Since 2012 the Welsh Government have been providing additional funds for schools to tackle national priorities for education.
The three national priorities are:
- Reducing the impact of poverty of pupil attainment.
- Raising standards in literacy.
- Raising standards in numeracy.
Each school in Wales is allocated a sum of money the ‘Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG)’ based on the number of pupils who are entitled to free school meals (FSM) 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.