Students at Sheffield school to benefit from share of £3million summer catch-up programme

Firth Park Academy, in Shiregreen, will be one of around 58 beneficiaries of the summer programme which has been unveiled by Academies Enterprise Trust (AET), the multi-academy trust which runs the school.

This month, pupils in every year group will have online access to five English and five maths lessons as well as a range of education applications to support their learning, such as Hegarty Maths.

There will also be a programme of mentoring, in which around 17 members of staff have volunteered to work over the holidays to support around 12 to 20 students each who are in need of summer catch-up activities.

Headteacher Dean Jones said: "Pushing the limits of how supportive schools can be for students and their families is a value driving us to do the best for our children.

"The opportunities for learning and big-hearted support for wellbeing continuing over the summer thanks to AET and our staff volunteers show remarkable care for students in the Firth Park Family."

Around 60 Firth Park students will also be given one-to-one mentoring to help with their learning over the summer break.

The £3million investment from AET will help fund the summer programme but also the technology needed to support its delivery.

It is an added move by the trust which, in April, purchased 14,500 laptops and devices for those without them and secured wifi access for who are eligible for free school meals or who have an Education Health Care Plan in place.

Julian Drinkall, chief executive of AET said: “We know just how hard and challenging this period of time has been for our students, and it is so important that we continue to work with them over the summer, so that we make up for lost time – both academically and in welfare terms too.

“Everything we do at AET is focused on one single goal: to do everything in our power to help our children go on to lead remarkable lives. We are determined that the coronavirus will not throw us off course – they deserve nothing less.”

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