Schools to get £5.5m funding to become more Covid-secure

Schools in Caerphilly County Borough are to receive an extra £5.5m funding to help them become more Covid-secure.

The Welsh Government funding will go towards health and safety measures, such as ventilation, as well as towards boosting school budgets.

Across Wales, the Welsh Government is investing £95m into schools.

Of the £95m, £50m will be given to local authorities through the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme – which was, until this month, known as the 21st Century Schools and Colleges programme.

One aim of the programme is to reduce the carbon emissions produced by schools.

The remaining £45m will go towards supporting school budgets as they continue to deal with the ongoing affects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to prepare for the new curriculum.

A further £8m will go towards further education colleges to ensure lessons can continue safely and to prevent students from disadvantaged backgrounds being further impacted by the pandemic.

Wales’ Education Minister, Jeremy Miles, said: “While we want to support the sector in recovering from the pandemic, we also have to make sure we continue to plan for the future, and help all education settings across Wales fulfil our collective goals of making Wales a net-zero nation.

“The funding will help us to ensure sustainability across the sector – be that the environmental sustainability achieved through decarbonisation, or sustainability in provision.”

Councillor Ross Whiting, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Learning, welcomed the new funding and said it would “provide some additional financial flexibility to address the current challenges that schools are facing, such as those linked to the impact of the ongoing pandemic and implementation of the new curriculum.”

South Wales East Senedd Member Laura Anne Jones, who is the Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Education Minister, said it was “about time that we see the money available to improve ventilation in our schools”.

She continued: “Pupils having to wear masks all day in classrooms is not sustainable, due to the detrimental impact on their mental health, as well as hampering their ability to learn.”

Ms Jones said it was “essential” children continue to learn in classrooms and added: “Welsh pupils have missed out on the most school time in the UK during the pandemic, with some students in Wales not engaging with online learning for more than 12 weeks.

“Whilst this money is welcome, it does nothing to stop the underfunding of our young people who currently receive £100 less per pupil compared to their counterparts in England.”