Effective practice |

reducing the impact of poverty and disadvantage on pupils’ learning

Share this page

Provider
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Description of nature of strategy or activity

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

In Merthyr Tydfil, we evaluated the education service’s work on reducing the impact of poverty and disadvantage on pupils’ learning. We found that officers have forged valuable partnerships through a network of services provided by both the local authority and third sector organisations. The local authority established a corporate Tackling Poverty Strategic Group to provide leadership and governance for this work. The group includes heads of service from across the local authority and considered how resources could be used in a purposeful way to address disadvantage through cross-directorate and partnership working.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Across services, local authority officers had a comprehensive overview of the needs of vulnerable learners and their families. At operational level, service leaders from across directorates worked together well. They have a clear understanding of how their provision is part of a multi-service response to tackle the impact of poverty on education. The Early Help Hub provides a useful central point of contact for families to access support and facilitates effective multi-agency working. This approach avoids unnecessary duplication of services and is helping children and their families receive the right support for their needs in a timely way. During the last year referrals from schools to the Early Help Hub doubled.

Resource tags

Use the tags below to search for more improvement resources on the following topics
Poverty and disadvantage

Other resources from this provider

Effective practice |

Embedding targeted youth work within schools

The key to embedding youth work in Merthyr Tydfil schools has been good communication and quality of provision, including offering qualifications that are valued by the schools and young people.  ...Read more