In July 2020, the Department of Education announced the provision of additional funding to support students whose learning was disrupted as a result of the COVID pandemic during the academic year 2019/20.

The Academies Tuition Fund is available to all 16 -19 providers and must be used to support small group tuition for 16 to 19 students in English, maths, and other courses where learning has been disrupted.

The guidance indicates that the supported students must be on a 16 to 19 study programme and who have not achieved grade 5 or above in GCSE maths and/or English by age 16.

Stratton Upper School Sixth Form commits to using the small group tuition funding to mitigate against the impact of the pandemic on our study programme students. Sessions will be limited to three to five students per group and will be above and beyond normal timetabled hours. Students will be prioritised for small group tuition based on current and prior performance and as per the guidance released by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The full guidance can be accessed here.

Support sessions will be prioritised for the following students:

•      Those who have a grade 4 or below in GCSE Maths and/or English

•      Those with a confirmed SEND need that may have impacted their progress during disrupted learning

•      Those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) 

Examples of some of the Tuition Support on offer will include:

·       Maths and English topic support and preparation for GCSE resit assessment

·       1-1 subject specific tuition

·       Small group subject specific tuition

·       Academic skills support and development

·       Technical Knowledge and skills support to aid mastery and make up for any shortfall from previous learning.

·       Support to improve engagement for learners with SEND

 

Tuition Support offered will be based on an individual needs assessment, the identification of an individual starting point, clear learning goals, expectations and outcomes.

 

Our commitment

We are committed to ensuring the tuition fund is used in accordance with the Government’s guidance on the 16 to 19 tuition fund by:

• producing this statement setting out how the fund will be used to support the most disadvantaged students

• publishing this guidance on our website

• recording the use of the fund, including references to individual students who receive support, the needs of those students, the number of hours of tuition delivered and retain the evidence of the tuition provided

• deliver the extra tuition and spend the allocated funds in the academic year 2021/22

• notify the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) of any underspend from the Fund for it to be reclaimed