Guidance

Year 7 catch-up: 2016 to 2017 conditions of grant

Published 2 March 2017

This guidance was withdrawn on 23 August 2019

This fund has now been discontinued.

1. Introduction

The year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium grant 2016 to 2017 will be paid under Section 14 of the Education Act 2002. In accordance with section 16 of that 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 2016.

2. Basis of allocation

The year 7 catch-up premium allocations for 2016 to 2017 have been allocated to schools using a new approach to the allocation calculation.

2.1 Allocations to schools funded in 2016 to 2017

In 2016 to 2017 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 2015 to 2016, adjusted to reflect the percentage change in the size of their year 7 cohort between the October 2015 and the October 2016 school censuses as follows:

(the number of year 7 pupils recorded on the October 2015 school census) divided by (the number of year 7 pupils recorded on the October 2016 school census) multiplied by the 2015 to 2016 allocation

2.2 Allocations to New Schools

Schools that have pupils in year 7 and are completely brand new (i.e. no predecessor school in the October 2015 school census) or schools that existed according to the October 2015 school census and did not have pupils in year 7 but now have pupils in that group recorded in the October 2016 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 2015 school census that was eligible for the year 7 catch-up in 2015 to 2016. This proportion has been applied to the number of year 7 pupils recorded on the school’s October 2016 census.

2.3 Pupils on the alternative provision census

Alternative provision allocations have been made to LAs using data from the January 2016 alternative provision census recording pupils in year 7 who did not achieve level 4 or above in their key stage 2 assessment in 2015. Alternative provision allocations have been calculated as follows:

£500 x number of pupils who did not achieve level 4 or above in reading and/or Maths in their KS2 test in 2015.

3. Allocations to local authorities (LA) and schools

Each LA allocation covers schools that, on 1 January 2017, were:

• maintained schools
• maintained special schools
• pupil referral units
• plus an allocation for alternative provision pupils

EFA pays allocations direct to schools that, on 1 January 2017, were:

• academies
• free schools
• special academies
• special free schools
• alternative provision academies
• alternative provision 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 2016; they may carry forward some or all of the grant to future financial years.

The 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

The grant has also been allocated to each local authority for pupils in alternative provision, where pupils attend schools (including non-maintained special schools) not maintained by the LA for which the local authority pays full tuition fees. This includes pupils not educated in schools, under arrangements made by the LA. This ensures there are funds to provide catch-up support for any year 7 pupils in alternative provision who did not meet the expected standard in reading and/or mathematics at the end of key stage 2.

6. Payment arrangements

EFA paid the grant to LAs on 28 February 2017. This will include allocations for all maintained schools as at 1 January 2016, including those that might convert to academy status after this date. EFA paid academies and free schools open as at 1 January 2017 on 1 March 2017.

7. Certification

LAs 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. The certificate will be issued to LAs in April 2017 for completion and return to EFA.

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