6. Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Tackling the impact of poverty on attainment

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:39 pm on 28 March 2023.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 4:39, 28 March 2023

I very much welcome the new funding and focus on community-focused schools, Minister, which I know we've discussed before. I have some good examples, I think, in my area, including Maindee Primary School, which is multicultural and is doing some really good work, and tells me that they have to invest heavily in staff to support parents and families with wider issues, such as food, housing, medical issues, benefits and other wider non-education issues. So, it's great, I think, that a school like that will benefit from this new focus and funding.

The new Monmouthshire County Council administration is taking forward some interesting initiatives. They have a new service tackling the impact of disadvantage at its heart, and they've brought together a range of professionals, from educational psychology, pupil referral, family support, and created a new post within the team to provide leadership. And in addition to that, Minister, they've got some really good initiatives linking with the third sector, providing grants to support learning experiences for pupils, such as providing tents to enable schools to provide camping experiences, and are also looking to provide breakfast-club funding for secondary school pupils. So, with all that going on in my area, Minister, I very much welcome that new focus and that new funding.