Improvement and Skills.
Department for Education and Children

SEG
Poverty
PDG
Literacy Numeracy

-
-
-
 SEG and PDG are the principal means of support for the Welsh
Government’s three national priorities i.e.
Improving standards in literacy
Improving standards in numeracy
Reducing the impact of poverty on educational attainment
 Whilst the PDG is a separate and new grant it must exist hand in glove with SEG – for this reason
LA/Consortia processes for this grant must be tied to their SEG arrangements

SEG/PDG
Poverty (and disadvantage)
Literacy &
Numeracy
Community focused schools
Additional
Learning Needs
Communication across the curriculum ICT
Cross Cutting
Themes

SEG/PDG
Literacy &
Numeracy

COACHING releasing outstanding teachers to:
Model best practice support PLCs
Partner other teachers & schools with low expertise
CATCH UP
Increased provision to ensure:
All children (as appropriate) are able to master the basics
WG will provide research based guidance on Catch
Up programmes
PLCs
Developing PLCs
Sharing good practice in:
Improving the quality of reading
& other literacy skills
Recall of basic number facts in real life contexts & skills across the
Curriculum

COMMUNITIES
FIRST Working with other agencies to:
Counter underachievement & disaffection
Support families in disadvantaged areas
TEACHER
ASSESSMENT to improve:
Formative use of reading tests to measure/track pupils’ progress
Particularly those with specific learning difficulties
& MAT
ACTION
RESEARCH
CPD to support teachers in:
Literacy training linked to accreditation, seminars etc
Numeracy training linked to accreditation, seminars etc.







Young people need to be literate before they leave primary school
Underpinning the focus on literacy, the National Reading Test will be implemented on a statutory basis from September 2012 for first sitting in
May 2013. All pupils in Y2 to Y9 will be required to sit the reading test.
Reading tests will be introduced by LAs on a voluntary basis this Summer
The grant funding should support the national programme of work designed to raise literacy levels across the ability range, focusing particularly on those between 5 to 14 years of age
We need to ensure that every teacher has the skills to teach numeracy effectively, regardless of subject specialism
Teachers need to reinforce numeracy skills in secondary schools
The National Literacy and Numeracy Framework will set out expectations for the numeracy skills that learners should be able to use at the end of each year. This will be available on a voluntary basis from September 2012



WEG provides funding to support activities aimed at achieving the outcomes and targets of the Welsh-medium
Education Strategy
This includes activities in Welsh medium schools and activities to support the improvement of
Welsh- language teaching in
English medium schools



SEG funding supports literacy
, numeracy and reducing the impact of poverty in all schools, which includes support for
Welsh medium activities in
Welsh medium schools
WEG funding should therefore be used to supplement rather than replace SEG funding for activities in support of these priorities in Welsh medium settings
The same activity should not be double funded from these grants

Poverty (and disadvantage)
SEG/PDG

SEG Priority 3
• Pupils meeting differentiated literacy/numeracy targets
• Pupil tracking/effective formative assessment
• Wellbeing policies , interventions & targeted support
• Multi –agency working/strengthening parents’ engagement/assisting effective home learning
PDG – targeting fsm pupils
• Focus on literacy and numeracy
• Pupil tracking systems - attainment & wellbeing
• PLCs engaging with other statutory/voluntary agencies
• Supporting/improving family engagement
• Using community resources eg. Communities
First





While poverty can be a major barrier to achievement in education, it is vital that schools and all public services embrace their wider mission to tackle the barriers to learning, that they set consistent, high standards for all regardless of background: and that they work effectively across organisations to address learners’ needs
However, this universal improvement should not be at the expense of increasing levels of underlying disadvantage within the education system for our most deprived young people
The rate of improvement for pupils eligible for fsm is not in keeping with other improvements
PDG: Schools are encouraged to operate in clusters or groups and to pool resources to ensure greater effectiveness and value for money. This is particularly relevant in view of the relative small grant allocations that will go to schools with small numbers of fsm pupils…We would assume that in many cases, schools would operate on the basis of natural clusters feeding a common secondary school…or with the local Communities First Cluster.

Poverty (and disadvantage)
Community focused schools
SEG/PDG

Flying Start
• Building strong literacy foundations
Communities
First
• Schools working with local
Communities
First provision
Parental engagement
• Promoting more effective home learning

• Schools need to continue to develop and reinforce literacy skills at every stage of learning. In areas of high deprivation this will build on the support provided to children through Flying Start
•In tackling disadvantage schools need to work effectively with other local agencies - Schools in disadvantaged areas are strongly encouraged to work with local Communities First provision to support families in their communities. Innovative and imaginative proposals to work with communities in these areas – to jointly improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils – may be able to attract additional funding through the Communities First programme, to support this work
•Schools can enhance learning outcomes through strengthening parents’ engagement with the school and supporting the development of effective home learning environments – building the capacity of parents to support their children’s learning

SEG/PDG
Poverty (and disadvantage)
Additional
Learning Needs

ALN Reform
• Consortium planning to prepare for ALN reform
Looked after Children
• The use of both grants to support looked-after children to reach their potential according to the circumstances of each individual child
Children educated in settings other than at school
• The three national priorities for schools apply equally to children educated outside the school setting




Additional Learning Needs should be integral to the teaching of literacy and numeracy including the provision of catch up support for pupils falling behind in literacy and numeracy, as well as to continuing professional development linked to school improvement priorities – there should be no artificial boundaries e.g. between literacy problems and specific learning difficulties
…developments should mean that learners who have an additional learning need will have it met earlier with planned intervention and support. This approach will be consistent with proposed changes to the ALN reform agenda, which will relate to identification, assessment, planning, delivery, quality assurance and resource management…in future years SEG will be an important source of funding for related staff development
Amalgamation of this information at Consortia level would provide a sound basis for reporting the impact of investment in CPD against learner outcomes, and for refining the Consortium strategy for supporting their schools to use their CPD resources effectively

SEG/PDG
Communication across the
Curriculum - ICT

Our vision for IT in Carmarthenshire education:
• Greater flexibility and choice among learning options,
• Tailored and responsive assessment – both formative and summative,
• Engaging learning experiences – for learners of all abilities, in all contexts
• Strengthening relationships between families, schools and learners
Carmarthenshire ICT Strategy: Using IT to Support Teaching and Learning Across Our Schools
We recognise the impact that certain technologies can have on the areas of focus for the grants on behavioural change and teaching strategies aimed at improving standards so where hardware purchase meets the focus of the grants and does not cut across existing ICT strategies it will be admissible expenditure.
SEG & PDG 2012-13. Guidance
The purchase of ICT equipment using SEG funds will only be considered eligible if it is in accord with the LA’s ICT Strategy and SEG/PDG priorities. ICT equipment can only be purchased with the approval of the LA’s associate school improvement officer with lead responsibility.
Guidance for Headteachers, Family and Area CPD Leaders and School Bursars

SEG/PDG
PRD – Practice review & development

CPD: a cultural change away from
‘one off’ courses
Coaching and mentoring by effective practitioners
Action based enquiry methods e.g. PLCs
Performance
Management: revised Appraisal regulations
LA direct role in headteacher performance management
Link between HT & teacher objectives to school imp. priorities
Professional
Standards
Leadership standards
Practising teacher standards

Provision to promote leadership skills
(system leaders)
Accredited programmes and modules e.g.
Masters in Ed.
Practice
Practice Review and Development
Record – whole school analysis
Support for teacher objectives in improving learner outcomes
Support required recorded in individual
Development
Record
Clear line of sight of CPD resources to limproved earner outcomes
Refocus on standards required of NQTs
Higher Level
Teaching Assistant standards
Standards for the wider school workforce?





We expect each Consortium to demonstrate how they will ensure that the funding allocated to them will be used to support their priorities for school improvement in schools across their area including provision for promoting and developing effective leadership in schools
We are keen to encourage a cultural shift in approach to CPD away from investment in ‘one off’ courses for individuals and towards more effective forms of CPD
We suggest that the school’s plans for investment in CPD would form one of the elements of discussion in the Consortia School Improvement visits with the Headteacher and Governors
Performance Management: As part of the objective setting process each teacher will discuss the development or support that they need to achieve their objectives to improve learner outcomes with their line manager and record this in a Practice Review and Development Record.

SEG/PDG
Poverty (and disadvantage)
Literacy &
Numeracy
Community focused schools
Additional
Learning Needs
Communication across the curriculum ICT
PRD – Practice review & development