Pupil Deprivation Grant

Since 2012 the Welsh Government have been providing additional funds for schools to tackle national priorities for education.

The three national priorities are:

  1. Reducing the impact of poverty of pupil attainment. 2. Raising standards in literacy. 3. Raising standards in numeracy

The Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG) is allocated to schools in Wales to enable them to reduce the impact of poverty on pupil attainment and to address the three priorities above. Each school is allocated a sum of money based on the number of pupils who are entitled to free school meals (eFSM) or are Looked After Children (LAC).

The grant is to be utilised to overcome any additional barriers that learners from disadvantaged backgrounds face which may prevent them from attaining as well as their peers. Each school is required to draw up a plan and publish how this grant is utilised on sustainable interventions to improve the attainment of children who may be disadvantaged due to family financial circumstances or background

At Ysgol Craig y Don we have agreed to undertake the following three steps:

–   identify the target group of pupils, its characteristics and needs –    plan interventions which make the most effective use of resources –    monitor and evaluate the impact of resources

 

In 2019-20 the PDG funding allocation will be used to:

  • provide support programmes including a nurture group, Catch –Up Literacy, speech and language support, focused small group language and maths activities and Guided Reading Groups.
  • develop leadership capacity across the school with a view to more effective recognition of the needs of the target groups and the monitoring and assessment of the delivery of programmes to meet their needs.
  • provide in-class support for identified groups of pupils
  • monitor the attendance of identified pupils and to work with them and their families to improve attendance rates.
  • Make effective use of tracking data and teacher assessments to monitor pupil progress and to focus interventions more effectively.
  • Invest in resources and staff training in creative use of media technology to enhance and enrich the learning experience of the target groups of pupils in literacy and numeracy.

Our School Development Plan identifies how we use the PDG to support our more vulnerable pupils. It also shows how we allocate other finances to support school progress, including the EIG (Education Improvement Grant).