Pupil Development Grant considered "invaluable" by Welsh schools, report says

An independent evaluation of the Welsh Government’s Pupil Development Grant (PDG) has found that many schools consider the funding to be ‘invaluable’, with good progress being made on identifying and addressing the needs of disadvantaged learners.

The report by Ipsos Mori and the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) focuses on how schools are spending the PDG and teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the grant.

Many of the schools interviewed for the report acknowledged that the PDG has helped them to focus and raise the profile of tackling disadvantage across the school.

Schools said this had led to an increased focus on whole-school strategies to improve areas such as behaviour, attendance, family engagement and restorative approaches.

Substantial improvements were reported by schools in areas such as pupil well-being, confidence and self-esteem and an increased willingness from pupils to participate in classroom activities.

Schools also reported improvement in how learners who qualify for free school meals were supported as they progressed through school.

Welcoming the findings, education secretary 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 report is further evidence that our £93 million PDG is delivering real progress in addressing this injustice and supporting pupils to reach their full potential.

“I’m proud that schools regard the PDG as invaluable and I applaud the way funding has been used to target our most disadvantaged learners. Earlier this year I announced that we would be extending the PDG, including doubling the financial support to early years learners in the Foundation Phase.

“To ensure schools can plan and make full use of the funding, we have already signalled our commitment to the PDG for the lifetime of this Assembly.“