APPLICATIONS for the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the 2025-26 academic year are now open.

EMA in Wales provides eligible learners aged 16 to 18 with £40 per week to help cover education-related costs such as transport, meals, and learning materials. In comparison, EMA is available at a lower rate of £30 in Scotland and Northern Ireland and was discontinued in England in 2011.

More learners are now eligible as income thresholds have been raised:

• Households with one dependent child: income of £23,400 or less
• Households with two or more dependent children: income of £25,974 or less

Raonaq, a learner at Fitzalan High School, said: “EMA has helped me to focus a lot more on school. Without it, I would have had to get a part-time job, which would have made it harder to study and revise for exams. It has helped me cover the cost of stationery, transport to and from school, and entering writing competitions. I don’t think I would have been able to afford these without EMA.”

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, said: “EMA is a vital support system that helps young people continue their education without financial barriers. Learners have told me about the positive impact EMA has had on their educational journey by helping them with everyday costs.

“I was delighted to announce the extension of the eligibility range earlier this year, ensuring that more students have access to this support. I strongly encourage all 16 to 18-year-olds and their families to check if they are eligible, even if they weren’t previously.”

New and continuing learners can check their eligibility and apply online [here] or speak to their school or college for help with applications.

A CONTRACT of more than £0.5m has been awarded for urgent repairs to a Pembrokeshire seaside school where more than 700 building defects were found.

A special individual Cabinet member meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council saw leader Cllr Jon Harvey award a contract to Trident Engineering GBR Ltd to carry out urgent Concrete Repair and Protection works at Ysgol Greenhill, Tenby.

A survey report by Trident identified 750 faults at the school following a survey in July 2024, with further inspections this February.

A total of 750 defects were recorded, including spalled concrete, cracks (horizontal and vertical) in concrete slabs, beams, columns and soffits, failed repairs, failed coatings, honeycombing to concrete, damage / cracks in panels, cracking to brickwork, with an increase in defective areas across the structure since the July survey.

“We have observed an alarming acceleration in corrosion-related degradation due to the saline environment, leading to further concrete fracture, spalling, and delamination,” the report said.

It added: “This deterioration poses a significant risk, as sizeable debris has been witnessed falling from the structure, endangering pedestrians and potentially damaging vehicles and surrounding infrastructure.

“Our recent revisit surveys indicate that the cracks are expanding monthly, and the overall degradation is expected to worsen as thermal movement increases in response to climatic changes.

“We recommend undertaking the necessary remedial works with immediate effect. If we delay initiating the works, we will incur additional surveillance costs, which could have been avoided. Moreover, it is of utmost importance to note that some columns have lost enough structural mass to bring their integrity into question.

“Trident cannot endorse the continued use of the structure unless emergency repairs are initiated promptly. We strongly advise that these works be categorised as urgent and immediately necessary to restore safety and suitability for use.

“Should this critical advice not be followed, Trident will not accept liability for any subsequent developments.”

The value of the contract, at £555,946.17, includes the provision of a 15-year manufacturer’s warranty for the works undertaken.

Bridgend Council says pupils were never taught it was okay to choke during sex

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVE have intensified pressure on Bridgend County Borough Council over reports that pupils were taught about “sexual choking” during PSHE lessons—despite the council’s insistence that the claims are based on outdated and inaccurate materials.

Shadow Education Cabinet Secretary Natasha Asghar MS has now written to the leader of the council requesting copies of both the original and updated versions of a PowerPoint presentation developed by domestic abuse charity ASSIA, which was used during a single session in one Bridgend school in 2024.

Ms Asghar said: “I remain appalled that anyone involved in educating our children would consider including references to such a dangerous and risky act in educational materials.

“There appears to have been no attempt to explain the risks associated with choking, but merely a focus on ensuring the act is consensual. The leadership of Bridgend Council claims they requested that this presentation be altered before being shown to pupils. However, this does not disguise the fact that those responsible for creating the content initially deemed it appropriate.

“I am requesting both versions of the presentation be made available to me, and I am calling on Bridgend Council to reconsider their relationship with ASSIA. It is clear that by even considering the inclusion of such shocking content, their values do not align with what most decent people would reasonably expect to be taught in our schools.”

Council: Claims based on misinformation

Bridgend County Borough Council has pushed back strongly against what it calls “a classic example of how misinformation can generate headlines.” It insists that pupils were not taught to accept dangerous or illegal sexual behaviour.

The council says the slide that referenced choking with consent was part of a draft presentation that was never shown in schools. That content, they say, was deleted or corrected prior to delivery, and the final version made it clear that non-fatal strangulation is a criminal offence under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Developed in response to real questions from older pupils, the presentation was intended to support teachers navigating complex topics around consent and harmful behaviour. The final version was vetted before being offered to schools as part of a pastoral programme. Only one school accepted the offer, and the material was delivered to an audience of 15–17 year olds in October 2024.

Councillor Martyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Education and Youth Services, said: “The suggestion that older pupils have been taught to consent to damaging sexual behaviour is simply not true. All pastoral advice used by local schools is carefully designed to be age-appropriate, and to encourage teenagers who are maturing into young adults to develop healthy, respectful relationships where there is no abuse of any kind.”

Cllr Jones added that the original draft may have been shared with the media by someone acting in good faith but who misunderstood the situation.

“It appears that inaccurate information from a draft version of a presentation was shared with the media by individuals who had the best of intentions as they thought it had already been used in classrooms. However, the truth of the matter is that the slides in question had been deleted and updated long before the final version of the presentation was ever delivered,” he said.

The council reiterated its commitment to safeguarding and said it monitors all educational materials used with children and young people to ensure they remain appropriate and compliant with legislation.

Next steps

Ms Asghar has also written to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, calling for a broader review into how topics such as pornography and violent sexual behaviours are addressed in schools across Wales.

Bridgend Council has yet to confirm whether it will release the full versions of the presentation as requested.