£1.7m fund for school uniform grants

DISADVANTAGED families in Wales will be eligible for help in paying for school uniforms and sports kit as part of a £1.7m fund.

The announcement by the Welsh Government comes just months after a separate £700,000 uniform grant pot was axed.

The Welsh Government said the new fund was bigger and would be avail- able to more families but opposition parties said the announcement was just a U-turn.

The fund will be open to families eligible for free school meals whose children are in their first years at primary or secondary school.

Up to £125 will be available to every child who is eligible and will be distributed by local councils.

Education Cabinet Secretary Kirsty Williams said the pupil development grant would be central to efforts to break the cycle of disadvantage and poverty.

She said: “This new fund – amounting to £1.7m – will be more flexible and relevant to the needs of disadvantaged learners than the previous school uniform grant; it will also support more learners.

“We are focusing the new grant on the entry point into education and transition into secondary school.

“For the first time learners in both Reception and Year 7, who are eligible for free school meals, or are children who are looked after, will fall within scope of the funding.”