Find out more

Sign up for our brochure

Request a full Catch Up® information brochure and details of our free information webinars

Find out more

News

2nd September 2025 - Learner confidence and well-being with Catch Up® support

Here at Catch Up, we are so grateful for the regular feedback we receive from deliverers about the difference Catch Up® Literacy and Catch Up® Numeracy make for the learners in their schools and settings. As well as progress in skills, we are often told that learners are becoming more confident, growing in self-esteem and feel more in control of their learning. This is music to our ears!

We wanted to explore this further, and consider what it is about the interventions that enable these positive ‘knock-on effects’!

We asked one of our Catch Up® Accredited Trainers, Ruth Deer, to reflect on this and she has been kind enough to put her thoughts on paper for us!

‘The impact that the Catch Up® interventions, both Literacy and Numeracy, have on learners cannot be underestimated in terms of closing the gap in their levels of achievement, as well as their increasing confidence and enjoyment in learning and so enhancing their overall wellbeing.

I believe that the nature of the Catch Up® interventions being one-to-one sessions really helps the learner to feel valued and realise that what they think and need is important. Too often learners who are falling behind their peers become frustrated in their classroom learning and will begin to give up or demonstrate their frustration with poor behaviour.

It is extremely rewarding to see the difference with young people when they are supported in the individual Catch Up sessions. You see this from the moment you go to pick up the child for their session when their face lights up with eagerness when you arrive - let alone their classmates asking “When can I go with you?”

Even on the way to and from sessions this gives the opportunity for the young person to build confidence and trust that the supporting adult wants the very best for them and knows the specifics of how that can be achieved. The opportunity to get to know them, and the kinds of things they enjoy, enables the supporting adult to weave that into the sessions to tailor the activities to meet their individual needs and likes. This is so important when we consider older learners, as so often we hear that they don’t want to be treated like babies. The supporting adults are able to tailor sessions specifically to meet the needs of the individual in age-appropriate ways which is really appreciated by our older learners.

As the Catch Up® interventions always begin with detailed assessments of the learner, it gives the supporting adult an amazing level of insight into what the learner already knows and of course where their needs lie. The initial interview really helps our learners to see that what they think and feel is important. I often set this up as a “Star’s Interview”, reminding them how often we see famous and important people being interviewed, now it is their turn and they can express their thoughts freely.

When we revisit the assessments at appropriate points, it is so rewarding to see the learners recognise for themselves how much they have progressed, which in turn builds their confidence and wellbeing further. In addition to this there is the ongoing revisiting of learning from one session to the next, where the young person has the opportunity to embed their learning further and of course receive specific praise which increases their overall wellbeing.

During the sessions it is so gratifying to see the change in the learners and the way they develop skills to try to solve problems for themselves rather than the sense of helplessness they have felt previously. This is so well supported by the way the skills being practised are modelled and “voiced over” by the supporting adult, so the learners gain a real understanding of how and why they can carry out steps to solve problems for themselves. It is heart-warming to see young people gain such confidence to try for themselves and feel that sense of satisfaction when they have solved the problem correctly.

One of the strategies which really enable the learners to develop these skills is the “Pause, Prompt, Praise” approach, where the supporting adults use their expertise in observing the young people trying to work things out for themselves. The one-to-one nature of the sessions allows the learner to feel that they are not rushed or racing against others, as is often the case in group settings.

In pausing and watching the learner try to use strategies to solve the problem gives the supporting adult the opportunity to give appropriate prompts to “nudge” them in the right direction to become more independent. I love to see that “lightbulb moment” when the learner realises that they have worked it out for themselves. Prompting them to recognise how they can transfer and use these skills back in their classroom really helps the learners to realise they can take ownership of their learning so empowering them to achieve their full potential.

Their increased confidence shines out when you see them “really grow in front of you” in their facial expressions – their beaming smiles and confidence in looking eye to eye. In fact their whole body language shows confidence, sitting up with head held high and being present in the space compared to their previous shrinking away and trying not to be noticed. Then their eagerness to try for themselves, rather than their former helplessness in just waiting to be helped, makes such a difference to their enjoyment of the whole learning journey.

The use of specific praise is crucial in helping the learner recognise that they are using their newfound skills and knowledge effectively. This really helps to reinforce to the learner that they can do things to support themselves in their learning. When discussing their progress with class teachers it is so rewarding to see the transference of these skills and increased confidence to their learning in the classroom and wider experiences.

After our most recent Parents’ Evening it was wonderful to hear a class teacher feeling so pleased when they were discussing a child’s progress, who had recently been assessed to begin working with Catch Up® Literacy (the child had not long moved to our school). They commented that the parents said that they were so happy that they now knew exactly what their child needed because of the detailed information gathered during the Catch Up assessments and individual sessions. They were thrilled and said that they had never been so well informed. The class teacher said to me that she was really pleased to see the ongoing impact of Catch Up both in terms of progress and overall wellbeing and that our discussions and sharing of information really supported her in how to share this with the parents.

The Catch Up® interventions are important to the learners’ wellbeing as they really demonstrate to them that they are valued as individuals and the time they have in the one-to-one sessions is specifically tailored to their needs. As part of the Catch Up community the adults delivering the interventions are well supported with resources and expertise to enable them to adapt suggested tried and tested activities to meet the needs of their learners. This also helps to empower the adult deliverers in increasing their skills and expertise in supporting learners, and we often see them developing their own activities to do so. The opportunity for supporting adults to share their experiences is a well established aspect of our Catch Up community and this further supports the expertise and wellbeing of our deliverers.

So, in conclusion, I highly recommend the Catch Up® Interventions be a part of your organisation’s approach to supporting closing the gap in attainment, as well as supporting the wellbeing of struggling learners. In addition to this, I believe that the interventions will aid you in empowering staff and students alike to reach their full potential in their ongoing learning journeys.’

Ruth Deer
Catch Up® Accredited Trainer

News archive