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Summer School 2021 Report

1 week- 9th to 13th August 2021

Transition between Primary and Secondary School can be very challenging for pupils and the pandemic has increased this challenge. Pupils would have had a very turbulent last couple of years at Primary school, missing out on a significant proportion of face to face teaching and valuable preparation time for Secondary Education. Planned taster session days for Year 6 pupils, as well as cancelled Open Evenings and Transition Days would have meant that pupils starting with us would not have had the usual preparation before joining.

We therefore took the opportunity to run a Transition Summer School for our 2021 Year 7 intake. This was a government funded Summer School based on the following:

Pupils invited to summer school

217

Maximum funding allocated

£59.70 per pupil, per day - £64,774.50

Pupils accepted a place at summer school

157

Funding eligible to claim

£59.70 per pupil, per day - £46,864.50

 

Aim for this Summer School

  • Allow pupils to familiarise themselves with our school environment.
  • Allow pupils to meet their new peers and build a sense of community.
  • Allow pupils to forge relations with new teachers as well as important pastoral staff.
  • Provide a mix of enrichment and academic activities.
  • Support pupils mental and physical wellbeing.

Structure of Summer School

As a Church of England School, we come together as a community every day for a moment of reflection as well as worship. It is important that pupils have this opportunity and we started each day of Summer School with a worship led by the Head of Year or a Senior Leadership Team member. All pupils and staff attending for that day took part in this worship and allowed time for pupils and staff to be together.

To support pupils, we grouped then into small groups which they would stay in for the 4 allocated activities within the day. Each group was assigned a pastoral support member of staff and TA who would stick with them for the day and support in each of the activities that pupils had. This would help any pupils who were anxious or faced barriers throughout the day and these could then be communicated to teaching staff running each activity.

Break and Lunch were taken by all pupils at the same time which allowed them to mix with other pupils from other groups. It is important to share this experience with as many pupils as possible, allowing new friendships to form and emphasise the importance of our school community.

At the end of the day there was a second worship, again help by the Head of Year or Senior Leadership Team member. This gave pupils a moment to reflect on their day as well as the opportunity to praise any outstanding work during the activities. The final worship of the week was used to hand out rewards to pupils that had gone above and beyond during the Summer School.

Activities

Within groups pupils took part in mixture of enrichment and academic activities. Pupils took part in a total of 4 activities a day with each group having its own timetable for the week. Activities that took place were:

  • English
  • Maths
  • Science
  • Religious Education
  • Art
  • Music
  • Computer Science
  • Physical Education
  • Transition Activities

These activities provided not only pupils with the opportunity to meet new staff, as all sessions were run by subject specialists, but it also gave pupils an idea of topics that would be covered in Year 7. Staff also used these sessions to get an idea of pupils abilities start to fill any gaps in pupil knowledge before the start of year 7.

Catering

All pupils, whether they were entitled to Free School Meals or not, we given lunch free packed lunch every day. Lunch included sandwiches, fruit and snacks. Pupils also had access to water, through out the whole day, being provided with fresh bottled water.

Funding Breakdown

Based on the number of pupils who attended the Summer School, funding allocated to us was £46,864.50.

Summer School was run at a cost of £41,509.

 

Funding Area

Funding Amount Allocated

Description

Teaching and Support Staffing

£31,260

Specialist Teaching Staff. TA  and Pastoral support member of staff per group. Senior Leadership staff members on rota.

 

Catering Staff

£632

Catering staff members paid for preparation and cooking time, as well as clean up.

 

Cleaning Staff

£675

Cleaning staff member ensured classrooms and school environment, including equipment remained sanitised throughout the day.

 

Food and Drink

£854

All pupils provided with lunch and snack, including unlimited bottled water.

 

Resources/Photocopying

£7788

Subject specific resources to carry out activities.

Worksheets and subject resources printed for pupils.

All pupils given ‘You are Awesome’ textbook.

 

Rewards

£300

Rewards given to pupils, including cinema tickets and vouchers.

 

 

Summer School was a success with all pupils who requested a place attending each day. By the end of the week the pupils had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the school environment as well as meet some key staff that will be important to them in September.

Staff also had the opportunity to meet the pupils and identify any particular needs that individual have, as well as start to forge good working relationships. The relaxed environment of a Summer School, without all other pupils from different year groups also being in the school, was ideal for this process.