Written question WQ86205

As I set out in my Oral Statement on 22 March and again in my speech at the Bevan Foundation in June, above all else, our national mission is to tackle the impact of poverty on attainment, helping to achieve high standards and aspirations for all.

I made clear that it is unacceptable for children’s success to be determined by their social or economic circumstances. We will be working with all stakeholders in the education system on a sustained work programme that we will take forward to support these policy objectives over the coming months.

We make significant investment through the Pupil Development Grant (PDG). We now spend £130m per annum supporting pupils eligible for free school meals, looked after children, learners in pupil referral units and EOTAS.

We continue to work closely with PDG regional representatives to identify those areas where funding can have most impact, particularly in the context of the recommendations from the ‘Review of School Spending in Wales’ report.

In addition, we have announced an additional one-off payment of £100 to every child eligible for the PDG Access grant which provides support for families on the cost of the school day. This grant has made a huge difference to many families across Wales, helping to remove the worry surrounding the purchase of school uniform and equipment, enabling children to attend school and take part in activities at the same level as their peers.

In my oral statement and speech, I announced a number of key initiatives that increase the support and across the system to support learners from lower income households. These include:

• Exploring ways to incentivise teachers to the most disadvantaged areas, to tackle issues many schools face in recruiting and retaining teachers in challenging areas.

• Introducing a programme to provide peer-to-peer support for senior leaders – “attainment champions”. The pilot launched on 26 September and will include peer-to-peer mentoring.

• Commissioning research into the teaching of learners in “mixed attainment groups”. International evidence indicates that many of the countries that have the most equitable systems are those that adopt mixed attainment groupings for as long as possible. The research findings will inform future policy development.

• Establishing a strategic partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation to increase the resources available to the education workforce to support learners from lower income households.

With regard to community focused schools, we are investing £3.84m in increasing the number of family engagement officers employed by schools, with part of their role to be focused on improving pupil attendance.

We have also provided funding to trial the appointment of community focused school managers, and £20m of capital investment to allow schools to develop further as community assets, making the school more accessible and open to its local community.

By raising standards and aspirations for all, the Curriculum for Wales has a critical contribution to make in tackling the impact of poverty on attainment. It is central to our new curriculum that every learner is enabled to make progress to their full potential, regardless of their different needs and backgrounds. At the very outset, the Curriculum for Wales guidance challenges schools to consider how their curriculum will support tackling the attainment gap. The Curriculum framework has been designed for all learners, enabling schools to support and challenge every learner.

I want all children and young people in our education system to believe that they can achieve their potential and that the aspirations they have will be supported. This is a key policy priority for this government.