Member Article

Norwich academy teams up with national training provider to hold catch-up summer school

A Norwich academy has teamed up with a national training provider to hold a fun summer school experience to support learners transition to the school following an unprecedented academic year.

Sprowston Community Academy joined together with training provider PET-Xi to deliver a week of summer fun to pupils in a bid to support them in both transitioning to the school and catching-up following time out of the classroom due to Covid-19.

The move came after the academy was forced to cancel its carefully planned transition package for Year 6 students moving into Year 7 in September.

PET-Xi delivered intensive and immersive lessons covering maths and English as well as a number of enrichment activities to the pupils to both boost their knowledge and increase their confidence.

It was also an opportunity for students to get to know the school and ensure they feel positive about moving into Year 7.

The summer school was funded by the government catch-up premium, launched to help pupils and disadvantaged young people catch up on missed education because of Covid-19 – something which has seen children face months of remote learning.

Liz Wood, Head of School at Sprowston Community Academy, said: “The summer school was an excellent opportunity for some of our new Year 7 students to get to know the school.

“We had planned an extensive transition package which we were unable to carry out due to Covid, so it was very important to us that the students were able to familiarise themselves with the environment and feel confident.

“Moving to high school is such a big step, so this was a chance for students to meet some key staff members and make new friends.

“We also took the opportunity to involve some of our Prefects and Year 8 students who were also able to gain a lot from the sessions and support the younger students. “It was excellent to work with PET-Xi to deliver the summer school. PET-Xi’s ethos of developing the whole person very much aligns with ours at the school, and it great to see that they delivered both rigorous academic lessons as well as sessions focusing on developing qualities such as respect, fairness and equality.

“The energy levels and enthusiasm of the whole team were fantastic, and the students had a great experience.”

Bob Pinner, National Education Strategy Manager at PET-Xi, said: “It has been an unprecedented 18 months for all children in education which has seen them spend months away from the classroom – something which has impacted both their education and confidence.

“We are extremely pleased to have worked with Sprowston Community Academy to deliver a week of summer fun and education to students.

“PET-Xi’s innovative approach to teaching and learning ensures that they not only quickly learn new skills, but thoroughly enjoy their educational progression and achievement during the week.

“The programme also included daily confidence tests designed to both boost confidence and evidence progress, and this group did exceptionally well.

“It’s fantastic that schools like Sprowston Community Academy have used the government catch-up funding they have been awarded so proactively to hold summer schools to support their pupils as they look to the next academic year, and we are very proud to have been chosen by schools right across England to deliver these.

“Our summer school is just one of the catch-up provisions we offer to provide additional support to young people.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .