Pupil Development Grant

The purpose of the Pupil Development Grant is funding given to schools to improve educational attainment and achievements of learners from low-income households.

More information about the Welsh Government funding and definition can be accessed by clicking here .

As a school, we want to learn from the best practice in Wales and beyond by:

• Planning interventions that focus on improving the attainment of learners from low-income households, regularly monitoring learner progress and evaluating the impact of the intervention;
• Integrating plans for the effective use of the PDG into the School Improvement Plan, basing our practice on sound evidence and including them as part of a whole school strategy;
• Balancing whole school strategies with targeted interventions to ensure that all learners from low-income households benefit as individuals, whilst the whole school develops its ability to support every learner to achieve their full potential.

Each school in Wales is allocated a sum of money the ‘Pupil Development Grant (PDG)’ based on the number of learners who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) and learners who are Looked After Children (LAC).

In 2026-27 our school has been allocated £113,850.00

Continue to part-fund members of staff to:

• Continue to part-fund staff support for wellbeing through small groups to support accessing education in school.
• Provide opportunities to access additional support for literacy and numeracy that will reduce any impact on outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
• Support students who have barriers to attending school.
• Provide opportunities that students may not be exposed to.

At Darland High School, we publish how this grant is utilised as part of our School Development Plan, a comprehensive plan which is agreed by the governing body and monitored by Wrexham Local Authority.

Last year at Darland High School our allocation in 2024-25 was £109,250.00 which was used to:

• Improve numeracy across the curriculum
• Provide intervention software to support intervention
• Provide essential learning equipment
• Continued support for wellbeing, through small group work, developing emotional literacy and improving resilience and attendance.
• Continued opportunities to access additional alternative provisions

At Darland High School, we have high expectations for all our learners and aim to ensure that the necessary support is focused on individual needs of each child.

It is not appropriate for the school to publish a detailed plan as it could identify individual pupils.

All parents can be reassured that all children are treated fairly and equally at Darland High School and that all information in relation to the PDG is treated with discretion and confidentiality.