New scheme to tackle the stigma of poverty

Thanks to £85,000 of Welsh Government funding, six school clusters across Wales will receive training and support to tackle the impact of poverty on day-to-day school life and identify ways to reduce its impact on children and their families.

In Rhondda Cynon Taf, Ferndale Community School and the primary schools in the cluster are one of the first groups of schools to take part in the scheme.

Teachers have been undergoing training from Children North East, an organisation specialising in identifying the barriers children living in poverty face to engage fully with school life and its opportunities.

By listening directly to the experiences of young people and their families, schools can identify often unseen barriers in their activities, helping them to reduce the risk of stigma for children from low-income households, making education a cost neutral experience.

Resulting interventions are often high impact, quick wins. Changes can include ensuring charity days such as the Christmas jumper day do not have financial implications for families and class discussions don’t lead to stigma, for example asking pupils where they have been on holiday after the summer break.

One of the teachers from Ferndale Community School who has received training as part of the scheme is starting to see the powerful impact it can have on learner attainment. She said:

"The last two days have inspired me to go back to school and do my best to drive the changes that will be identified.

“It really has helped to prompt us to think differently and challenge opinions."

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle said,

“Socio-economic background should never a determinant of outcomes or progress.

“As part of a wider set of interventions such as the PDG access funding, this scheme is helping to tackle the impact of poverty on educational attainment and set high standards for all learners.

“I am so pleased to see how this work is directly supporting schools in addressing educational disparities, stigma and social inclusion, as well as impacting on pupil wellbeing and mental health.”

The other areas of Wales where the pilot scheme is taking place:

• Cardiff – Ysgol Plasmawr Cluster
• Carmarthenshire – Ysgol Dyffryn Aman Cluster
• Ceredigion – Ysgol Bro Pedr Cluster, Lampeter
• Wrexham - Y Grango Cluster
• Rhyl High School cluster (schools to be confirmed)

Every school in Wales will have pupils from low-income households, stigma can be heightened in schools where there are pupils from a range of different household incomes.

As the work progresses, solutions to key themes informed by independent evaluation will eventually be shared with all schools in Wales.