Minister of State for Schools, David Laws, has announced £50 million for the second year of the summer schools programme.
Eligible schools that have Ever6 FSM pupils ie those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years, and pupils who have been looked after continuously for more than six months by the local authority (LAC) making the transition into Year 7 in September 2013 can take part in the summer schools programme by completing a short, simple online form, by 31 May 2013.
Schools that opt in will be accessing £50 million of Pupil Premium funding to provide one or two week summer schools. These are aimed at improving transition between primary and secondary school for all Ever6 FSM pupils and LAC pupils who attract the Pupil Premium.
Schools that take part will be allocated £250 per eligible pupil (for a 1 week summer school) or £500 per eligible pupil (for a 2 week summer school).
The programme is not competitive: all eligible schools that apply by 31 May 2013 will be allocated funding to deliver a summer school.
The Department is running the programme using an opt-in model, so it is for schools to decide whether they take part. We would encourage eligible schools to get involved because:
- Overall, disadvantaged pupils currently underperform in education compared to their peers, with attainment gaps widening as they progress through school.
- Summer schools offer a specific intervention at a crucial stage of education that can help pupils start secondary education ready to learn.
- Evidence shows that there can be a dip in performance for pupils as they transfer from primary school to secondary school. Pupils falling behind at this stage sometimes never catch up.
Last year the programme was aimed at FSM and looked after children (LAC) and this year the free school meals (FSM) eligibility for the programme has been extended to Ever6 FSM in addition to publicly funded FSM and LAC at independent special schools.
More information about the programme, including how the funding arrangements will work, are in the FAQs.
Evaluation of the 2012 Summer Schools Programme
The Department commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and consultancy firm Ecorys to evaluate the 2012 summer schools programme for disadvantaged pupils. The evaluation found that:
- 94% of schools surveyed considered their summer schools a success;
- Staff felt that the greatest impact was on pupils’ social and emotional well-being;
- The schools surveyed had 2 main aims: to prepare disadvantaged pupils socially and emotionally for transition and to secure general improvements in pupils’ academic progress and capacity to learn;
- The most common summer school activities were team-building, arts and sports; and
- Getting pupils to attend was one of the most common challenges identified by schools, but half of the disadvantaged pupils invited to a summer school attended at least once.
NFER and Ecorys have prepared a short report which captures the key evaluation findings and some top tips schools may find useful when setting up their summer school.
NFER and Ecorys have also produced a technical overview report with a detailed analysis of the findings.
Summer schools eligibility identification tool
Schools participating in the first year of the programme in 2012 told us they had difficulty identifying disadvantaged pupils eligible to attend their summer school from the information they obtained from feeder primaries.
To help schools with their planning and to increase the numbers of eligible pupils who can benefit, the Department has adapted an existing (Key to Success) tool so that schools can upload the Unique Pupil Numbers of the pupils moving into Year 7 in September 2013.
The system will identify which of those pupils are eligible for the summer school. This will include pupils eligible because of their Ever 6 FSM history and those who have been looked after by the local authority continuously for more than six months.
Use the summer schools eligibility identification tool to identify eligible pupils.
Contact details
Summer Schools programme
Email: summerschools.programme@education.gsi.gov.uk
