The 16 to 19 Tuition Fund 2021 to 2022 Academic Year
The 16-19 Tuition Fund is available to all 16-19 providers such as Boston College and is ring-fenced for 16-19 small group tuition only. The funding can be used to support small group tuition for 16-19 students in English, maths and other subjects where learning has been disrupted. Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged 19 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan are also eligible for support via the 16-19 Tuition Fund.
The fund is for students who:
- Have not achieved a grade 4 or 5 in English and/or maths
- Have a grade 4 or above in English and/or maths and are from an economically disadvantaged background and require catch-up support
The purpose of the fund is:
- To ensure students reach their full potential despite any disruption to their education caused by the pandemic
- To mitigate for any disruption in learning especially on vocational courses where practical delivery and/or assessment has been deferred because of lockdown(s)
- To ensure eligible students with SEND are supported to catch up with vocational and academic skills and/or skills and learning that are important for their preparation for adulthood
Use of the Funding
Boston College commits to using the small group tuition funding that it has been given to provide catch-up support in English, maths, vocational and academic skills, and personal skills development and confidence building, to mitigate against the disruption to learning caused by the pandemic, for our study programme students.
Given the high proportion of students within our study programme provision who have English as a 2nd language, much of our small group delivery will be focused on English development either within students vocational or academic learning, and/or as part of their Functional Skills or GCSE qualifications aims.
We know from the previous academic year that many students will require support with confidence building, coping strategies, and building resilience. We will include this within small group delivery for eligible students as required.
Where possible we will utilise full-time, fractional, and part-time staff already within our establishment list in each curriculum area. We will also continue to utilise our Intervention Tutors appointed last year who can work across all programme areas as required. For 2021/22 we also intend to deploy a 3rd party organisation to support catch-up tuition in English and maths.
The table below summarises our planned approach to use of funding and different delivery models.
| Delivery model | Focus |
| Extra catch-up sessions in timetable gaps and/or break times. | Vocational (practical or theory) and/or academic knowledge & skills, general study skills e.g. note taking, personal organisation, academic study skills e.g. essay writing, revision techniques, confidence building, coping strategies. |
| Additional workshop time on additional day of attendance | Vocational (practical or theory) and/or academic knowledge & skills, general study skills e.g. note taking, personal organisation, academic study skills e.g. essay writing, revision techniques, confidence building, coping strategies. |
| Twilight catch-up sessions delivered remotely | Vocational (theory) and/or academic knowledge & skills, general study skills e.g. note taking, personal organisation, academic study skills e.g. essay writing, revision techniques, confidence building, coping strategies. |
| 3rd party remote delivery | English knowledge & skills maths knowledge & skills |
| Attendance at English and/or maths Lab | English knowledge & skills maths knowledge & skills |
Size of Groups
Students will be supported individually, in small groups of 2-5, or, in exceptional circumstances, in groups of up to 7.
Students selected for support
Catch-up support sessions will be prioritised for those students:
- Who have not yet achieved a grade 4 in English and/or maths
- With an Education, Health and Care plan
- With special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly where they have experienced additional disruption to learning as a result of their specific needs and disabilities
- Subsequently those who have not achieved a grade 5 in English and/or maths
In addition to the above students from an economically disadvantaged background will be assessed for their individual needs including:
- Those who may benefit from small group tuition to reach their full potential
- Those who have had disrupted learning, for example where assessment has been deferred because of lockdown
We will adopt a thorough approach to initial assessment, on an individual basis with each student, to carefully review grades on entry and to establish current gaps in knowledge, skills, behaviour and personal development. Starting points assessments will form part of this assessment and will help to identify eligible students who most need this support. Our progress tracking system “VITAL” will be used to evidence initial assessment and planned support.
As the academic year progresses additional evidence sources will inform the support needs for eligible learners including; in-year progress, work standards, early grade profile, ability to cope and respond to the rigour of the programme of study.
We will maximise our systems of progress reporting and quarterly performance monitoring, to help to ensure the funding reaches the students who most need extra support.
The guidance released by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) can be found at the following site: (16 to 19 funding: 16 to 19 tuition fund - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk))