Ministers have promised schools worst-hit by the RAAC crisis extra cash so their teachers can run out-of-hours catch-up lessons 鈥 but who gets the extra funding is unclear. Leaders of secondaries blighted by the crumbly concrete have been urging government to give their pupils grade allowances in this summer鈥檚 GCSE and A-level exams. The Department for Education dismissed the calls, as it argued assessments 鈥渃an only show what children know and can do鈥. But leaders of two trusts that run heavily impacted schools have revealed the government has promised funding to help convince teachers to hold extra classes in the holidays. Michael McCluskie, the director of education at , said Scalby School in Yorkshire will receive 拢35,000 for catch-up sessions. 鈥淚t gives us a little bit of leeway in terms of negotiating with people to give up holidays,鈥 he said. 鈥淥n average, [pupils] have maybe lost one lesson per week. 鈥淸But exams] are still a significant worry. The concern is if the results aren鈥檛 what we expect the children to achieve, parents will make their minds up about sending their children to the school.鈥 McCluskie added that officials only made the secondary aware of the option in December, shortly after its headteacher sent a letter to government demanding a return to pandemic marking. He thinks additional sessions will be held in the February half-term and Easter for those studying PE, food technology, DT and engineering, as grade predictions 鈥渁re much lower than expected鈥. There will also be a 鈥渂ig push鈥 on the core subjects 鈥 English, maths and science 鈥 鈥渂ecause that鈥檚 where the school鈥檚 performance will be judged鈥. ‘We’ve had to re-write the timetable’ Meanwhile Nick Hurn, who leads Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, said he has formed a tutoring group of staff from across five of his secondaries to provide support to children at St Leonard鈥檚 in County Durham. The sessions took place during the autumn half-term, but not over Christmas as 鈥渆veryone, staff and students, were worn out by then鈥. Nick Hurn After-school lessons have been held this month, with more catch-up periods planned for the upcoming half-term. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had to re-write the timetable umpteen times and will have to do so again because of the disruption,鈥 he said. “The government has provided a lot of additional support, but at what cost to the people providing it? It鈥檚 draining.鈥 A report compiled by Durham University academics last week concluded that the youngsters at St Leonard鈥檚 are 鈥渁round a grade lower than expected鈥 in English and maths, having been moved to classes of 120 children. The study, commissioned by Hurn to further calls for exam help, found timetable changes have 鈥渞esulted in a 20-minute reduction in the curriculum time for each subject鈥. The Bishop Wilkinson boss expects the bill for the extra classes 鈥 which are being held for the majority of subjects 鈥 to be in the tens of thousands. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about whole year groups [needing this support] now, so it鈥檚 the sheer scale of intervention that we鈥檙e having to do at the moment that鈥檚 expensive.鈥 RAAC schools need financial protection School leaders鈥 union ASCL has called for RAAC schools hit by declining rolls to get financial protection, in its submission to the Treasury ahead of the Spring budget. Schools Week revealed pupils were turning their back on affected schools last year. ASCL said its members are reporting 鈥渞educed admission applications for September. The impact of this will have a long tail and manifest in financial detriment at school level for many years.鈥 Guidance released in September told leaders of RAAC schools that 鈥渘eed additional help with revenue costs鈥 to discuss them with the DfE 鈥渋n the first instance to agree any further support鈥. Officials expected 鈥渁ll reasonable requests鈥 to be approved. An update published on the department鈥檚 education hub blog said officials are 鈥渨orking with schools and colleges to put in place a bespoke plan that supports all pupils based on their circumstances鈥. For some, 鈥渢his may include supporting them to provide extra education support for their pupils鈥. 鈥淲e鈥檝e asked, where possible, for [awarding bodies] to agree longer extensions for coursework and non-examined assessments.鈥 When approached for comment about the RAAC catch-up costs, the department did not confirm how much funding has been offered or how many schools have been given cash through this channel.