Children and Young People Committee

Inquiry into Child Poverty

Additional Evidence from the Welsh Local Government Association

Many NGO’s have called on the Assembly Government to reduce the hidden costs of education. This raises a number of questions:

Has the Assembly Government done enough to tackle the hidden costs of education?
What more can be done, and what role do local authorities play in reducing the costs of education?
Are schools doing enough to develop their own policies which have a positive impact on child poverty?
Is good practice disseminated amongst schools?

There are a number of additional costs of education which may be a burden on families. Local authorities are aware of these and are working with the Welsh Assembly Government, schools and families to address these additional needs. There a number of schemes currently running in schools, including the free school breakfast initiative, the school uniform grant and schemes to encourage children and young people to participate in sporting and cultural activities.

Many schools take action to ensure that the additional costs of education are minimised. This may include having a plain uniform policy, so that parents are able to purchase uniforms in low cost stores, or the provision of homework clubs, that provide pupils with a quiet space and necessary materials to do their homework. The scope and nature of this additional support will vary, however, from school to school and within and between authorities.

It has been suggested that free lunchtime meals, for all school pupils, with no option for pupils to 'opt-out,' would provide an effective step towards combating the sense of shame and isolation experienced by some children in poverty. What are your views of this suggestion?

There are some local authorities in England that have piloted free school meals for all primary pupils. Hull Council for example spent approximately £4 million per year on a scheme between 2004 and 2007. The scheme was eventually withdrawn, however, because the costs had escalated. The scheme was successful however in terms of the take up of the meals with over 90% of pupils accessing a free school meal.

If such a scheme were to be tried in Wales, it would need to be fully costed and piloted. A primary school meal costs approximately £3 - £4 per pupil and there are approximately 265,700 primary school pupils in Wales. Thus the costs of introducing and implementing such a scheme would be high.

Currently, pupils are entitled to a free school meal if their parents receive income-based jobseekers allowance, income support, Child Tax Credit and their income is below a certain level or if they get the guaranteed part of Pension Credit. There is significant variation in the take-up of school meals and a number of those eligible to receive free school meals do not take advantage of the opportunity. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is because of the stigma attached to having free school meals and there are also cultural aspects to the issue. There may be a number of reasons for not taking up the free school meals which may include wanting to eat or socialise with peers during the lunch hour There is very little robust evidence to support any of these this assumptions. .

The WLGA is currently carrying out a Wales wide survey on the potential of rolling out a cashless system in school canteens which may impact on the take-up of free school meals. The survey will assess how the cashless system works and analyse the costs and benefits of implementing such a system. The survey will be completed in July 2008 and it is proposed that the results will be published in September. The WLGA would suggest that any additional resources could be better utilised in ensuring that those who currently qualify for free school meals do so; that funding is invested in school dining areas and kitchens; and towards insuring that schools are providing meals for all children and young people that meet nutritional guidelines.

The Committee has received evidence suggesting that there is a lack of funding for Community- focused Schools, particularly when compared to the amount allocated for the equivalent policy in England. RAISE, the Assembly Government programme to tackle educational inequality, was similarly considered to have a comparatively small budget. What are your views of this evidence?

In September 2007, the JRF published a series of research based studies on education and poverty in which they placed significant emphasis on out of school activities and solutions to poverty. The Narrowing the Gap research project, which was jointly commissioned by the WLGA and WAG, looked at why some schools in areas of socio-economic deprivation performed better than expected. Among a range of conclusions, the work suggests that community involvement in a school can improve the performance of the school and the achievement of pupils and overall attainment levels.

Community focused schools can offer a wide range of services including dental clinics, smoking cessation, cultural and sporting activities, play, youth services and childcare. As such, they have a large role to play in bringing together the community and removing the stigma that can sometimes be associated with schools. The development of community focused schools in disadvantaged areas can be a good way of offering a wider range of educational activities and support to children, young people, families and communities affected by poverty.

The community focused schools programme was funded £6.8 million for 2005 -2007. The funding was distributed to all local authorities in Wales for community focus activities. A proportion of the funding went to the not for profit organisation ContinYou, who have worked with authorities to develop activities and programmes in schools. The programme is universal and not targeted solely in disadvantaged areas. There are a number of community focused schools in disadvantaged areas however that can have the effect of engaging with the community and promoting educational attainment. The funding available to community focused schools therefore is not specifically aimed at reducing child poverty within the community.

The RAISE initiative in Wales is specifically targeted at improving levels of attainment for individual children and young people. The RAISE initiative was funded £32.5 million over two years from 2006-07. £15 million a year went directly to schools and £1 million a year was for the education of looked after children. £1 million a year for the next 3 years has also been made available for the education of looked after children. The funding was distributed to schools with over 50 pupils where the take-up of free school meals was 20% or more.

The funding has been used in a variety of ways and many local authorities have shared the good practice developed in schools that accessed RAISE funding to other schools in the area. The Welsh Assembly Government is currently populating a database with information on how the money has been spent. This includes employment of additional staff, ICT, study materials and individual bursaries. The money from the RAISE initiative was additional money in the national budget in 2006 and as such was used to focus on a policy intention to address the relationship between disadvantage and low educational attainment.

The RAISE money has been targeted at a specific group of children and young people but as yet there is little evidence about whether the grant is delivering the intended outcomes. There is currently an evaluation project underway.

For further information please contact:

Chris Llewelyn

chris.llewelyn@wlga.gov.uk

Welsh Local Government Association
Local Government HouseDrake walk
Cardiff
CF10 4LG
Tel: 029 2046 8600