2021/22 Grant Expenditure
All grant expenditure is designed to support specific areas of the school’s work, against local, regional and national priorities.
How our grants are spent
At Lewis School Pengam, our plan for using grant allocations from the Welsh Government is integrated into our school improvement plan (SIP). Our four overarching priorities (2020 – 2023) linked to
- Securing pupil progress;
- Pupil wellbeing and support;
- Developing teaching and leadership
- Progressing the reform agenda
Professional Learning Grant
The Welsh Government has awarded schools in Wales additional financial support, through a Professional Learning Grant (PLG) to enable staff to prepare for the new curriculum for Wales. The grant has enabled us to continue to offer high-quality professional learning through the funding of dedicated learning and teaching professionals to support our staff through effective planning, implementation as well as delivering our in-house professional learning and our strategic work on the new curriculum.
Pupil Development Grant
The Pupil Development Grant (PDG) is designed to support improving outcomes and provision for students eligible for free school meals (eFSM) and looked after children (LAC). The PDG is intended to help overcome this additional barrier which prevents learners from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving their full potential. Our total allocation is £131,000.
Our PDG is spent in the following ways for 2021-22
- Pastoral support staff who develop family engagement;
- Staff to support high-quality teaching ;
- Staff to support professional learning
- Staff to support high-quality skills provision (including Welsh)
The strategies implemented by the school are drawn upon the most effective practice and educational research from organisations such as Sutton Trust and Education Endowment Fund, which includes well-evidenced interventions as part of a whole-school strategy.
Recruit, Recover, Raise Standards Grant
The Recruit, Recover, Raise Standards Grant (RRRS) is designed to support improving outcomes and provision for students in examination year groups, who have been particularly affected by the time missed in school owing to the Coronavirus. The grant is intended to support rapid ‘catch up’ for these students.
Our RRRS is spent in the following way for 2021-22
- Appointing additional teaching staff to focus on improving standards in literacy and numeracy, as well as attendance and wellbeing;
- Allocate academic tutors to identified students in Year 11, 12 and 13 to support learning and wellbeing;
- Invest in an online platform to support progression routes (pre and post-16);