Consultation display

Targeted Funding to Improve Educational Outcomes

Response to the consultation

Evidence submitted in response to this Consultation

Purpose of the consultation

The Children, Young People and Education Committee conducted an inquiry into the Welsh Government’s approach of targeting funding* on particular cohorts of pupils**, primarily disadvantaged pupils through the Pupil Development Grant (PDG). The inquiry also considered the complementary yet distinct Schools Challenge Cymru programme, which until its closure in March 2017 focused on schools facing the greatest challenges in improving.

The inquiry focused on:

  • Schools’ use of the PDG and the extent to which this benefits the pupils it is designed to be targeted at;
  • The relationship between PDG-funded support for pupils eligible for free school meals (eFSM) and expenditure on activities designed to improve attainment of all pupils;
  • Regional consortia’s use of the PDG on looked after and adopted children, and the impact this is having;
  • Progress since the previous Children, Young People and Education Committee 2014 inquiry; Educational outcomes for children from low income households;
  • The impact of the Schools Challenge Cymru programme and the consequences of its closure on the participating ‘Pathways to Success’ schools;
  • How the lessons and legacy of Schools Challenge Cymru can be used to complement subsequent policies and initiatives aimed at improving educational outcomes;
  • Evaluation of attainment data in light of the PDG and Schools Challenge Cymru programmes;
  • Targeted funding / support for more able and talented pupils;
  • The value for money of both the PDG and Schools Challenge Cymru programmes.

 

*The inquiry was not looking at educational improvement more generally as such an inquiry would be too wide in scope for an individual Committee inquiry. The inquiry was therefore not about the general £100 million pledged within the fifth Assembly for improving school standards across the board but focused on funding which the Welsh Government targets at improved the performancee and standards of specific groups of pupils and schools.

** There are various funding streams, which are over and above general education funding. However, the inquiry was primarily concerned with the pupils and schools targeted by funding from the PDG and Schools Challenge Cymru. These include the aspects of the Education Improvement Grant (EIG) intended to support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller, and Minority Ethnic learners, and funding for meeting learners’ Additional Learning Needs (ALN). The Committee had already undertaken an inquiry into the EIG as well as scrutiny of the ALN Bill.

Contact details

Should you wish to speak to someone regarding this consultation, please use the below contact details:

Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Parliament
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1SN

Email: Contact@senedd.wales
Telephone: 0300 200 6565