Approach to COVID-19 Catch Up

5 themes have been embedded to provide a systematic, relationships-based approach to teaching and planning alongside their curriculum for children returning to school following Covid-19 disruption to their education. These are:

1. Rebuilding relationships
Positive relationships are vital for child development. The Loss the children experienced during this pandemic will have caused issues around attachment – in their relationships in school that they have forged over years; these will be some of the strongest relationships the young people have, but bereft of the investment of those daily interactions, will have become fragile. Children may have experienced loss during the pandemic, including the loss of relationships with their peers. They will need help to re-establish friendships, reconnect with staff and work with others.

2. Understanding the child’s experience
Each child’s experience of ‘lockdown’ will be unique and based very much on their individual home circumstances, culture and environment. Planned classroom activities can help children tell their stories, strengthen their sense of self, family, community, and better understand place in the wider world. Supporting and using appropriate communication strategies will be key in developing this.

3. Personalised approach: Know, acknowledge and address the gaps in learning through a personalised approach to each child’s curriculum
Missed learning is a complex issue, especially for children with Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties. Children’s needs will vary and not all gaps can – or should – be addressed immediately. However, personalised planning via Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs) that reflect each child’s individual needs in place and linked to an appropriate sequenced knowledge and skills framework can be used to plan a flexible route to recovery.

4. Learning to learn: Ensure the children re-establish & continue to develop the skills for learning
If children are to get ‘back on track’ and have self-efficacy, it is vital that they re-engage with the skills they need to learn. The children need to be appropriately scaffolded to re-establish and develop their problem-solving skills, imagination, creativity, language and observation skills, and memory and concentration. Pupils need to be given a range of opportunities and contexts for  play to test their theories about the world beyond their home as well as help rebuild relationships with peers and and better understand their place in the wider world (themes 1 and 2 above).

5. Engagement: A curriculum that engages and inspires
The process of engagement is a bridge that connects a child and their environment (including people, ideas, materials and concepts) to enable effective learning. Understanding the people, rooms, resources, activities, approaches and times that will motivate a pupil to anticipate, initiate, explore and persist in their learning are vital in securing optimum engagement and, as a result, developmental progress. Knowledge of what these look like for each child will facilitate a greater level of realisation and, ultimately, learning. In developing the medium term planning related to curriculum connectors this term teachers will be aware of and incorporate this knowledge into their planning. Teachers will also be mindful that the engagement profile for each child may now look significantly different for each child following prolonged absence from school and its diverse environments. It may be necessary to re-gather and record this information for many pupils.

 

 

2021-22 COVID-19 Catch up Premium:  £13,470 (approx.)


 

Aim

Cost

To provide additional budget for expenditure on resourcing individual pupils’ developmental priorities within the classroom to support the schools Recovery Curriculum themes (set out above).
£4000
Ensure attendance monitoring and support for is effective and maintains a high: Additional time for the Family Partnership Advisor (FPA) in school to support in parents and carers of pupils disadvantaged or unable to attend.
£1500
Additional backfill staffing in class  SHLTA to support remote learning and support parents in understanding their role in remote learning.
Resource remote learning resources: Weekly 'Home Learning Activity Guidance' (.pdf document) linked to the class Curriculum Connector theme published and sent home.

A box of physical resources linked to the activities and ideas contained in the Home Learning Guidance. These are compiled by the Pathway HLTA’s in school and delivered via mini bus.
 
£2000
Sustaining continuity of staffing: to cover staff absence and maintain staff levels necessary for effective teaching within class groups. This is with the intention of supporting the continuity of learning in the event that attendance is impacted by increased staff absence resulting from the pandemic.
£6000

References:


Carpenter, B. et al (2015) ‘Engaging Learners with Complex Needs’, London, Routledge.
Liberty, K., (2018) ‘How research is helping our children after the earthquakes.’
https://www.healthprecinct.org.nz/stories/how-research-is-helping-our-children-after-the-earthquakes/
Young Minds (2020) Coronavirus; the impact on young people with mental health needs. www.youngminds.org.uk
5 Areas of Engagement- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgV1svBBanA
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-engagement-model
https://www.evidenceforlearning.net/recoverycurriculum/