School name 

Brynmawr Foundation School 

Number of pupils in school 

585 

Proportion (%) of PDG eligible pupils 

24% 

Date this statement was published 

01/10/24

Statement authorised by 

Gerard McNamara 

PDG Lead 

Jane Griffiths 

Governor Lead 

 John Hill

PDG funding allocation this academic year. 

£189,750 

Total budget for this academic year 

£189,762 

Improved school attendance 

Attendance percentage increases 

Improve well-being 

Provide pupils with strategies to help them cope with different emotions 

Improve teaching and learning 

Supported/challenged in lessons to ensure they reach their full potential 

Equitable model 

Give more support, guidance and challenge to our disadvantaged pupils 

Proportional representation for disadvantaged pupils 

Disadvantaged learners are engaging in wider experiences outside of the classroom that will develop their skills to be successful in life 

Engagement Project 

The most common reason for exclusion is persistent disruptive behaviour. Pupil behaviour will have multiple influences, some of which teachers can directly manage though universal or classroom management approaches. Some pupils will require more specialist support to help manage their self-regulation or social and emotional skills (EEF, 2023) 

Mathematics Development 

The evidence shows that the quality of teaching makes a difference to student outcomes in Mathematics. The quality of teaching, or instructional guidance, is important to the efficacy of almost every strategy that we have examined. Across the strategies, approaches and interventions we have examined in this review, the role of the teacher consistently comes across as a crucial, and often mediating, factor in the success of any approach. The evidence shows that the quality of teaching makes a difference to student outcomes and that a crucial factor is teacher knowledge (Coe et al., 2014) (EEF, 2023) 

Targeted Interventions 

Although the main focus is on reading, comprehension strategies have been successfully used in a number of curriculum subjects where it is important to be able to read and understand text. Lower attaining pupils appear to benefit in particular from the explicit teaching of strategies to comprehend text. There are some indications that approaches involving digital technology can be successful in improving reading comprehension, particularly when they focus on the application and practice of specific strategies and the use of self-questioning skills (EEF, 2023) 

Activity 

Evidence that supports this approach 

Equity Project 

Mentoring has increasingly been offered to young people who are deemed to be hard to reach or at risk of educational failure or exclusion. Some studies have found positive impacts for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and for non-academic outcomes such as attitudes to school, attendance and behaviour. (EEF, 2023) 

Free Breakfast 

Researchers found that school children who eat breakfast 'regularly' perform better in exams, scoring on average two grades above their fellow students. Lead researcher Dr Katie Adolphus, of the University of Leeds, said: 'Our study suggests that secondary school students are at a disadvantage if they are not getting a morning meal to fuel their brains for the start of the school day.  An estimated half a million children arriving at school each day too hungry to learn.' Dr Adolphus added: 'This research suggests that poor nutrition is associated with worse results at school.' (Frontiers in Psychology, 2019) 

Wellbeing Project 

There is extensive evidence associating childhood social and emotional skills (SE) with improved outcomes at school and in later life, in relation to physical and mental health, school readiness and academic achievement, crime, employment and income. For example, longitudinal research in the UK has shown that good social and emotional skills - including self-regulation, self-awareness, and social skills, are predictors of a range of adult outcomes, such as life satisfaction and wellbeing, labour market success, and good overall health. Efforts to promote SE skills may be especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who on average have weaker SE skills at all ages than their better off peers. This matters for a range of outcomes, as lower levels of SEL skills are associated with poorer mental health and academic attainment. (EEF, 2020) 

Access to music project 

There is intrinsic value in teaching pupils creative and performance skills and ensuring disadvantaged pupils access a rich and stimulating arts education. Evidence suggests a causal link between arts education and the use of arts-based approaches with overall educational attainment. (EEF, 2023)