01842 668080
Organisation: Casterton College Rutland
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy, Catch Up® Numeracy
Submitted by: Mrs Johanne Pond & Mrs Helen Cook
Background
Casterton College Rutland is the highest performing secondary school in Rutland and Stamford.
Catch Up® was introduced after our SENCO attended a TA conference in London during 2014, where a presentation was given by Dee Reid, one of the co-creators of Catch Up® Literacy. It was explained that Catch Up® was an accredited training programme with a recognised qualification, allowing staff to be trained in the delivery of Catch Up®. It was an intervention that identified each individual child’s area of weakness and allowed 1-1 work with each student to help them gain confidence in their own ability.
Implementation
Catch Up® intervention was put forward as a training aid that would meet the needs of individual students. The English and Maths departments each appointed a specialist TA, both of whom attended Catch Up® training in Birmingham, in November 2014.
At the beginning of each academic year, heads of departments and specialist TAs meet to identify those students most likely to benefit from Catch Up®. Using subject-specific testing, administered to year 6 pupils during our induction week, struggling learners are identified. This information is fed back to the Basic Skills committee. The Basic Skills governor attends this meeting and the outcomes of the intervention are included in a report by the Vice Principal to the board of governors.
The English and Maths specialist TAs meet termly to discuss progress and to observe each other’s sessions, to ensure sessions are being completed to a high standard. Some of these observations have been used as evidence for accreditation.
Catch Up® Numeracy TAs now withdraw students from non-core subjects; this was started in October 2016. At present, 7 students are receiving Catch Up Numeracy intervention.
Catch Up® Literacy TAs withdraw students from one English lesson and one humanities lesson per week. The school librarian has also attended training for Catch Up® Literacy. We currently have 24 students receiving Catch Up® Literacy intervention.
Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
Pupil A was a year 7 pupil when she started Catch Up® Literacy, with a reading age of 6:4 against a chronological age of 11:11 (a difference of 67 months). She struggles with literacy in general, with reading and comprehension being particularly problematic. She doesn’t think reading is important and thinks that if you read at school, you shouldn’t be expected to read at home.
After 8 months of Catch Up® intervention, Pupil A’s reading age had increased to 8:10, and she continues to progress. Her last assessment showed a reading age of 10:00, which is a reading age gain of 44 months over the course of 18 months. She also continues to progress through the Catch Up® Literacy levels. Her fluency continues to improve, as do her spelling scores, and she is able to confidently predict what she thinks will happen. She now enjoys reading ‘spooky stories’.
Case Study 2 - Catch Up® Numeracy
Child B is a Current Lower Ability student (CLA) Y7 student. She lacks confidence, particularly in Maths, and is very aware of her weakness in numeracy, particularly with subtraction.
Child B is a shy, quiet student within the classroom setting, but when asked how she feels within lessons, she admitted to feeling scared. If asked a question by the teacher, Child B becomes very nervous and says her eyes water.
Child B has difficulty retaining information; this is evident when completing tests. In class, she can follow set instructions to complete a task successfully, but is not able to retain this when it needs to be implemented at a later stage. Child B is aware that, as she grows up, she needs to be able to successfully manage money and complete everyday tasks involving numeracy, so she always attempts tasks to the best of her ability. She participated in 20 sessions of Catch Up® Numeracy over a 4 month period; her Numeracy/Maths Age gain was 8 months. The ratio gain based on test-to-test results was 2.19; the ratio gain based on intervention duration was 2.46.
Child B has gained in confidence within the Catch Up® sessions, but admits to still finding the classroom environment very scary.
Aims
We put a high value on building character and instilling a strong work ethic in our young people. We expect them to respect our values and require them to make a formal pledge to do so. In return we offer them an outstanding education where they will be stretched and challenged to reach their full potential.