Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 21 September 2022.
Minister, a report for the UK Department for Education in 2015 found that the most successful schools are supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, treating each pupil as an individual with specific challenges and needs. The less successful schools tended to view their disadvantaged pupils as a group whose home environment and lack of access to opportunities limited their chances of success. The most successful schools put effective systems in place to identify needs, select strategies, monitor progress and respond quickly, whilst providing pupils with extensive emotional support alongside supporting their academic progress. Minister, do you agree that this individual targeted approach is best suited to reducing the attainment gap between pupils from different socioeconomic backgrounds here in Wales? Thank you.