Recovery Plan

When pupils return to our school there will be a Recovery Plan in place which addresses not only the potential gaps in academic attainment but focuses on children's health and mental well-being, too. Research places emphasis on acknowledging the losses which they will have encountered during the COVID lockdown: loss of routine, structure, friendship, opportunity and freedom, which can trigger responses of anxiety, trauma and bereavement.

Remote Learning Plan for Parents

As a school we need to make arrangements to continue the education of your child should there need to be any closures in school due to COVID-19.

The remote education at Whitwell Primary is as close to the classroom curriculum as possible. And, just like our classroom curriculum, it is carefully sequenced and ensures that children obtain the building blocks they need to move on to the next step.

Catch-Up Premium Strategy

What is the Catch-Up Premium?

The Government has announced that £1 billion of funding has been earmarked for schools to support children and young people to catch-up. This 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 due to Covid-19.

Schools’ allocations will be calculated on a per pupil basis, providing each school with a total of £80 per pupil, from Reception through to Year 6. As the catch-up premium has been designed to mitigate the effects of the unique disruption caused by COVID-19, the grant will only be available for the 2020 to 2021 academic year.

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 guidance on curriculum expectations for the next academic year.

Schools have the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their cohort and circumstances.

At Whitwell Primary School we have considered the age of our children when deciding how to allocate and spend our money. We have also used the government recommended, 'COVID-19 Support Guide for Schools' published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to identify the best strategies, based on long term research, that will enable us to achieve the most positive outcomes. Please see our Catch-Up Premium Strategy below.