The purpose of the Pupil Development Grant (PDG) is to improve the educational attainment of pupils from low-income families and who are entitled to free school meals (eFSM).  Schools are expected to maximise the use of this funding by introducing sustainable strategies that will quickly lead to improved outcomes for pupils entitled to free school meals.

As a school, we want to learn from the best practice in Wales and beyond by:

1. Planning interventions that focus on improving the attainment of pupils from deprived backgrounds, regularly monitoring pupils’ progress and evaluating the impact of the intervention.

 2. Integrating plans for the effective use of the PDG into the School Development Plan, basing our practice on sound evidence and including them as part of a whole school strategy.

3. Balancing whole school strategies with targeted interventions to ensure that all learners entitled to free school meals benefit as individuals, whilst the whole school develops its ability to support every learner to achieve their full potential.

In 2022/23 Ysgol Sŵn y Don was allocated a total Pupil Development Grant of £11,550 which is made up of £24,150 for under 5s and £87,400 for pupils aged 5 – 11 years.

Ysgol Sŵn y Don has a plan, monitored by GwE and Conwy Local Education Authority, to promote high expectations, attainment and progress and to remove barriers to learning for pupils entitled to this funding.

We have used the funding available to:

• Employ Teaching Assistants to deliver various sessions for identified pupils – Read Write Inc., RM Easimaths, Headsprout, Seasons for Growth, nurture and to provide in-class support for identified groups of pupils.
• Develop leadership capacity across the school with a view to more effective recognition of the needs of the target groups and the monitoring and assessment of the delivery of programmes to meet their needs.
• Make effective use of tracking data and teacher assessments to monitor pupil progress and to focus interventions more effectively.
• Invest in resources and staff training in creative use of media technology to enhance and enrich the learning experience of the target groups of pupils in literacy and numeracy.