Catch Up Premium (CUP) The literacy and numeracy catch-up premium gives schools additional funding to support year 7 pupils who did not achieve at least level 4 in reading and/or maths at the end of key stage 2 (KS2). In 2014-15, Manchester Communication Academy received an additional fund of £34,500 to support students in Year 7 to develop in these key areas and ‘catch up’ with their peers. When deemed appropriate, this may also continue into Year 8 and even Year 9. Funding for the 2015-16 will be known in March 2016. Objectives of Year 7 Catch Up Funding
To narrow the gap by providing intensive literacy and numeracy support and raise the attainment of those students entitled to Catch Up Premium (CUP Premium) To enhance existing provision To identify intervention groups and accelerate student progress To raise self-esteem and aspirations of students entitled to Catch Up Premium
Target Outcome:
At the end of Year 7, the percentage of CUP students making expected progress in English and Maths will be the same or greater than their non-CUP peers (CUP students have typically made less progress by the EKS2) Reading Ages of CUP students will increase at an accelerated rate to their starting points and enable students to access the curriculum Students will confidently use numeracy and literacy across the curriculum
How we spent the allocation of funds during 2014-15: The strategies employed during the last academic year included: Staffing support to enable
Small group teaching/ one to one support Mentoring Literacy intervention programme Accelerated Reader Programme TA Support including full time EAL TA Extra Study Support After School Club Summer School Booster Sessions External Professional Assessment such as Speech and Language therapists and Educational Psychologist reports Reading inference programme Training for staff Intervention during Year 6 for vulnerable students through transition
Purchase of
Classroom resources and targeted ICT resources Dictionaries, class sets of volume and shape resources. Rapid Plus Reading scheme/ Lexia Reading scheme Various targeted resources Read and Write Gold software to aid reading and understanding Maths Renaissance Learning package
Literacy Catch Up Strategy: On entering the Academy, all students are tested and students below level 3 are identified. Level 3 students are then assessed, through standardised tests, on their spelling, reading skill and reading comprehension skills. From this stage, the following processes take place:
Intensive Literacy Case Studies 2014/15 Student A is now in year 9 and has been working with specialist literacy/ trained dyslexia staff since she was in year 7 after displaying low levels of spelling and reading. At the beginning of the year students A’s spelling age was 8 years 8 months. After just 1 term of extra 1 to 1 intervention, Student A improved her spelling age by 2 years and now has a spelling age of 10 years 8 months. The intervention enables her to access the curriculum and receive a broad and balanced curriculum. Student B is in year 8 and has been working with a specialist teacher since the beginning of the year. Student B is dyslexic and has been working in a group of 3 students to help progress her spelling which improved her spelling age by 7 months. She began the year with a spelling age of 7 years 9 months and after 1 term has reached a spelling age of 8 years 4 months. Student C is a year 7 EAL student and participated in an intensive literacy programme at the beginning of the year for 6 weeks. She began the course with a reading age of 7 years 3 months and a spelling age of 8 years 4 months. At the end of the course Student C had a reading age of 8 years 9 months and a spelling age of 10 years allowing her to access the curriculum much more readily. Student D is in year 7 and participated in an intensive literacy programme at the beginning of the year for 6 weeks and is currently working in a small group for his English lessons. During this time student D has improved his reading age by 15 months. He began the year with a reading age of 7 years 9 months and is currently working with a reading age of 9 years.
Rapid Plus Intervention Case Studies Rapid Plus is a reading programme for students with a reading age of 6.6 years to 9.6 years. This programme helps students make at least two levels of progress. The programme also improves students spelling and comprehension ability. Student E is in Year 9, he has SPLD (specific learning difficulty). As a result, the student has a low reading age of 7.9 years. This also impacts on inference skills. This student has worked on Rapid Plus reading intervention for six months, and now has a reading age of 9.4 years now. This programme also monitors the student’s comprehension skills, and allows them to progress towards a reading age more commensurate with his chronological age, closing the gap. Student F is a Year 7 student who was tested at a reading age of 6.6 years; having a history of low level literacy, he is currently waiting for a Dyslexia screening. After two months on the programme, his reading age increased to 9.7 years. This had a noticeable impact on his confidence; he was able to engage with the mainstream curriculum, working more independently in lessons. Student G is a Year 7 EAL student. After six weeks intervention, student G has improved their reading age by one year, one month. Student G now feels more comfortable accessing a secondary curriculum and has noticeably gained more confidence in reading, writing and speaking. Sample data: cohort of students in Rapid Plus intervention
Start Reading Age (Sept 14)
Reading Age - w/c 15/12/14
Progress Made
A
7.06
11.03
+ 3 years, 9 months
B
7.08
11.07
+ 3 years, 11 months
C
8
9.04
+ 1 year, 4 months
D
7.03
8.07
+ 1 year, 4 months
E
7.01
10.08
+ 3 years, 7 months
F
7.08
8.11
+ 1 year, 3 months
G
7.02
11.07
+ 4 years, 5 months
H
7.06
11.08
+ 4 years, 2 months
I
7.06
9.08
+ 2 years, 2 months
J
6.06
9.07
+ 3 years, 1 month
Reading Inference Intervention 2015 Inference intervention is designed for students who have a basic understanding of texts, but struggle to comprehend and infer. These students normally have a reading age of 7 and above. The intervention is provided during English lessons with a trained teaching assistant. Interventions are usually six weeks in duration. Below is a sample of data from the inference intervention. Reading age before
Reading age after
After 6 weeks
A
6.11
8
1 year, 1 month
B
8
8.03
3 months
C
8
8.08
8 months
D
7.05
8.09
1 year, 4 months
E
8.05
9.06
1 year, 1 month
F
7.08
8.09
1 year, 1 month
G 7.06 9.06 How we plan to spend the current academic year’s allocation:
2 years
Allocations will be based on the January 2016 census and calculated in February 2065 with payments made to academies in March 2016. A similar programme is currently in operation as previously discussed in lieu of this payment and also includes new interventions such as a ‘Grow @ KS3’ and the introduction of Mental Maths software. A targeted group of students were identified and targeted for Summer School intervention. In addition to this, we have appointed 2 Teaching Assistants to support students eligible for the catch up premium. The focus of their work is to: a) Increase Reading age/ Reading level relative to starting points b) Support these students across the curriculum in Literacy Grow @ KS3 At Manchester Communication Academy, Grow@ KS3 is our latest intervention. Grow@KS3's main goal is to produce independent learners, who show improvement through targeted support in their reading and writing. It focuses on the areas that the child needs to develop and is accessed through individual or small group learning. Year 7 students with a reading level of 3 or less are targeted. It is a 10 week intervention of 3 sessions a week of 30-45 minute. A pilot study is currently underway, with impact due to be measured at the end of the academic year. Passport Maths •
Small group intervention for 4 extra hours a week following the Passport Maths programme
•
Prior learning and gaps assessed and analysed to ensure accelerated progress
•
26 pupils on the scheme that are level 3, others monitored in lesson as have already achieved level 4 in baseline
Summer School 2015 During the two week primary transition period, year 7 students with a low reading age, or deemed to have poor spelling or poor writing skills, were invited to a literacy summer school programme. During this programme, students were able to cover basic skills through small group intervention. The students who attended the programme were notably more confident when they started the academy in September. Most students were able to show progress in their written work and communication skills. Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Programme: Timetable of Provision
25 students have been identified as needing intensive support in order for them to fully access and engage in the curriculum. Students still receive master classes from all curriculum areas, with a focus on literacy, to ensure they receive a broad and balanced curriculum and support their integration into a full timetable. Those deemed able to access the curriculum but not a Level 4 are supported through intensive small group work in English and Maths lessons and receive additional support from TAs across the curriculum
Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Cohort identification (2015-16) The identification of students and process for this is as follows: Students with a reading age lower than 8 years, and students below level 4 in maths, are identified during the primary transition baseline tests. Identified students start the programme in September for 6-7 weeks. Students’ reading ages, spelling ages and written work is reviewed. A KS2 SATs test is also assessed. Students with an increased reading/spelling age of at least 6 months, improved accuracy in written work or an improvement in SATs, are considered for re-entry into a mainstream curriculum
Students entered back into a mainstream curriculum are monitored and interventions provided where necessary.
Students who are not ready for a mainstream curriculum will remain on the programme and will be reviewed again after 6-7 weeks.
By the end of the programme, we aim to provide all students with the skills needed to access the secondary curriculum in every subject. Current Literacy Data- September to October 2015 Sample- Intensive Reading support
Autumn 1 Reading age improvements
Sept
Oct
Progress
A
9.11
11.2
1 year, 3 months
B
9.4
9.11
7 months
C
9.8
10.06
10 months
D
7.11
10.06
2 years, 7 months
E
11.4
13.06
2 years, 2 months
F
10.05
11.02
9 months
G
9.3
11.5
2 years, 2 months
H
9.4
9.11
7 months
I
9.8
11.02
1 year, 6 months
We have various specialist staff for the literacy provision: LN – SPLD (Specific Learning Difficulties) specialist SS – Post Graduate Certificate in Special Educational Needs and Inclusion MM – Speech and Language Level 2 MS – Speech and Language Level 2 Those deemed able to access the curriculum but not a Level 4 are supported through intensive small group work in English and Maths lessons and receive additional support from TAs across the curriculum. Support typically includes:
Small nurture groups of 9 and 15 pupils with TA support
Level 3 booster booklets provided for each pupil below level 4
Numeracy Ninja and Timestable Rockstar programmes running to boost numeracy skills
Large range of physical resources for use with these groups, led by a primary specialist
Developing Leader learning walks, monitoring and support for catch up groups
Paired reading in English lessons
Weekly comprehensive tasks
Vocabulary builder tasks
Weekly SPAG booster tasks