Children and young people across the country have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). The Government announced they will provide funding to support children and young people to catch up through a catch-up premium for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic year to ensure that schools such as Park Hall Academy have the support they need to help all students make up for lost teaching time.

As part of this funding, Park Hall Academy received £14.651 for the current academic year to enable us to provide support programmes and enable them to reach those most in need.

What is the 16-19 Tuition Fund?

The 16-19 tuition fund is being provided to support learners to catch up and close any gaps in their learning that may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 lock down. The fund will be used for small groups and 1:1 tuition for 16 to 19-year-old learners. This tuition will be in addition to the planned study programme hours and will be aimed at students that have been particularly impacted by the effects of the pandemic.

Who can be supported by this fund?

The fund is intended to support learners between the ages of 16 to 19, in particular students without a grade 4 in English or Maths and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This includes students in receipt of Free school meals; students that qualified for the pupil premium in year 11; students in receipt of Bursary funding based on a household income below £28,000; students with SEN and Aimhigher NCOP students from postcodes with low levels of progression to Higher education.

How is Park Hall Academy using this fund?

Additional support and tuition groups will comprise small groups and the tuition sessions will be scheduled in addition to the planned programme of study hours already timetabled for the academic year 2022/23. Tuition sessions will be delivered face to face, online or through a blended delivery model.

Examples of some of the tuition support on offer will include:

• Additional online tuition in A-level subjects.
• Coursework catch-up sessions for vocational subjects in the school holidays
• Revision workshops delivered by staff in the school holidays
• Workshops provided by external providers to inspire and support independent learning skills such as revision and exam preparation.

Tuition Support offered will be based on an individual’s needs, with the identification of an individual starting point, clear learning goals, expectations and outcomes.

What is our pledge?

Park Hall Academy is committed to ensuring the tuition fund is used in accordance with the Government’s guidance on the 16 to 19 tuition fund by:

• Producing this statement setting out how the fund will be used to support the most disadvantaged students
• Publishing this guidance on the Academy website
• Recording the use of the fund, including references to individual students who receive support, the needs of those students, the number of hours of tuition delivered and retain the evidence of the tuition provided and demonstrate the impact of the support provided
• Delivering the extra tuition and spending the allocated funds in the academic year.
• Notify the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) of any underspend from the Fund for it to be reclaimed

For more information on the Catch-Up Premium, see the DFE website here - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium

The Sixth Form Team at Park Hall Academy have produced a strategy to outline how this funding will be spent.  You can view it below.