Disadvantaged pupils get £90m
Schools across Wales are to get a share of more than £90m in the 2018-19 academic year to help their most disadvantaged learners.
Education Secretary Kirsty Williams has written to schools across Wales to confirm how much they will directly receive in 2018-19.
In addition to the £90m-plus in 2018-19, £187m has been guaranteed for the remainder of the Assembly term, so that schools can plan ahead.
The Pupil Development Grant helps schools tackle the effects of poverty and disadvantage on attainment and is targeted at learners who are eligible for free school meals or are looked-after children.
Schools use the grant in a number of ways, including nurturing groups for children who may be socially and emotionally vulnerable, out-ofhours school learning, on-site multiagency support and better tracking of pupils as they progress through school.
This year, the PDG for the youngest learners (pupils aged three to four years old) has increased from £600 to £700 per pupil. This follows last year’s doubling of financial support from £300 to £600 per learner in the early years.
Primary and secondary schools will continue to receive a rate of £1,150 per learner, and this rate also continues to apply to learners in education other than at school, the Welsh Government said.
From this year, schools will also have more flexibility to help support learners who have been eligible for free school meals in the previous two years.
Advisers and co-ordinators from education consortia are also onhand to provide extra support and guidance for schools on using the funding.
Kirsty Williams said: “Reducing the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers is at the heart of our national mission to raise standards. This is one of the most effective ways in which we can break the cycle of deprivation and poverty.
“Time and again, teachers have told me how much of a difference PDG funding has made in raising aspirations, building confidence, improving behaviour and attendance and in involving families with their children’s education.
“Teachers have also called for greater certainty around future PDG funding and that’s why I’m pleased to be able to guarantee allocation levels for the next two financial years and reaffirm our commitment to the grant for the lifetime of this Assembly.
“We have always said that the PDG is there to support all pupils who are eligible for free school meals, not just those that are struggling academically. That’s why I want schools to ensure they are supporting more able pupils as well.
“I would also encourage all schools to make full use of the PDG advisers and co-ordinators from the education consortia – they’re there to help when it comes to making the best use of the funding and ensuring that we raise attainment across the board.”
An independent evaluation of the PDG last year found that many schools consider the funding to be “invaluable”.
A report from Save the Children Cymru earlier this year laid bare the devastating impact of poverty on education and development of the youngest children in Wales.
Tens of thousands of under-fives are living in poverty in Wales. Around a third fall behind at age five and may never catch up with classmates, the report Little Pieces. Big Picture said.
Save the Children said nearly half of children in poverty in Wales who are behind at age five remain in the lowest performing group at age seven, 11 and 14.
Across Wales, almost one in three or 200,000 children aged 0 to 16 live in poverty – of those more than one in four (28% or just over 50,000) are under five, the charity’s latest analysis from last November shows.
“The figure has remained stubbornly static for the last decade and is the highest rate of child poverty of any country in the UK,” the document warned.
“By the time they start school, children experiencing poverty are often already falling behind their better-off peers. As they get older, this education gap widens and can leave them at an unfair disadvantage.
“It is a huge challenge for children, teachers and parents.”
The research also showed that falling behind in the early years means it’s more likely children will struggle throughout their education. Nearly half of children who were in the lowest performing group at the beginning of primary school were also behind at ages 7,11 and 14.