As a result of the COVID pandemic, the government announced that schools were going to receive funding to support schools in closing the gap caused by lost time during school closures. This funding included a one-off universal £650 million catch up premium for the 2020-2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time. Schools were allocated the funding on a per pupil basis. 

From the academic year 2021-2022, the government provided a time-limited grant of over £300m additional funding for schools and from 2022-2024, a total of £1bn. 

Schools can use the funding for target support for specific groups of children based on where there is need in their school. Below is our Recovery Premium report which outlines how the funding was used in the year 2021-2022. 

The funding will continue to be used effectively and accordingly over the next academic years ensuring that it is used to benefit the progress and support of the children.