01842 668080
Organisation: Priory School
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy, Catch Up® Numeracy
Submitted by: Stefanie Pearce
Background
Priory School is a larger-than-average four-form entry primary school. It has 913 pupils. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, with around 45% White British, 20% Pakistani and 13% Indian. Around a third speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is around 20%. This proportion is higher than average, as there is a special educational needs Resource Unit that caters for around 60 pupils. Their needs include SEBD; complex physical, sensory and medical needs, and children on the autistic spectrum. Around one in five pupils are supported by the pupil premium fund.
Implementation
Using the old NC level data, those pupils who had not made significant progress were identified and discussed with class teachers and year leaders. We carried out standardised testing of reading and number ages, to help inform decisions as to who to take forward. Year leaders made the final selection.
I oversee both interventions (as Catch Up® Coordinator), with support from a KS1 lead. We also deliver both interventions.
The majority of the interventions are delivered by our TAs, who are class-based in the morning and deliver Catch Up® in the afternoon, four days a week. Their timetables were set by the year leader. The interventions take place in a central resource base with individual ‘pods’ for TAs to use and customise.
An information session for parents was held during the Autumn term and the Catch Up® promotional material was shared. Further parent meetings were held in March and interim progress discussed.
Monitoring takes place regularly and includes a range of approaches, e.g. using guidance from the Catch Up® trainer, (Priory School was the first in the UK to trial the 'whole school package' from Catch Up®, which includes follow-up support from a Catch Up® Accredited Trainer), the Catch Up® action plan, one-to-one observations and feedback, Catch Up® assessments for learning, session delivery sheets and profiles. TAs are given the chance to meet 1:1 to talk about their role, and team meetings are held termly with ample opportunity to feed back informally.
I feed back at regular intervals to the Deputy Head and a written record is taken of the meeting. My performance management targets are linked to the Catch Up® intervention.
Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
Year 5 pupil (A). Start of year: 1y 5m behind CA; end of year: 4m behind. Ratio Gain: 2.4
Child A joined Priory School as a late starter and there were significant gaps in her reading. The Catch Up® assessments helped establish where those gaps were. At the start of Catch Up® Literacy, Child A was someone who liked to read but was not at all confident in her ability. She used to rush her reading and use the first letter of a word to guess at it. At the end of Catch Up® Literacy, Child A takes her time and uses lovely expression, and parent feedback reported that she now ‘reads Jacqueline Wilson’ due to her increased confidence. There are still areas to consolidate but her enthusiasm and determination will stand her in good stead. There will be further focus on her spelling, which has already seen an improvement since starting Catch Up® Literacy. Child A reports that she is happier to read aloud in front of others now.
Case Study 2 - Catch Up® Numeracy
Year 3 pupil (J). Start of year: 1y 3m behind CA; end of year: 11m ahead. Ratio Gain: 4.0
J has always been enthusiastic about maths. Q: “How do you feel when the teacher tells you it is maths time?” A: “Excited! Because I LOVE maths!” When he started Catch Up® Numeracy, J was feeling a little deflated. He loved maths but was disappointed that he wasn’t in a higher grouping. At the end of Catch Up® Numeracy, he had moved up two groups in class which was a massive boost for his self-esteem. He learnt, through Catch Up® Numeracy, the importance of taking his time, reading questions carefully and checking his work. We were able to extend his knowledge and thinking to such an extent that when he did the standardised test, he got every question right! He thoroughly enjoyed coming to the sessions and his learner profile at the end was not far short of being complete. His parents were also thrilled with his progress.
Aims
To celebrate diversity and develop curiosity in order to make a difference to every individual every day.