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@StJohnsAberdare

21:30 PM - 7 Jul 2025

We have celebrated an incredible Awards Evening at St Elvan’s Church. Congratulations to all our award winners, across all years. Thank you to The Right Reverend Barry Morgan for his inspiring words. Thank you to our families, staff and governors who came 🙌🏻— Marc Belli () July 7, 2025

21:17 PM - 2 Jul 2025

We look forward to welcoming pupils who will join Year 7 in September 2025. We hope pupils have two fun-filled days and they leave excited for the new school year — Marc Belli () July 2, 2025

https://x.com/StJohnsAberdare/status/1937575780353212767

19:17 PM - 24 Jun 2025

Today we celebrate St John Baptist Feast Day! As the forerunner of Christ, John dedicated his life to preparing our hearts for the Saviour. Through his call to repentance and his humble spirit, he reminds us to seek the light and truth in our own lives pic.twitter.com/0TIagEZ9e8— StJohnsAberdare () June 24, 2025

https://x.com/StJohnsAberdare/status/1933093698805317711

10:27 AM - 12 Jun 2025

Murder Mystery Event taking place at school on Thursday 26th June at 6pm. Tickets available via school website. pic.twitter.com/Obpgw5RI8o— StJohnsAberdare () June 12, 2025

11:43 AM - 6 May 2025

Congratulations to the Year 9 History group who have been shortlisted for a prize in the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative.— StJohnsAberdare () May 6, 2025

15:01 PM - 11 Apr 2025

The School is now closed for the Easter holidays. We wish all pupils, staff and families a happy and holy Easter break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 28th April 2025— StJohnsAberdare () April 11, 2025

19:46 PM - 3 Apr 2025

Monday 7th April 2025 is an INSET day. As a result, school will be closed to all pupils— StJohnsAberdare () April 3, 2025

https://x.com/StJohnsAberdare/status/1885266396147237128

09:58 AM - 31 Jan 2025

Congratulations to our fantastic team who have progressed to the regional final of the ESU Public Speaking Competition. A particular well done to Luke ("Best Speaker") and Maya ("Best Questioner") pic.twitter.com/RLGXonvVhP— StJohnsAberdare () January 31, 2025

09:00 AM - 9 Jan 2025

Congratulations to the students and who have collected GCSE mathematics or numeracy results this morning. This gives students a strong platform to build upon and we are very proud of their achievements. Overall, a tremendous performance by…— Marc Belli () January 9, 2025

09:00 AM - 9 Jan 2025

Congratulations to the students and who have collected GCSE mathematics or numeracy results this morning. This gives students a strong platform to build upon and we are very proud of their achievements. Overall, a tremendous performance by…— Marc Belli () January 9, 2025

Grant Expenditure Overview

All grant expenditure is designed to support specific areas of the school's work, against local, regional and national priorities. 

How the delegated grants are spent
At St John's, our grant spending plan is integrated into our School Development Plan (SDP). These focus on our four overarching priorities (2024 - 2027), which are specifically linked to

  1. Achievement;
  2. Culture;
  3. Curriculum; and
  4. Growth.

A copy of our strategic priorities are outlined below. Each priority has distinct milestones that enable the school to understand how well it is performing and be responsive to need.

Professional Learning Grant
Welsh Government has awarded schools in Wales additional financial support, through a Professional Learning Grant (PLG) to enable staff to prepare for the new curriculum for Wales. The grant has enabled us to continue to offer first class professional learning through the funding of a dedicated learning and teaching team to support our staff through effective planning, implementation as well as delivering our in-house professional learning and our strategic work on the new curriculum. 

Pupil Development Grant
The Pupil Development Grant (PDG) is designed to support improving outcomes and provision for students eligible for free school meals (eFSM) and looked after children (LAC). The PDG is intended to help overcome this additional barrier which prevent learners from disadvantaged backgrounds achieving their full potential.

Our PDG is spent in the following ways for 2024-25

  • Learning Coach/Mentor(s);
  • Additional cover supervisors to support small class teaching;
  • Additional mathematics and English teaching;
  • Alternative provision (ie. Calon) for those students identified as potentially becoming NEET (not in education, employment and training) and/or require bespoke programmes;
  • Uniform provision for those who require this; and 
  • Enrichment opportunities. 

The strategies implemented by the school are drawn upon the most effective practice and educational research from organisations such as Sutton Trust and Education Endowment Fund, which includes well-evidenced interventions as part of a whole-school strategy.

"The school uses its resources including the pupil development grant effectively to reduce the impact of poverty on educational attainment" (Estyn) 

Grant Spending Plan Date  
School Development Plan Priorities (2024-27) 27th Sep 2024 Download