New College Durham welcomes the Governments funding to provide additional and intensive support to eligible students due to the impact of the Covid-19 and disruption to their learning and transition to returning to College.
New College Durham 16-19 Tuition Fund statement 2021-2022
The 16-19 Tuition Fund is available to support small group tuition for 16 to 19 students in English, maths, and other courses where learning has been disrupted. The project will continue over the full academic year and involve transition/internal progression support.
Initial diagnostics explained below will identify qualifying students and depending on progress and need, additional tuition will be granted where appropriate.
All students will have to be on a 16 to 19 study programme to qualify for support. Students aged 19-24 who have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) are also eligible.
- Have not achieved a grade 4 or 5 in English and/or maths
- Have a grade 4 or above in English and/or maths are from an economically disadvantaged background and require catch-up support. These are defined as students from the 27% most economically deprived areas of the country based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation
- We will prioritise support for the following students;
- those that have not achieved a grade 4 in English and/or maths.
- are from an economically disadvantaged background and low prior attainment.
- have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly where they have experienced additional disruption to learning as a result of their specific needs and disabilities.
- will benefit most from 1-2-1 or small group tuition
Proposal for Delivery in 2021/2022 English & Maths
- Tuition will be in small groups. Either as 1-2-1 classes, or in groups not exceeding 5-7 students.
- Management of the Fund will remain with the Curriculum directorate
- The Head of maths and Head of English will be accountable for the additional support employees and additional Specialist Practitioners in both English and Maths. These staff will support the project and be accountable for the attainment of identified students
Implementation
Personal Learning Coaches (PLCs) will proactively target and support achievement and remove wider barriers to learning. They will:
- Identify students who are eligible for the fund and assess any gaps in learning via initial assessments with input from curriculum teams
- Deliver targeted interventions for mental health and motivation, attendance, and digital skills.
- Create a detailed action plan for each learner with a clear pathway. This pathway will either be in small groups of up to 7 students or in 1-2-1 sessions.
Additionally, Curriculum areas will also be asked to identify any vocational or additional academic support that they may require. This may include a mix of both teaching and learning support employees as appropriate.
We will ensure that anyone delivering small group tuition has the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience, and has received appropriate training where necessary. Resourcing could be through paying for more hours from existing employees, hiring new employees, or buying in a service from a third-party provider.