What catch up funding is for 

Recovery premium is part of the government’s package of funding to support pupils whose education has been impacted by COVID-19.

It is a time-limited grant providing over £300 million of additional funding for state-funded schools in the 2021/22 academic year and £1 billion across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years. It is focused on pupils who are eligible for pupil premium because of the  additional impact the pandemic has had on these students.

Funding rates for academic year 2023/24

Recovery premium allocations for academic year 2023/24 will be calculated on a per pupil basis, based on the following rates.

In mainstream education, the rates are:

• £145 per eligible pupil in primary schools

A minimum payment that we refer to as a ‘floor’ has been included to ensure that:

• an eligible primary school will not receive less than £2,000

To be eligible for the floor, schools must have at least 1 pupil registered on the October 2022 school census (for mainstream and special schools) or the January 2023 school census (for PRUs and AP providers).

Funding for looked-after children will be paid to the local authority and should be managed by the virtual school head in consultation with the child’s school.

Using catch-up funding

Schools should use this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the curriculum expectations for the next academic year in actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak.

While schools can use their funding in a way that suits their cohort and circumstances, they are expected to use this funding for specific activities which will help pupils catch up on missed education.

To support schools to make the best use of this funding, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published a coronavirus (COVID-19) support guide for schools with evidence-based approaches to catch up for all students.