Overview
From September 2014, the school decided to implement a “Follow On” intervention support programme for students who had completed the Catch Up literacy programme. Purpose
It was felt that because Catch Up is a reading programme these students needed further support to develop writing skills before being fully reintegrated back into the classroom. It is a 1:1 programme for those who have reached their chronological reading age but need to develop specific writing skills. The programme consists of 2x30 minute sessions a week and focuses on spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence construction and writing organisation and is delivered by English specialists and Catch Up teachers. What we did
Students were initially identified as requiring Follow On intervention after completing baseline writing assessments in English. These were levelled and teachers gave recommendations for specific literacy intervention that was tailored to each individual student’s needs. Students were often not making expected progress in writing. Some students were recommended for Follow On who had not been on the Catch Up programme because it was felt that they would benefit from 1:1 intervention. The length of the intervention programme is dependent on each individual student’s needs. Currently, there are 43 students receiving Follow On in Key Stage 3 and 4 (17 in Year 8, 12 in Year 9 and 14 in Year 10). Progress is measured by the increase in student writing levels at Key Stage 3 and by their overall English level at Key Stage 4.
Outcome/Impact
The Follow On programme has been running from September 2014 and is ongoing. The following results reflect the impact of Follow On students in January 2015: In Year 8, 8 out of 17 students have made at least one sub level of progress in writing (47%). In Year 9, 4 out of 12 students have made at least one sub level of progress in writing (33%). In Year 10, 5 out of 14 students have made a full GCSE grade of progress (36%). Overall, 17 out of the 43 students on the Follow On programme have made progress (39%).