Excellence Awards

22nd March 2017 - Catch Up® Excellence Awards: Ysgol Acrefair, ACREFAIR WREXHAM - GOLD award winner

Organisation: Ysgol Acrefair
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy, Catch Up® Numeracy
Submitted by: Mrs Helen Norman

Background
Ysgol Acrefair is a Community Primary School in North-East Wales, currently with 240 pupils on roll. Pupils are taught in single-form entry classes, with a Head Teacher, eight class teachers, one Additional Needs Teacher and fifteen Support Staff.
Catch Up® Literacy and Catch Up® Numeracy training were first attended in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Since then, additional staff have received training and now six staff members are Catch Up® Literacy trained and four staff members are Catch Up® Numeracy trained.
Many learners have benefited from this staff training, and Catch Up® is an established, successful part of the school’s basic skills intervention provision.

Implementation
The Catch Up® Coordinator identifies pupils for inclusion in the Catch Up® intervention through liaison with class teachers and use of National Test Data. Selected pupils are then assessed using the Salford Sentence Reading Test/Number Screening Test/Catch Up® assessments, and parents are provided with consent letters and further information on an individual basis. On completion of Catch Up® sessions, children are given an achievement award and a letter home explaining their achievement.
The Catch Up® Coordinator and Catch Up® delivery staff meet regularly to discuss timetables, pupil progress and Gateway Qualification submissions. The Catch Up® Coordinator also shares sessions with delivery staff twice yearly, followed with feedback and new targets to action.
The Catch Up® Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that resources are available and that any issues raised by deliverers are dealt with efficiently, to ensure continuity of provision. The Catch Up® Coordinator also ensures data analysis is maintained and provided to the Head Teacher at the end of each academic year, to present the positive impact of Catch Up® intervention on learners.
Ysgol Acrefair has an excellent, dedicated team of Catch Up® delivery staff, who constantly strive to deliver the best provision for our pupils. In addition, some staff have achieved the Catch Up® Qualifications for both Literacy and Numeracy. The impact of our team on our pupils’ attainment and self-esteem from their Catch Up® input can be seen across the school.

Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
Child A commenced Catch Up® Literacy provision on entering Year 3. He was an articulate child whose reading did not match his language potential. Testing with the SSRT identified both accuracy and comprehension as being two years lower than his chronological age. Child A engaged fully and immediately with Catch Up® Literacy sessions and was observed to clearly enjoy the one-to-one nature of the sessions, where he could enjoy the content of texts whilst developing his reading skills. He completed his Catch Up® Literacy sessions having made 33 and 38 months’ progress with accuracy and comprehension, respectively.

Case Study 2 - Catch Up® Numeracy
Child B presented with difficulties with basic number concepts and number confidence, and was identified as meeting Catch Up® criteria on entering Year 3. Testing with the Basic Number Screening Test identified her as having a number age that was 26 months below her chronological age. She responded very positively on commencement of Catch Up® Numeracy sessions and made excellent progress with basic number skills in the one-to-one sessions. Her number confidence improved significantly, and she completed her Catch Up® Numeracy provision having made 35 months’ progress in 10 months of provision.

Aims
We have high expectations of and for the children in our care and aim to provide them with the best possible start to their school lives.

We actively foster close partnerships between home, school and community, encouraging all to be involved in the many aspects of school life.