5. Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report: Targeted Funding to Improve Educational Outcomes

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:51 pm on 7 November 2018.

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Photo of Lynne Neagle Lynne Neagle Labour 4:51, 7 November 2018

Okay. Right, thank you. [Interruption.] Okay. If I start, then, with Suzy Davies, who highlighted some of the shortcomings of the PDG, which were picked up in our report, but which we really hope our recommendations and the positive response by the Welsh Government will help to address—things such as the new guidance that we've called for. I know that the Minister is developing a toolkit that should improve consistency, and the new PDG staff in the consortia, who are going to be there to challenge, we hope will make a difference. And, as you know, the committee made recommendations around the parity of esteem issues that you rightly highlighted. 

Jenny Rathbone highlighted some of the concerns that arise because of large numbers of change in the numbers of kids in school, and that was something that we picked up in our report. We had hoped that the Welsh Government would accept that recommendation, but we hope that that will be kept under review, and I think it's particularly pertinent for, probably, areas like Cardiff where you are likely to have big changes in population, more so than in some other communities, because we don't want those schools to be left out or disadvantaged. 

Siân Gwenllian—. Can I welcome Siân to the committee, but also take this opportunity to place on record my thanks to Llyr Gruffydd, who has been an excellent and most conscientious member of the committee? So, thank you, Llyr, for everything that you've done. Siân raised some general issues around school funding, and what has been apparent in all our inquiries, really, is that there are pressures on funding, and I know that the Cabinet Secretary recognises that point. That is why we are undertaking now a more wholescale look at the school funding to try and see whether there are any recommendations we can make to improve the situation.

Both Siân Gwenllian and Janet Finch-Saunders raised the issue of this policy on free school meals. You'll be aware that we have recently written to the Cabinet Secretary to ask for some more information about the way the figures have been calculated, why the cut-off is where it is, but what I would also say is that members of the committee are very conscious of the need for there not to be any unintended consequences. I think that we do have to be mindful that, should there be a big increase in the number of pupils having free school meals, that may then mean a big increase in the pupil development grant, or, worse, the pupil development grant being seriously diluted for our poorest pupils, which actually would be a very regressive step. So, we are very mindful of that also; it's very important that we keep that in mind.   

Can I thank Julie Morgan for her contribution—a very important contribution—on adopted children? And, of course, our predecessor committee, as you'll remember, did an important inquiry on adoption, and we are acutely aware of the needs of adopted children, and also, of course, aware that many of those initiatives that are so important in schools around emotional and mental health are funded by the PDG in many of our schools, so that's why it is important that we get that support for adopted children in schools, and I hope that that is something that the Cabinet Secretary will look at again. It is absolutely crucial that that support is there.

Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her further response today and for the positive way in which she's engaged with the inquiry? The committee fully agrees with her about the need to do everything to support all our pupils, including our more able and talented. We welcome the steps that have been taken already in this regard, but we will be looking to follow up with this inquiry as to how the new guidance is making sure, how the new challenge is making sure, that our more able and talented pupils are also being impacted by this policy. Can I just conclude, then, by thanking, again, everybody for contributing, thanking everybody who gave evidence to the inquiry, thanking the committee team, who, as always, have been absolutely brilliant, and reminding Members here that we will return to this, as we have with all our inquiries, to monitor and scrutinise the progress on the recommendations of this very important inquiry? Thank you.