What catch-up funding is for
The government announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up lost time after school closure. This is especially important for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding includes:
- a one-off universal £650 million catch up premium for the 2020 to 2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time
- a £350 million National Tutoring Programme to provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who need the most help, which includes:
- a schools programme for 5 to 16-year-olds
Funding allocations
School allocations will be calculated on a per pupil basis.
Mainstream school will get £80 for each pupil in from reception to year 11 inclusive.
Using catch-up funding
Schools should use this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the curriculum expectations for the next academic year.
While schools can use their funding in a way that suits their cohort and circumstances, they are expected to use this funding for specific activities which will help pupils catch up on missed education.
To support schools to make the best use of this funding, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published a coronavirus (COVID-19) support guide for schools with evidence-based approaches to catch up for all students.