Poverty Proofing the School Day
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Information about the school
Llwydcoed Primary School is an English-medium primary school situated in the village of Llwydcoed, near Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority. The school has 125 pupils from the ages of 3 to 11 organised into five mixed-age classes. The school provides full time nursery provision from the September following the child’s third birthday. Approximately 3% are identified as having additional learning needs and all pupils use English as their first language. Twenty-nine per cent of pupils are eligible to receive free school meals. This figure has increased significantly since the pandemic.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
The pandemic had a significant impact on the well-being and finances of the school’s families. The number of pupils in the school who are eligible for free school meals saw a sharp increase. For this reason, the school engaged in work with the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) to try to reduce the financial barriers that prevented pupils from fully participating in the school day. The ‘Cost of the School Day’ approach involved working with the whole-school community, including pupils, parents, teachers and school staff, to evaluate the school’s approach to identifying and reducing the financial barriers faced by pupils from low-income backgrounds. The school used the data from surveys and interviews to determine what the school was doing well and what could be improved. It produced a detailed report outlining the school’s current approach and developed an action plan outlining ways forward. The school produced a case study, outlining the actions it had taken and the improvements that had resulted.