School Grant Information
Pupil Development Grant Strategy
This statement details our school’s use of the PDG for the 2025 to 2026 year.
It outlines our strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending had within our school.
School Overview
Detail |
Data |
|
School name |
Islwyn High School |
|
Number of pupils in school |
1071 |
|
Proportion (%) of PDG eligible pupils |
21.67% |
|
Date this statement was published |
11th November 2025 |
|
Date on which it will be reviewed |
1st October 2026 |
|
Statement authorised by |
J Hicks (Headteacher) |
|
PDG Lead |
O Williams (Deputy Headteacher) |
|
Governor Lead |
J Crook (Link Governor for eFSM/RADY) |
Funding Overview
|
Detail |
Amount |
|
PDG funding allocation this academic year |
£276,622 |
|
Total budget for this academic year |
£276,622 |
Part A: Strategy Plan
Statement of Intent
|
‘The purpose of the PDG is to improve outcomes for learners eligible for free school meals (eFSM). It is intended to overcome the additional barriers that prevent learners from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving their full potential.’ |
Intended Outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
| Intended outcome | Success criteria |
|
Improved pupil attendance for all year groups |
Attendance targets met and gap between eFSM and nonFSM less than 7%. |
|
Low levels of exclusion |
Exclusion targets met |
|
Reduction in eFSM gap in performance measures at Key Stage 4. |
eFSM gap reduced in all performance measures |
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our PDG this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
|
· Attendance Project to support improved/maintained attendance with particular focus on eFSM pupils and those who are persistent absentees. · Deployment of Inclusion Team including Family Liaison Officer to work with vulnerable pupils, their families and the pastoral team to provide the best possible inclusion support and reduce the number of fixed term exclusions. · RADY Champions to provide wellbeing support to pupils across Key Stages 3 & 4 to improve pupils engagement and ‘close the gap’ · Support RADY pupils with the provision of resources, tutoring and educational activities. · Staff training and development to support above programs via PLA and INSET.
|
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year
PDG outcomes
This details the impact that our PDG activity had on pupils in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
- Number of days lost to exclusion reduced and target exceeded.
- Progress made to improve whole school attendance. School finished joint third in the LA and were above the Welsh average in terms of attendance.
- Comparable expected whole school Capped 9 outcomes for KS4 and eFSM pupils compared to those in previous years.
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help us identify which ones are popular in Wales.
| Programme | Provider |
|
RADY 8 |
Challenge Education |
|
|
|
Further information (optional)
|
Islwyn High School is a RADY school and will continue to focus on supporting eFSM pupils. |