St Joseph’s Catholic & Anglican High Schools’ Pupil Development Grant Statement
The purpose of the Pupil Development Grant 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 which 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:
- Planning interventions that focus on improving the attainment of pupils from deprived backgrounds, regularly monitoring pupils’ progress and evaluating the impact of the intervention.
- 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.
- Balancing whole school strategies with targeted interventions to ensure that all learners entitled to free school meals benefit as individuals, whilst the whole school also develops its ability to support every learner to achieve their full potential.
In 2018-19 St Joseph’s Catholic & Anglican High School were allocated a total Pupil Development Grant of £72,450.
St Joseph’s Catholic & Anglican High School has a comprehensive plan, agreed and monitored by GwE and Wrexham County Borough Council Local 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:
- Provide enrichment and extra-curricular activities to increase the participation of our most vulnerable students, and to create an environment and culture where these pupils feel able to “stay” in school outside the normal school hours. This includes instrumental tuition. (£11,347)
- Part-fund an ICT teacher to promote digital competency – working to ensure that no FSM pupil falls behind in ICT. (£11,811)
- Purchase desktop computers to develop digital competency. (£8,852)
- “Study+” – a regular homework and study club supported by Teaching Assistants, which provides a space for pupils to study each lunchtime and after-school. Funding for this initiative covers staffing, resourcing and transport home for those eligible. (£6,670)
- Ensure each vulnerable child has access to a dedicated Learning Coach. (£9,646)
- Provide thematic TA’s to work with FSM pupils who are also additionally disadvantaged by EAL or other vulnerable circumstances. These post-holders are able to provide additional specific interventions. (£24,124)
It is not appropriate for the school to publish a detailed plan as it could identify individual pupils.