Year 7 Literacy and Numeracy Catch-Up Premium

Year 7 Literacy and Numeracy Catch-Up Premium Funding 2017-2018

Rationale

Schools will receive an additional premium for each Year 7 pupil who has not achieved the expected level in reading and/or mathematics at Key Stage 2.

The money is to be used by schools to deliver additional tuition or intensive support in small groups, giving pupils valuable support to bring them up to speed so that they are more likely to succeed at secondary school. The funding will not be ring-fenced for catch-up activities but schools are expected that this funding is used for additional literacy and numeracy catch-up during Year 7 given that this can make a critical difference to pupils at this important stage.
Desired Impact
• A significant improvement in reading age and comprehension as measured by the Accelerated Reader programme and specific topic assessments.
• A significant improvement in basic numeracy skills as measured by specific topic assessments

Eligibility 2017-18

 43 students did not achieve national standard in English and/or Maths – within this group of students there are 8 students in receipt of Pupil Premium
 19 students did not achieve national standard in both English and Maths – within this group there are 6 students in receipt of Pupil Premium
 27 students did not achieve national standard in Maths – within this group there are 6 students in receipt of Pupil Premium
 34 students did not achieve national standard in English – within this group there are 8 students in receipt of Pupil Premium

Allocated Funding

The figure received for year 7 catch up in the last academic year 2017/18 was £13,789.00.
The funding has been allocated to the following provision:
• Accelerated Reader user licences
Accelerated reader is an intensive reading programme to improve confidence and skill in reading.  The aim of the programme is to impact positively on reading ages to allow students to have the literacy skills necessary to access the curriculum.
• LRC Manager
The LRC manager oversees the Accelerated Reader Programme and provides individual and small group support for students.  The LRC manager undertakes guided reading sessions and all aspects of administration of the programme including target setting, tracking and testing.  The LRC manager works closely with other members of the English and AEN departments to provide targeted support based on the outcomes of the programme.
• PiXL Code
This programme is an evidence based synthetic phonics initiative which is designed to provide individual programmes based on areas identified as phonetically difficult. Year 7 students who are identified with difficulties in reading fluency and phonics have access to this intervention.
• Additional reading
Year 7 students have one hour per week timetabled in the Learning Resource Centre where they are encouraged to read and make use of the resource rich library of literature. This hour lesson is supported by their English teacher and the Learning Resource Manager who deliver a literacy based lesson using Accelerated Reader.  During these hour sessions, identified students have the opportunity to have 1:1 reading support with either the Teacher, LRC Manager or a Teaching Assistant.
• Reading Programme (Community link)
A number of students have been actively involved in a reading initiative with the Royal British Legion.  Students attend sessions and read to the local residents of the RBL village to develop their confidence and skill in reading.
• Literacy intervention group
This takes place as part of our mentor programme where Year 7 students have planned sessions with a member of the English department.  The duration of this session is 30 minutes per week.
• Additional Maths intervention
The school runs additional Maths interventions for the identified students.  These are often in addition to timetabled lessons and are led by the subject specific Maths TA.  In addition, TAs are deployed within lessons to provide small group or individual support based on the needs of the students.
• Maths intervention group
The focus is on basic numeracy and arithmetic and targeted for students identified from their KS2 data and baseline testing.  This is scheduled within the mentor programme for 30 minutes each week and lead by a member of the Maths department.
• Targeted provision
This happens within lessons through the effective use of differentiated teaching tasks and resources to support those students who need to catch up quickly.

Impact of Planned Interventions

• 87.5% (7 students) of PP students made progress by increasing their reading age – this meant that one student did not make satisfactory progress.
Update (December 2018):  From Term 1, the student has received further intervention and increased her reading age by 2 months.  This support will remain in place to ensure the expected progress is made.  The diagnostic testing (part of the Accelerated Reader programme) has been used to identify the areas that require particular focus (comprehension and understanding the text being read).
• 77% (20 students) of Non-PP students improved their reading age.  For those students who did not make the expected progress, further intervention will take place with the LRC Manager, focusing on the areas that require improvement from the diagnostic testing.

Academic Year 2018-2019

Eligibility:
• 50 students did not achieve national standard in English and/or Maths – within this group of students there are 16 students in receipt of Pupil Premium
• 20 students did not achieve national standard in both English and Maths – within this group there are 9 students in receipt of Pupil Premium
• 33 students did not achieve national standard in Maths – within this group there are 16 students in receipt of Pupil Premium
• 37 students did not achieve national standard in English – within this group there are 14 students in receipt of Pupil Premium

Planned Interventions (2018-2019) – including the strategies used in previous academic year

• PiXL Micro-Wave
For Year 7 we are taking part in the PiXL Microwave which provides us with a detailed analysis and a PLC for every individual, identifying the specific gaps in English and Maths – this also ensures that students are not just repeating content from Primary School in Year 7.
• Timetabled Literacy intervention
This is a timetabled session with a member of the English department which focuses on the KSU gaps a targeted students based on the KS2 outcomes.  The duration of the session is two hours per week.
• Maths Intervention sessions
The focus is on basic numeracy and arithmetic and targeted for students identified from their KS2 data and baseline testing.  This is delivered by a Maths specialist who focuses on improving the KSU gaps of the students.  The duration of the session is one hour per week.
• Realistic Mathematics Education
Use of realistic situations as a means of allowing students to develop their mathematics.  The focus is on making sense and gradual refinement of informal procedures with a clear emphasis on refining and systemising understanding.  There is planned opportunities for discussion and reflection in supporting student development.
• Implementation of Hodder Reading Tests
These wide-range tests assess students’ reading comprehension at word, sentence and continuous text level.  The reading speed test assesses the number of phonically regular three and four-letter words read in 60 seconds. This resource provides standardised scores and reading ages which are tracked and progress monitored.