What consideration has the Minister given to findings in the report Major Challenges for Education in Wales from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that states the performance of disadvantaged children in England is either above or similar to the average for all children in Wales?
We recognise that the pandemic has had a detrimental impact. The attainment of our learners, in particular our disadvantaged learners, is a key priority for me and I will set out what more we will do to address this over the course of this term.
We will provide support for disadvantaged learners and young people doing GCSEs and moving to post-16 pathways. We have protected the Pupil Development Grant budget for 2024/25 with £127.8m ring-fenced for schools and local authorities to support low income and care-experienced learners.
Over 17 million additional free school meals have been served since the launch of the Universal Primary Free School Meals offer. This is part of the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru, and the policy will be evaluated.