Guidance

School support recovery offer: coronavirus (COVID-19)

Updated 15 February 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on

This time-limited school-to-school recovery support offer has now closed.

Applies to England

We are offering time-limited school-to-school recovery support to schools and trusts, provided by an experienced system leader. This support can help schools to overcome the challenges faced or exacerbated as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Please note the previous 2019 to 2020 school improvement support offer has closed.

Support eligibility

You can apply for support free of charge if you:

  • have educational (or safeguarding) issues that have either been caused or exacerbated by coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • are facing operational challenges because of coronavirus (COVID-19) and would benefit from additional leadership capacity including help with your remote learning offer

Support availability

Regional DfE teams administer the support offer, and will work with local authorities, dioceses, the Teaching Schools Council and local multi-academy trusts (MATs) to identify schools and trusts, which may benefit from support, and match them with an experienced school or trust leader.

Once we have identified a suitable leader to provide support, they will contact the school.

The programme is designed to supplement the resource available within a maintained school or academy trust with expertise from outside. Therefore, support through this programme will not be from anyone within the school or trust.

Support offered

Support will be in the form of dedicated time made available to the school and, where appropriate, its MAT, for up to 5 days. We may provide additional support to schools with particularly challenging needs.

System leaders will tailor the support to the individual needs of the school or trust, but it could include, for example, a focus on:

  • support or planning with remote learning
  • how to use catch-up funding to address gaps in knowledge
  • lost leadership capacity due to coronavirus (COVID-19) circumstances

How to apply

If you want to apply for assistance through this scheme, or are aware of a school that you think would benefit from support, please contact your local Regional School Commissioner’s office.

Further information

School leaders may also find information about the catch-up premium and the national tutoring programme useful to find out more about the broader package of support available to all schools.

Please contact us if you have any queries about school leadership support.

School improvement support team