The literacy and numeracy catch-up premium gives state-funded schools, including special schools and alternative provision settings, additional funding to support year 7 pupils who did not achieve the expected standard in reading or maths at the end of key stage 2 (KS2).

As final payments of the Year 7 Catch-up Premium were made in relation to the 2019 to 2020 academic year, the 2020 to 2021 academic year will be the last year on which schools must report how this funding was used.

The Year 7 Literacy and Numeracy Catch-Up Premium is additional funding that the government gives to schools. This funding is to be targeted at students who did not achieve at least a scale score of 100 in reading and/or maths at the end of Key Stage 2.

How is Catch-Up Premium Calculated?

Each year the government allocates funding to schools, which is adjusted each year, to reflect the percentage change in the size of their Year 7 cohort, based on school census data.

How the Year 7 Literacy and Numeracy Catch-Up Premium is used.

All pupils at our school have an in-depth literacy profile. Through the early identification of a pupil in need of additional support, pupils access high-quality, targeted intervention. We have a skilled team of staff dedicated to the development of literacy across school and it is through this support that we meet the needs of all learners. We adopt a tiered approach to the delivery of interventions:

Tier 1: In-class support provided by class staff.

Tier 2: Regular in-class support provided by class staff or small group work provided by a TA Level 3.

Tier 3: Daily, intense programme of literacy support provided by our Literacy Intervention Manager.

Accelerated Reader 

Reading is at the heart of our literacy strategy. Pupils at our Vyner Campus engage in the Accelerated Reader programme and have access to a well-resourced library. As a school, we invest heavily in the range of books available to our pupils. We want to expose our school community to a range of genres, authors and experiences of reading. Staff support pupils in ensuring everyone has access to a reading book pitched at their level but also encourage additional reading for pleasure opportunities.

For further information regarding reading at our school, please click here:

Reading and Phonics | The Observatory School  

Literacy Intervention:

Accelerated Reader 

Literacy Centre

Numeracy Intervention 

Freckle: Freckle identifies each pupil’s level in maths through a brief adaptive assessment. With the Star integration, one assessment informs all domain placements