Written Statement: The Pupil Development Grant

Tackling the impact of poverty on educational outcomes is at the heart of our ambitions for education in Wales. The Pupil Development Grant (PDG) has a key part to play in delivering on this ambition by helping to tackle the barriers to attainment faced by our most vulnerable learners. 

For the 2025/26 financial year, I allocated £128m to schools, settings, and local authorities to continue supporting these learners in key areas such as delivering high-quality learning and teaching, developing community-focused schools, and promoting learners’ health and wellbeing. This level of funding has been maintained in the draft budget for 2026/27, published in November. 

Changing social dynamics, the cost of living, and increased pressures on schools and families mean that there are more children in need of support to help reach their potential. This has led to concerns that, despite the significant level of investment we are making, the PDG is not achieving all we want it to.

Eligibility for both the PDG and our School Essentials Grant is linked to entitlement to Free School Meals. While we continue to work with local authorities and schools to make families aware of the support available through registering for Free School Meals, we know that this is not reaching everyone who needs support.

The PDG is central to our ambitions to close the attainment gap. We will only see progress on that ambition if we are confident the funding is reaching all those it needs to support and is being spent on the most effective interventions. 

To ensure the PDG has the greatest impact for our learners, I have instructed my officials to undertake a policy review of the PDG. This will contribute to our work to address the recommendations of the independent review we commissioned from Bangor University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, published in two parts in 2023 and 2024, and build on the work already underway to improve and expand guidance on the use of the PDG.

My officials will work with the sector to develop options for improving:

• How we allocate and fund the PDG
• How we monitor the use and impact of the PDG
• How we evaluate the success of grant funding

The review will encompass all funding streams of the PDG, including PDG for Children Looked After, Early Years PDG, and PDG for learners in Education Other than at School. It will identify how we can improve the grant’s design to best enable our schools, settings and local authorities to deliver high standards and aspirations for all, so that every child, regardless of their socio-economic background, can achieve their potential. 

However, I do want to be clear that there will be no changes to the PDG ahead of 2027. It is important we ensure that schools, local authorities and wider partners are given an opportunity to consider and comment on any proposals arising from the review, and that we allow a clear timescale for transition in the event of any changes. 

I expect early advice before the end of this Senedd Term and will update Members accordingly.