PDG (Equity)

The Pupil Development/Equity Grant (PDG) is allocated to schools with pupils who come from low-income families and are currently known to be eligible for free school meals as reported in the January 2024 Pupil Level Annual Census (PLASC) return and pupils who have been looked after as reported in the April 2024 (LAC).

Schools are expected to make the best use of this funding to implement sustainable strategies that will quickly bring about changes for learners eligible for free school meals or who are LAC.

As a school we have agreed the following three steps:

To identify the target group of pupils, its characteristics and needs;
To plan interventions which make the most effective use of resources;
To monitor and evaluate the impact of resources.
In 2024-2025 Haverfordwest High V C School was provided with a PDG/Equity allocation of £276,000.

Haverfordwest High V C School has developed a comprehensive plan, which will be agreed and monitored by Pembrokeshire Local Authority and Partneriaeth to promote progress and remove barriers to learning for students eligible for this funding.

The purpose of targeted and planned PDG/Equity interventions and strategies are to directly reduce the attainment gap between FSM and non-FSM pupils. All interventions and activities will aim to improve literacy and numeracy; increase school attendance; improve the engagement with schools by families and communities.

Overall, the plan will seek to foster the value of learning across the school by working with pupils, families, schools and community, in a bid to improve aspiration and learning whilst working towards tackling poverty and provision gaps. This can only be achieved through a cohesive and coordinated PDG/Equity Plan that is embedded and links with the School Development Plan. This will be achieved through the delivery of clear interventions that are managed and resourced with robust monitoring and evaluation systems.

The specific strategies to be included from September 2024 are:-

Raise standards across Key Stages 3 and 4 including support through Achievement Leaders, Pastoral Support, the Youth Worker and the School Counsellor.
Improve pupils’ attendance through the provision of an ongoing programme of after school activities and enrichment activities.
Pupil development through the provision of a programme of courses that offer a range of career pathways.
Raising Aspirations through the provision of an engaging programme of activities for pupils across the school
Further develop resilience and confidence through a range of targeted interventions and support
Improve parental engagement and access to the curriculum.

RCSIG/Standards

The aim of the funding is to improve educational outcomes for all learners and reduce the impact of deprivation on learner outcomes by:

Improving the Quality of Teaching and Learning;
Addressing learners’ barriers to learning and improving inclusion;
Improving the leadership of educational settings; and
Improving the provision for learners and the engagement of learners.

This includes capacity building and increasing the number of learners with higher-level Welsh language skills.

The Regional Consortia School Improvement/Standards Grant will support the following strategic objectives:-

An excellent professional workforce with strong pedagogy based on an understanding of what works
A curriculum which is engaging and attractive to young people and which develops within them the ability to independently apply knowledge and skills
Qualifications which young people achieve that are nationally and internationally respected and act as a credible passport to their future learning and employment
Leaders of education at every level working together in a self-improving system, providing mutual support and challenge to raise standards in all schools.

Qualified for Life seeks to ensure that all learners benefit from excellent teaching and learning. These strategic objectives support Partneriaeth’s priorities of;

Improving Literacy
Improving Numeracy
Breaking the link between disadvantage and educational attainment

Furthermore, these measurable outcomes must:

Encompass all learners
Encompass learners in language settings
Encompass those belonging to recognised groups of learners where under attainment is a significant concern, such as eFSM children, minority ethnic groups or gypsy traveller children; and
Address the priorities of literacy, numeracy and breaking the link between deprivation and attainment. To this end the school has developed plans that support the improvement of Literacy and Numeracy.

Pupil Development Grant Plus - Financial Assistance for Parents and Carers