{"id":"a875cf2c-6619-4aed-a160-9fe010ad6752","first_published_at":"2025-09-24T08:30:00.000Z","published_revision":{"id":"8f4fe517-7394-40bc-b84a-e465bae95014","revision_index":2,"previous_revision_id":"98564922-2dfc-4063-bd63-af467fe1c1af","created_at":"2026-07-09T16:58:27.189Z","updated_at":"2026-07-29T14:29:39.923Z","approved_at":"2026-07-29T14:29:39.920Z","publish_at":"2026-08-05T08:30:00.000Z","metadata":[{"language":"en-GB","title":"Pupils in maintained schools aged 5-15 eligible for free school meals by local authority and year","summary":"Data from the annual School Census which collects information on schools, pupils, classes, ethnicity, free school meal eligibility, additional learning needs and special educational needs.\r\n","collection":"The data in this report is collected by the Welsh Government from local authority maintained schools in a return called the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC). PLASC is an electronic collection of pupil and school level data. Schools record data on pupils and the school throughout the year in their Management Information System (MIS) software. This data is collated into an electronic PLASC return and submitted to the Welsh Government through DEWI, a secure online data transfer system developed by the Welsh Government. Various stages of automated validation and sense-checking are built into the process to ensure a high quality of data to inform policy making and funding.\r\n","quality":"The returns are authorised by headteachers and validated by local authorities.\r\n\r\nThe school census date is usually in January. Due to the level of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in January 2022, the 2022 census date was delayed to 15 February 2022. School closures between December 2020 and March 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic meant that the 2021 census date was delayed to 20 April 2021.\r\n\r\nPupils are eligible for free school meals if their parents or guardians are in receipt of certain means-tested benefits or support payments. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may have impacted on the quality of this data and may have resulted in over recording of this data in 2020 to 2022. These figures do not include pupils who only receive free schools meal due to the universal primary free school meal policy.","rounding_description":"","reason":"Data added from PLASC 2026."},{"language":"cy-GB","title":"Disgyblion mewn ysgolion a gynhelir 5-15 oed sy'n gymwys i gael prydau ysgol am ddim yn ôl awdurdod lleol a blwyddyn","summary":"Data o'r Cyfrifiad Ysgolion blynyddol sy'n casglu gwybodaeth am ysgolion, disgyblion, dosbarthiadau, ethnigrwydd, cymhwysedd i gael prydau ysgol am ddim, anghenion dysgu ychwanegol ac anghenion addysgol arbennig.","collection":"Cesglir y data yn yr adroddiad hwn gan Lywodraeth Cymru o ysgolion a gynhelir gan yr awdurdod lleol mewn datganiad electronig o’r enw’r Cyfrifiad Ysgolion Blynyddol ar Lefel Disgybl (CYBLD). Mae CYBLD yn gasgliad data electronig o ddata ar lefel disgybl ac ysgol. Mae ysgolion yn cofnodi data ar eu disgyblion a’u hysgol trwy gydol y flwyddyn yn eu meddalwedd System Gwybodaeth Rheoli (MIS). Mae’r data yn cael ei chyfuno i ffeil electronig CYBLD a’i gyrru i Lywodraeth Cymru trwy DEWI, system rhannu data diogel ar y we a ddatblygwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Mae DEWi yn dilysu’r data mewn nifer o ffyrdd er mwyn sicrhau data o ansawdd uchel ar gyfer creu polisi a chyllido.","quality":"Caiff y datganiadau eu hawdurdodi gan benaethiaid a'u dilysu gan awdurdodau lleol. \n\nMae dyddiad y cyfrifiad ysgolion fel arfer ym mis Ionawr. Oherwydd lefel yr achosion coronafeirws (COVID-19) ym mis Ionawr 2022, gohiriwyd dyddiad y cyfrifiad i 15 Chwefror 2022. Roedd cau ysgolion rhwng Rhagfyr 2020 a Mawrth 2021 oherwydd y pandemig coronafeirws (COVID-19) yn golygu bod dyddiad cyfrifiad 2021 wedi’i ohirio tan 20 Ebrill 2021. \n\nMae disgyblion yn gymwys i gael prydau ysgol am ddim os yw eu rhieni neu warcheidwaid yn derbyn budd-daliadau prawf modd penodol neu daliadau cymorth. Mae'n bosibl bod pandemig y coronafeirws (COVID-19) wedi effeithio ar ansawdd y data hwn ac efallai ei fod wedi arwain at or-gofnodi'r data hwn o 2020 i 2022. Nid yw'r ffigurau hyn yn cynnwys disgyblion sydd ond yn derbyn prydau ysgol am ddim oherwydd y polisi prydau ysgol am ddim i holl blant ysgol gynradd.","rounding_description":null,"reason":"Data wedi'i ychwanegu o'r CYBLD 2026."}],"rounding_applied":false,"update_frequency":{"date":{"day":"","year":"2027","month":"08"},"update_type":"update"},"designation":"official","coverage_start_date":"2003-09-01","coverage_end_date":"2026-08-31","related_links":[{"id":"XFbCf","url":"https://www.gov.wales/schools-census-results","created_at":"2025-09-19T13:36:41.439Z","label_en":"Schools' census results","label_cy":"Canlyniadau'r cyfrifiad ysgolion"}],"providers":[{"id":"b58ddedb-813d-4c22-8140-1eb93276f9d3","group_id":"bf528e53-3e52-4a4b-9e4b-95ca7653dc8f","revision_id":"8f4fe517-7394-40bc-b84a-e465bae95014","language":"cy-gb","provider_id":"98aed6ef-122c-430b-988c-92258cb372f5","provider_name":"Llywodraeth Cymru","source_id":"887b8298-f456-41b7-ba38-8647b24d06ed","source_name":"Cyfrifiad Ysgolion Blynyddol ar Lefel Disgyblion (PLASC)","created_at":"2026-07-09T16:58:27.189Z"},{"id":"d29b250b-84c0-4960-afbf-06f24cf1160d","group_id":"bf528e53-3e52-4a4b-9e4b-95ca7653dc8f","revision_id":"8f4fe517-7394-40bc-b84a-e465bae95014","language":"en-gb","provider_id":"98aed6ef-122c-430b-988c-92258cb372f5","provider_name":"Welsh Government","source_id":"887b8298-f456-41b7-ba38-8647b24d06ed","source_name":"Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC)","created_at":"2026-07-09T16:58:27.189Z"}],"topics":[{"id":13,"path":"13","name_en":"Education and training","name_cy":"Addysg a hyfforddiant"},{"id":18,"path":"13.18","name_en":"Pupils","name_cy":"Disgyblion"},{"id":19,"path":"13.19","name_en":"Schools","name_cy":"Ysgolion"}]},"start_date":"2003-09-01","end_date":"2025-08-31","publisher":{"group":{"id":"a3b2836f-8b0a-4865-b092-0e5a42fd3cbd","name":"Schools","email":"school.stats@gov.wales"},"organisation":{"id":"4ef4facf-c488-4837-a65b-e66d4b525965","name":"Welsh Government"}}}