£2.5m for small and rural schools in Wales
Small and rural schools have been given a multi-million package from the Welsh Government to improve learning, community links and management.
A £2.5m pot has been divided between local authorities for work including the new curriculum, ICT, extending community use of buildings and work with parents.
Cash has also been given for digital technology to combat professional isolation, administrative support in schools where the headteacher has significant teaching commitment, and support for schools to collaborate.
Amongst the local authorities to receive funding are Anglesey, which will receive £138,000 to federate some of its schools, and Pembrokeshire, which has been awarded £158,000 to fund a Small School Innovation Project for a network of 15 schools.
Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said: “We are taking action and providing new funding to help small and rural schools deal with the unique challenges they face, such as small pupil numbers and issues in recruiting headteachers and staff.
“This financial support will benefit pupils, teachers, and the wider community.
“I want to see rural schools working more formally together and across the country, forming federations and looking into the possibility of sharing buildings with other services to ensure school buildings remain viable.”
Welsh Local Government Association deputy spokesperson for education Ceredigion councillor Ellen ap Gwynn said: “Small and rural schools face unique challenges, especially in terms of recruitment and smaller pupil numbers.
“But they’re more than just schools in the communities that they serve.
“They are important assets to the community as school buildings and resources are widely used for an array of community purposes.
“This funding will contribute to ensure that learners and communities alike can continue to reap the benefits of these schools, and also to strengthen the support for Welsh language education provision in our rural communities.”
The Education Secretary has also announced plans to consult on strengthening the School Organisation Code in respect of a presumption against the closure of rural schools – for the first time ever there will be a designation of rural schools.
A 14-week consultation ended on September 30 and responses are currently being analysed, the Welsh Government said.
This is what each council been given for small and rural schools: ANGLESEY: £138,000 to strengthen federation of schools with shared leadership, business managers and administration plus to improve ICT communication. BLAENAU GWENT: £36,000 to support greater school to school working in preparation for amalgamation in 2018. BRIDGEND: £61,000 to support projects including a virtual out-of-hours classroom, greater school-to-school working, increased community use of school buildings and better access to extra curricular activities with Urdd and Menter Iaith. Joint working between a Welsh-medium primary school and local English-medium schools to improve bilingualism will also be funded. CAERPHILLY: £104,000 to free up headteachers of two small schools to focus on leadership. Money will also be used for curriculum development and for an additional learning needs co-ordinator to work across two small schools and for transition activities with the secondary school to improve progress of Key Stage Three pupils. CARDIFF: £34,000 to support greater formal school-to-school working through federation of a number of its small primary schools. CARMARTHENSHIRE: £266,000 to support school-to-school working and to second headteachers and senior leaders to lead a Small and Rural Schools Best Practice and Innovation Project and to free up headteachers of 36 schools to enhance leadership. CEREDIGION: £160,000 to enable 22 small and rural schools to work together and to free up headteachers to work together on strategic plans for improvement. CONWY: £140,000 to appoint four higher level business support officers to work in 19 small and rural schools freeing up headteachers to focus on leadership and management. DENBIGHSHIRE: £109,000 to support joint working between schools; for the appointment of a building and site support officer to oversee site security, health and safety, safeguarding and fire protection at various school campuses freeing up headteachers to focus on leadership and management and to increase the use of IT to combat professional isolation, and support collaboration. FLINTSHIRE: £145,000 for school-to-school working and for a feasibility study for a business management role to support schools in a rural areas.
Money will also be used for small schools to collaborate on teaching children with additional learning needs; to release headteachers to focus on leadership and management and to develop a teacher network for joint working around curriculum planning.
GWYNEDD: £280,000 to fund networking between schools, to develop an area office for schools freeing up headteachers to focus on leadership and for setting up afterschool ‘homework’ clubs.
MERTHYR TYDFIL: £23,000 to employ a community link worker to increase community use of school buildings, to improve parental engagement and run and organise parental activities; to enhance ICT to assist one small school in preparing for the Digital Competence Framework; for joint working between schools and for resources to increase leadership capacity. MONMOUTHSHIRE: £73,000 to enable headteachers of two primary schools to work with cluster headteachers and share best practice. The funding will also
be used to develop a peer review and for a business manager. NEATH PORT TALBOT: £84,000 to fund five of its small and rural schools for projects including developing teacher expertise, school-to-school working, administrative support, ICT and to increase use of the school buildings.
NEWPORT: £36,000 to support greater school-to-school working to improve literacy and numeracy and to improve parent engagement through a series of workshops/activities throughout the academic year that can be repeated at home, focusing on social and emotional development, literacy and language development and numeracy and mathematics. PEMBROKESHIRE: £158,000 to fund a Small School Innovation Project working in collaboration with Carmarthenshire County Council and to support greater school-to-school working within a network of 15 small and rural schools. The funding will also be used to fund additional administrative support to free up headteachers to focus on leadership and management and to help schools meet the Digital Competence Framework.
POWYS: £252,000 for collaboration between 20 small and rural schools, to make better use of resources and increase opportunities to focus on leadership and management. The funding will also be used to enhance ICT and resources to support distance learning and governance for five high schools and two primaries. Funding will be used to develop outdoor areas at three primaries and to develop reading and writing skills. RHONDDA CYNON TAF: £134,000 for technology and ICT in seven small schools and to support community learning groups at these schools and to develop staff skills in preparation for implementation of the Digital Competency Framework.
TORFAEN: £28,000 to free up a headteacher of one of its small schools to focus on leadership and management. The funding will also support a shared executive headteacher between two other local schools.
VALE OF GLAMORGAN: £56,000 to fund shared teachers/higher level teaching assistants across six schools to target specialist support for vulnerable learners to boost their maths skills and for joint training and networking to help pupils with additional learning needs.
WREXHAM: £94,000 for greater school-to-school working between three established federations of schools and other schools to implement the Digital Competency Framework and support collaboration on curriculum development. Money will also go to support pupils’ emotional wellbeing, to employ a music teacher to work across a federation, to free up a headteacher’s time to focus on leadership and raise standards, to enhance ICT to connect classrooms to other schools, to allow Forest School to be extended in one school and to provide extra leadership time and enhance ICT to support video conferencing.