24 May 2012 Last updated at 02:12 ET

Pupil Deprivation Grant to distribute £32m in Wales

Schools are being given £450 for every child who is eligible for free school meals.

Schools are to receive a share of £32.4m in funding to help the least well-off pupils in Wales.

The Pupil Deprivation Grant promises to pass the money directly to schools, based on the number of children eligible for free school meals.

Officials said the cash was equal to £450 for every pupil in a school eligible for free meals.

The cash is part of a deal agreed by Lib Dems in return for supporting Labour's Welsh government budget.

Details of the scheme will be unveiled by First Minister Carwyn Jones.

He will outline the scheme when he officially opens the new £9.3m Ysgol yr Hendre in Caernarfon on Thursday.

"This new money is a major boost for our schools and has one clear aim - to reduce the link between deprivation and educational attainment," said Mr Jones.

"The Welsh government is taking practical action to deliver better educational opportunities for our most disadvantaged children.

"We will work closely with schools to make sure this grant makes a real difference to the life chances of those who need extra support."

Under the scheme, schools in Cardiff, for instance, will share £4m in 2012-13, £3.3m in Rhondda Cynon Taf, £1.3m in Wrexham, and £1.2m in Flintshire.

The Welsh government has also stressed that each individual school will be able to decide how it spends its allocation of money to best improve attainment.

'Key policy'

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg said it was a key Lib Dem policy.

"I am delighted to see governments in Westminster, and now Cardiff, targeting additional money at children from disadvantaged backgrounds."

Philip Dixon, from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "In these financially straightened times it is good to see some real extra money going to those who need it most."

"Fundamental societal changes need to take place before we eradicate the immoral link between income and life chances, but this money will help children here and now who find themselves handicapped by their parents."

Pupil Deprivation Grants:
County	Grant: 2012-13
Anglesey	£643,050
Gwynedd	£904,050
Conwy	£1,012,950
Denbighshire	£1,073,250
Flintshire	£1,236,150
Wrexham	£1,288,800
Powys	£765,900
Ceredigion	£458,100
Pembrokeshire	£1,160,100
Carmarthenshire	£1,690,200
Swansea	£2,670,750
Neath-Port Talbot	£1,799,100
Bridgend	£1,556,100
Vale of Glamorgan	£1,073,700
Rhondda Cynon Taf	£3,382,650
Merthyr Tydfil	£810,000
Caerphilly	£2,484,000
Blaenau Gwent	£1,052,550
Torfaen	£1,029,600
Monmouthshire	£506,250
Newport	£1,762,650
Cardiff	£4,072,950
Source: Welsh government