Excellence Awards

18th October 2013 - Catch Up® Excellence Awards: Ysgol Mair Catholic Primary School, Denbighshire- BRONZE award winner (Catch Up® Literacy)

Organisation: Ysgol Mair RC Primary School
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy
Submitted by: Andrea Whiteway

Background
Ysgol Mair is a Catholic primary school situated in the south of Rhyl, a large seaside town in North Wales. The school serves the parishes of Rhyl, Prestatyn and Abergele/Towyn so it has a large catchment area with children being brought to school on buses.

Presently there are 293 pupils on roll, which includes 40 part-time nursery pupils. There are ten mixed ability classes who are taught by nine full-time teachers and two part-time teachers, equalling five FP classes and 5 KS2 classes.

The area the school serves is considered to be disadvantaged.

Implementation
Catch Up® Literacy is now well established in Ysgol Mair. We have a Catch Up® Coordinator, several other members of staff who are trained to deliver Catch Up® and a designated area for Catch Up® resources.

Learners are identified using their May NFER reading tests results. The school identifies staff to be trained in the intervention based on performance management reviews and individual strengths and interests.

Parents are informed of the intervention’s aims and purpose and given strategies for support to help with reading in the home setting. The parents are also informed of their child’s progress through subsequent parents’ evenings each term. Booklets are monitored termly and staff are observed annually. The Catch Up® Coordinator then tracks the children who have received the intervention and success is discussed with class teachers.

The Headteacher is kept well informed throughout the year, as are Governors, on the specific results.

Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
Pupil A is an only child and currently living with grandparents. He received 45 Catch Up® sessions over eight months on Catch Up® Literacy and progressed through three levels, gaining 36 months in his reading age; a ratio gain of 4.5.

During Catch Up®, he was identified as having made significant progress in his decoding and blending skills as well as comprehension, fluency and spelling skills. The class teacher identified an immense impact on his confidence, and attitude and motivation towards reading in class.

Since Pupil A was part of Catch Up®, he has volunteered to take part in whole school assemblies and has even completed a reading in Church. He is also a school council representative for his class.

He says, “I like spending time reading by myself to the teacher. I don’t always get a chance to enjoy a book with my Nan”.

Case Study 2 - Catch Up® Literacy
Pupil B is the youngest of three children, having two older brothers. During his time on the programme, he has received 45 Catch Up® sessions and made 55 months gain in his reading age, equating to a ratio gain of 6.9. His reading age is now significantly higher than his chronological age.

He is predicted a Level 4 overall for English at the end of Key Stage 2. He was identified as having made significant progress in the areas of decoding, blending, comprehension, spelling, confidence and attitude and motivation to reading. He has progressed through 4 Catch Up® levels during his period of receiving Catch Up®. His attendance through the year is 97.7%.

When asked about his time on Catch Up®, Pupil B stated, “It helped me to improve my reading.”

Aims
That students develop lively, enquiring minds, the ability to question and argue rationally and to apply themselves to tasks and physical skills, both on their own and in groups.