The funding is to be used to focus on the wellbeing of children and staff. It brings spending on learning for under-18s in Wales to more than £150m since the start of the pandemic.
A sum of £13m will be for additional support for early years learners, in both schools and non-maintained settings. The funding will go towards increased practitioner-to-learner ratios in schools and educational support for non-maintained settings to help deliver supported, active play and experiential learning.
An extra £6 million will be allocated to schools to support teaching staff, promote wellbeing and progression and expand on the positive changes already made to ways of working.
Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles said that having opportunities for meaningful, quality interactions is essential for early years children.
‘The last year has brought into sharp focus just how important our schools, settings, colleges and universities are for our children and young people,’ he said. ‘Education practitioners have risen heroically to meet the challenge, while learners have been brilliant in adapting to learning in different ways.’
Mr Miles added, ‘We must recover and reform. I am determined that the emphasis on wellbeing and flexibility shown over the last year is built upon and closely aligned with the introduction of our new curriculum. Our education system has shown remarkable resilience and flexibility and we must learn from that.’