Guidance

Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium: conditions of grant 2019 to 2020

Published 25 February 2020

This guidance was withdrawn on 1 June 2021

This fund has now been discontinued, with last payments being for the 2019 to 2020 academic year.

1. Introduction

The year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium grant 2019 to 2020 will be paid under Section 14 of the Education Act 2002. In accordance with section 16 of this act, the Secretary of State lays down the following terms and conditions on which the grant is paid for the financial year beginning 1 April 2019.

2. Basis of allocation

The year 7 catch-up premium allocations for 2019 to 2020 have been allocated to schools using the same approach as last year to the allocation calculation.

2.1 Allocations to schools funded in 2019 to 2020

In 2019 to 2020 we have allocated funding to schools on the basis that they receive the same overall amount of year 7 catch-up premium funding they received in 2018 to 2019, adjusted to reflect the percentage change in the size of their year 7 cohort between the October 2018 and the October 2019 school censuses.

(number of year 7 pupils recorded on the October 2018 school census) ÷ (number of year 7 pupils recorded on the October 2019 school census) × the 2018 to 2019 allocation

2.2 Allocations to new schools

Schools that have pupils in year 7 and are completely brand new (for example, no predecessor school in the October 2018 school census), or schools that existed according to the October 2018 school census and did not have pupils in year 7 but now have pupils in that group recorded in the October 2019 census, will receive an allocation.

For these schools, allocations have been made by calculating for each local authority the proportion of year 7 pupils on the October 2018 school census that was eligible for the year 7 catch-up in 2018 to 2019. This proportion has been applied to the number of year 7 pupils recorded on the school’s October 2019 census.

2.3 Pupils on the alternative provision (AP) census

In 2019 to 2020 we have allocated funding for AP pupils on the basis that local authorities receive the same amount of year 7 catch-up premium funding they received for AP in 2018 to 2019, adjusted to reflect the percentage change in the number of year 7 AP pupils between the January 2018 and the January 2019 alternative provision censuses.

(number of year 7 pupils recorded on the January 2018 AP census) ÷ (number of year 7 pupils recorded on the January 2019 AP census) × the 2018 to 2019 AP allocation

3. Allocations to local authorities and schools

Each local authority allocation covers schools that, on 1 January 2020, were:

• maintained schools
• maintained special schools
• pupil referral units

This includes an allocation for AP pupils.

We pay allocations direct to schools that, on 1 January 2020, were:

• academies
• free schools
• special academies
• special free schools
• AP academies
• AP free schools
• city technology colleges

4. Terms on which grant is allocated

Maintained schools and academies may spend the grant for the educational benefit of pupils registered at that school, or for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools and academies.

They may also spend it on community facilities, for example services where the provision furthers any charitable purpose for the benefit of pupils at the school or their families, or people who live or work in the school’s locality.

Schools and academies do not have to spend the grant in the financial year beginning 1 April 2019; they may carry forward some or all of the grant to future financial years.

The local authority must make the grant available irrespective of the existence of any deficit relating to the expenditure of the school’s budget share (SBS). The year 7 catch-up premium is not part of the SBS or the individual schools budget. It is not included in minimum funding guarantee calculations.

5. Pupils in alternative provision (AP)

The grant has also been allocated to each local authority for pupils in AP, where pupils attend schools (including non-maintained special schools) not maintained by the local authority for which the local authority pays full tuition fees. This includes pupils not educated in schools, under arrangements made by the local authority.

This ensures there are funds to provide catch-up support for any year 7 pupils in AP who did not meet the expected standard in reading or mathematics at the end of key stage 2.

6. Payment arrangements

We pay the year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium to local authorities on 28 February 2020. This includes allocations for all maintained schools as at 1 January 2020, including those that might convert to academy status after this date.

We pay academies and free schools open as at 1 January 2020 on 2 March 2020.

7. Certification

Local authorities must certify that they have passed on the correct amount of funding to schools or, where they have spent funding centrally, that they have spent it in line with the conditions of grant.

We will ask local authorities to complete this return in April 2020.

8. Variation

The Secretary of State may vary the basis for allocation of grant from those set out above.

9. Overpayments

Any overpayment of grant will be repaid by the local authority or academy to the Secretary of State.

10. Further information

Books and other documents and records relating to the recipient’s accounts must be open to inspection by the Secretary of State and the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Comptroller and Auditor General may, under Section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983, examine the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the recipient has used its resources in discharging its grant-aided activities.

Schools and local authorities will provide information as required by the Secretary of State to determine whether it has complied with these conditions.