Welsh Government
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Rewriting the Future: raising ambition and attainment in Welsh schools
A new programme designed to tackle the impact of poverty on educational attainment - Rewriting the Future: raising ambition and attainment in Welsh schools – has been launched by Education and Skills Minister Huw Lewis.
Rewriting the Future is a call to action setting out what the Welsh Government is doing and will do in the future to address the impact of poverty on young people in Wales.
The document sets out commitments for the Welsh Government and the actions local authorities, the educational consortia and schools should take to ensure that all children in Wales can achieve their full potential regardless of family background and parental income.
The Minister announced the programme at the Welsh Government’s first Schools Challenge Cymru Event titled - All children can achieve.
Huw Lewis said:
“It’s fitting we’re announcing our new Deprivation programme at a Schools Challenge Cymru event. Reducing the impact of deprivation on educational attainment is critical for all schools but particularly so for our Pathway to Success schools.
“A key theme running throughout the Deprivation Programme, and one that underpins Schools Challenge Cymru, is that it is not good enough to use poverty as an excuse for underachievement. High expectations should be set for all pupils, irrespective of background.
“Pathways to Success schools serve learners who live in some of the most deprived areas of Wales. Collectively they are educating more than 8,000 pupils who are eligible for free school meals. That’s 8,000 pupils who, because of their background are likely to be doing less well than their counterparts. That’s unacceptable.
“There is an inescapable need to address the impact of poverty on educational attainment levels and this document does just that.”
Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty Vaughan Gething said:
“Giving children the best start in life can provide the opportunity for them to reach their potential. Our flagship scheme, Flying Start, supports families in deprived areas to ensure young children are confident about starting school.
“That is why we committed to double the number of children and their families benefitting from Flying Start to 36,000. Significant progress has already been made on our commitment with over 27,000 children benefitting from the Flying Start programmes, across Wales at the end of 2013.”
