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Organisation: Ysgol Bro Famau
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy
Submitted by: Rebecca Turner
Background
Ysgol Bro Famau is situated in a designated Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Moel Famau mountain area. There are two school sites approximately 3.5 miles apart in the villages of Llanarmon-yn-Ial and Llanferres.
The school caters for children aged three to eleven. There are 110 pupils on roll, which includes 16 children who attend nursery part-time.
English is the first language for nearly all pupils. Approximately 8% of the pupils are identified by the school as having additional learning needs (ALN). There are no pupils with a statement of special educational needs. Nearly all children start the school with knowledge and skills which are average or above for those typical for their age.
Implementation
Catch Up® Literacy is now well established in Ysgol Bro Famau. We have a Catch Up® Coordinator, one other member of staff who is trained to deliver Catch Up® and a designated area for Catch Up® resources. Students are identified using their May NFER reading tests results.
Catch Up® Literacy sessions are clearly timetabled to two sessions a week for each learner. Parents are informed about the Catch Up® Intervention via a personalised discussion with the Catch Up® Coordinator or class teacher and through a detailed information leaflet, which conveys the aims of Catch Up®, how the session is structured and how pupils/parents can access and benefit from Catch Up® digital games. The parents are also invited into school to take part in a learner/parent workshop, introducing how to utilise the digital games in the home setting.
Booklets are monitored termly, and staff are observed annually in support of quality assurance. The Catch Up® Coordinator then tracks the children who have received the intervention, and success is discussed with class teachers and then parents in parents’ evening. The Headteacher is kept well informed throughout the year with regard to learner progress and reading results.
Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
Pupil A is one of four children. She received 43 Catch Up® sessions during eight months on the Catch Up® Literacy programme and progressed through 6 levels. She made 39 months gains - a ratio gain of 4.8. She has some support at home with reading and homework.
During Catch Up®, she was identified as having made significant progress in decoding/blending, comprehension, use of expression and fluency. The class teacher identified an immense impact on her confidence, attitude and motivation levels towards reading in class. In fact, she progressed from a Level 1 teacher assessment in AT2 to a Level 3.
Her parents were very enthusiastic in using the Catch Up® digital games and have communicated with school the benefit these have had in their child’s reading ability. She says, “I like Catch Up® because we choose whichever book we want to read and you get to move up the levels.”
Case Study 2 - Catch Up® Literacy
Pupil C has one younger sister. He has made 44 months gain, progressing through nine Catch Up® levels after 52 Catch Up® sessions. This equates to a ratio gain of 5.5. He made significant progress in his comprehension, decoding and blending skills, and some progress with his use of expression, in his spelling and his handwriting.
He now reads at home regularly and is confident in reading in front of an audience. His reading age is still higher than his chronological age, showing that he is continuing to maintain progress. Parents have shown some support and attended school’s Catch Up® parents’ evening.
He is forecast to attain level 4 overall for English at the end of key stage 2. When asked about his time on Catch Up®, he stated, “I used to be scared of reading but I am not now, I enjoy Catch Up® and reading is fun now!”
Aims
We are very proud of our ‘Caring and Sharing’ ethos and believe we provide a stimulating and exciting environment for our children, with very strong links with our local communities.