WIREDGOV

New figures out yesterday show the Welsh Government is making good progress in closing the attainment gap between those pupils eligible for free school meals and those not.

Education Minister, Huw Lewis has thanked Regional Consortia, local authorities and schools for their ongoing efforts to break the link between poverty and educational attainment but has said there is still more work to be done.

The latest statistics show pupils eligible for Free School Meals are performing at historically high levels and that there was an overall 2 percentage point rise in their performance between 2013 and 2014.

The more detailed figures show the gap in attainment between pupils eligible for free school meals and their counterpart has reduced at Foundation Phase level, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.

Indeed at Foundation Phase level the Welsh Government has already met and exceeded its target to reduce the attainment gap by 10% against 2012 levels by 2017,   and had secured a 11.6% reduction by the end of 2014.

Welcoming the figures, Education Minister Huw Lewis said:

“These statistics show that we are starting to see real progress in breaking the link between deprivation and educational attainment, particularly at the Foundation Phase level.

“I am very encouraged by this and  would like to thank Regional Consortia, local authorities and schools across Wales  for their ongoing hard work.

“Despite this progress, there is no doubt that we still have a long way to go. I am continuing to introduce policies aimed at ensuring that children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds do as well as their peers.

“Indeed we will soon be publishing the results of our new Categorisation system which has been designed specifically to ensure that schools can only achieve the highest green category if a percentage of their pupils eligible for free school meals are performing at the highest levels.

“It is this sort of approach that will ensure that all learners in Wales, whatever their background are given every opportunity to succeed.”

Last year the Education Minister launched ‘ Rewriting the Future: raising ambition and attainment in Welsh schools’ which sets out the Welsh  Government’s commitment to tackling the impact of poverty on educational attainment and what it expects Regional Consortia, local authorities and schools to do to support learners from more deprived backgrounds.

Related Links

Academic achievement and entitlement to free school meals