On 12th November 2020, DfE released a range of changes to the published school website requirements. One of these was a NEW requirement for all eligible schools to publish information on the use of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Catch-Up Premium.

In this short post, we’ll explain what the requirements are and how to meet them. Note that this requirement is for all schools who receive this funding. So, let’s take a look:

What are the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Catch-Up Premium Requirements?

The requirements are quite straightforward. Here is the information you need from DfE.

If your school gets the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium grant in the academic year 2020 to 2021, you should publish details of:

• how it is intended that the grant will be spent
• how the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school will be assessed

Read further information on the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium.

So, there are two main elements to the requirements. They are simply to provide a report on how you will spend the money and how you will assess its effect. The requirements are very similar to Pupil Premium and other funding requirements. It is to encourage transparency about how your school has used this funding.

How do I meet the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Catch-Up Premium Requirements?

The DfE have supplied additional information regarding how they expect this funding to be used. You can read more about that here. It is important to make sure the content on your site supports the purpose for the funding and evidences that the money has been used to support pupils in the way it was intended. We advise you to publish this information in 2 places on your website. So, use a feature such as Document Groups to ensure that any changes you make are reflected across your site without the risk of differing information.

Add Coronavirus (COVID-19) Catch-Up Premium Information to Your Coronavirus Pages

Many schools now have a page or a section on their website detailing all the provisions, policies, updates, and advice around the school’s response to coronavirus. We advise that your catch-up premium information should be published alongside this so it is very easy to find.

Add Coronavirus (COVID-19) Catch-Up Premium to Your Policies Page

We also recommend that you add the catch-up premium information to your policies page. This is because you should always have a single source for your policy information. Make it easy to use; group your policies into sections and make sure you use a consistent approach to displaying policy information.

What next?

If you haven’t already, make sure you download the School Website Requirements Guide. It is your starting point for all compliance-related efforts in school. Then, if you need step-by-step instructions on how to meet every requirement, head over and enrol on The School Website Compliance Course. We talk you through every area of compliance in detail and it is always up to date.

Note, at the bottom of the Catch-Up Premium page on the DfE is clearly states that this is something inspectors will be reviewing when they visit schools again from September 2021. Make sure this information is on your site ahead of their visit.