COVID Recovery Plan 2020-2021
Recovery ‘Catch-Up’ Spending Plan 2020-21
Total Grant: £11,680
Identified Issues/Gaps in Learning
- Significant drop in maths, reading and writing attainment across the school
- Y6 children’s attainment lower than expected
- Writing and phonics progress stalled across the school
- Social and emotional need for pupils across the school
- Not all children are able to access online learning from home should the school/bubble be forced to close.
| Planned Actions | Desired Outcomes | Rationale/Evidence Base | Cost |
| Employ academic mentor through Teach First to carry out interventions with identified children. | Assessments show children make accelerated progress and move closer to ARE |
|
£4000 |
| Purchase of Shine intervention materials linked to NTS testing. | Teachers will know exactly how to target learning an interventions to ensure gaps are closed. |
|
£720 |
| Purchase additional devices for pupils to use from home to access learning. | All children can access live lessons remotely. |
|
£4000 |
| Employ a Learning Mentor/Parent Support Worker |
Children’s mental health needs are met on their return to school. Links between school and social care/Early Help are effective to secure positive outcomes. |
|
£3140 (rest of salary costs funded through Pupil Premium funding) |
(Schools will also have access to a Remote Learning Teacher, funded through DSAT where required to support children Self Isolating or shielding. This is accesses by a request for support.)
DfE Expectation:
For pupils in key stages 1 and 2, school leaders are expected to prioritise identifying gaps and re-establish good progress in the essentials (phonics and reading, increasing vocabulary, writing and mathematics), identifying opportunities across the curriculum so they read widely, and developing their knowledge and vocabulary. The curriculum should remain broad, so that the majority of pupils are taught a full range of subjects over the year, including sciences, humanities, the arts, physical education/sport, religious education and relationships and health education.
For all wider curriculum subjects, class teachers and Subject Leaders have analysed the missed content from the summer term and identified how this will be covered. As the schools adopt a spiral curriculum for most subjects, all content can be revisited. Using Cornerstones has allowed the schools to plan for additional Love to Investigate projects to ensure that all science content is covered. Where Subject Leader feel that a topic cannot be recovered within future learning projects, one off topic theme weeks are to be taught to ensure that children will still have received an education in all the POS of the National Curriculum.
EEF Guidance Analysis and School Response – used to bridge gaps in learning for English and Mathematics
Teaching and whole-school strategies
Supporting great teaching
Early career teachers, who may have had opportunities to develop their practice curtailed by school closures, are particularly likely to benefit from additional mentoring and support.
Heads of Schools are conducting a weekly meeting with all teachers in their 2nd and 3rd year of teaching to ensure they are well supporting in responding to the needs of pupils and school plans. Some of this meeting time may be directed to see practice in other classrooms or may be delivered by other members of staff. The prime aim is to ensure that those with less experience are supported with planning and delivery.
The usual monitoring processes are taking place with the emphasis being on Quality First Teaching and ensuring that all pupils receive a good standard of education daily.
Pupil assessment and feedback
Assessment can help teachers determine how to most effectively support their pupils. Every pupil will have been affected differently by Covid-19.
The school is following the principle of carrying out gap analysis using Standardised assessments in literacy and numeracy to identify pupils who would benefit from additional catch-up support. NTS summer assessments to identify where children have slipped back. (See Targeted support plan) Children are then identified for additional support – booster/NTP then assessed again in the autumn, plans are then adjusted and next steps put into practice. At this point, other children may be prioritised adjusted and new children identified.
In EYFS and KS1, all children have been assessed through RWI phonics. All staff received full RWI phonics assessments at the start of term which has supported the delivery of the catch-up curriculum for all.
Providing pupils with high-quality feedback, building on accurate assessment, is likely to be a particularly promising approach. Teachers have all been re-trained on using success criteria to ensure children are clear on what they are required to do to be successful in a very clear and processed based way. The Feedback policy is also being revised to ensure live feedback is prioritised to have an instant impact.
Transition support
All pupils will need support to transition back to school. However, there are particular challenges for pupils starting a new school after the disruptions caused by Covid-19.
FS pupils received visits from staff members and resources sent home to establish a link. Where social distancing could be managed, children and parents have visited school.
Class Dojo has been well used to communicate from school staff. Videos of the school and how to access it were prepared and shared.
Although we expected children to find the beginning school difficult as their parents were unable to enter the classroom, we have found the opposite to be true and have found that children are settled much more quickly and that we have gained teaching time, particularly for phonics first thing in the morning.
All pupils were invited back for the final few weeks of school as part of wider reopening. The emphasis was on Y5 pupils returning in preparation for a start to Y6. This was done as transition and children spent time with their new teachers in their new classrooms (where space would allow). This meant that both children and teachers were prepared for the return to school in September. A whole school project was undertaken with an emphasis on the arts. Work completed during this time is displayed in central areas of the school.
Targeted Support
One to one and small group tuition
Children to access additional 1:1 and small group tuition are to have been identified by the final week in September. Identification of pupils is based on initial teaching inputs and formative assessment by class teachers. This is supported by testing and analysis of outcomes to see how far off the ‘flight path’ the children now are. Children who have dropped below their flight path will be picked up by 1:1 and small group tuition which will take place outside of the school day. This will be in groups of no more than 4 and will be carried out by qualified teachers and TAs who demonstrate that they have the capacity to provide high quality provision through a thorough understanding of the curriculum content.
Initially, Y5 and Y6 pupils and Y1 and Y2 pupils will be targeted with the focus being on English and mathematics for KS2 and on phonics and reading for KS1.
We have a tutor who will begin working with us in the spring term to also begin working on a one-to-one basis or as in class support to help identified pupils to catch up.
Intervention programmes
The school runs a wide range of intervention programmes specifically aimed at pupils with SEN. These range from very specific programmes from outside agencies such as LSS (LSP) and SALT but also are very bespoke programmes designed by the class teacher and SENDCo. The programmes will all continue to ensure pupils with SEN make rapid progress. These interventions are timed for specific points in the day to ensure that key learning in English and mathematics is not compromised.
In addition to specific SEN interventions, other children will access provision such as Fresh Start for phonics and spelling in KS2. Additional reading opportunities are also planned for all pupils in a continuation of the previous year’s development priorities. Classes are using an echo and repeated reading approach to develop fluency linked to the Herts for Learning Fluency Project from in school bespoke CPD.
Teachers will continue to plan same day interventions such as pre teaching where children have specific gaps.
All teaching will continue to be delivered based on the children’s starting points and prior knowledge and will be addressed as part of a spiral curriculum in the main.
A Learning Mentors is now appointed to help meet the needs of vulnerable pupils and to support them with their behaviour so that they can access learning. One to one sessions take place in the afternoons to help children to manage the demands of the curriculum alongside their SEMH needs.
The staggered approach to playtimes and lunchtimes for social distancing has proved beneficial for all pupils and the additional staffing for lunch times has meant that there have been fewer behavioural issues which have impacted on teaching and learning provision.
Extended school time
Extended school time will only take place for children in Y6 initially, receiving 1:1 or small group support. We have not reduced the teaching timetable in terms of number of hours. We have been required to slightly reduce lunch time for some pupils to allow us to manage social distancing. This has meant that we have reduced the day to a 3pm finish as opposed to a 3.15pm finish. This time also allows for classroom staff to contribute to cleaning.
Supporting parents and carers
Communication remains positive. Class teachers and school leaders communicate daily with parents and carers via class dojo and email, and parents are able to ask any questions and raise concerns.
SLT are present on the school playground wherever possible to talk to parents as they are not permitted in the school building. Parents and carers have been asked to contact the school to arrange a face to face meeting where it is required.
Access to technology
This is presenting a particular issue to many of our families. All parents and carers have been surveyed to determine their requirements in accessing technology. Surveys show that the vast majority of families have access to reliable internet but so many do not have laptops or computers should school or classes be forced to close. We have shared our remote learning policy and have made it clear to parents that they will not be expected to provide ‘home schooling’ and that this will be done live by class teachers wherever possible.
We are currently identifying who needs access to further technology. We have purchased a suite of Chromebooks for the use of the Y6 children. This will be available for learning in classrooms and available for Y6 children to take home if required. All children have a Teams account set up and a Google Suite account to be used in the event of school/class closure. Staff have been trained and pupils will have lesson in class on how to use it.
Summer support
School remained open throughout lockdown for vulnerable pupils and Key worker children. All staff worked each day in some capacity and surrendered time from the school holidays at Easter to keep the school open. Thrybergh Fullerton opened to all pupils who wanted to return for a least 2 weeks prior to the summer holiday. This acted as transition and children spent time with their new teachers and their new classroom wherever possible.
