptions including problems in accessing digital devices and difficulties in studying autonomously at home.
Analysis from the Government’s research into pupil progress in the autumn term 2020/21 shows that:
• pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds (eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years) were about half a month further behind than non-disadvantaged pupils in primary and secondary reading and around a month further behind in primary mathematics on their return to school in autumn 2020.
• pupils made progress to catch up during the autumn term, but disadvantaged pupils remained around half a month further behind their peers in reading and around a month further behind in maths in the second half of the autumn term.
School-Led Tutoring
Based on feedback from schools that they would like more flexibility to use tutors who they are familiar with, we are introducing this new route to offer a more localised approach to tutoring by giving schools and academy trusts direct funding to source their own tutors. This will enable schools to use internal or external capacity to meet the diverse needs of their pupils. Some schools and academy trusts might choose to use teachers or teaching assistants who are more familiar with their pupils to deliver tutoring, whilst others might choose to buy in local tutoring provision.
The grant is designed to help close the education gap between disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils and their peers. Schools and academy trusts are expected to prioritise these pupils for the tutoring. However, schools have the flexibility to decide which pupils need the most support to help them catch-up on missed education.
