Pioneer School

Curriculum Pioneer Schools

Ysgolion Arloeswyr Y Cwricwlwm

Whitchurch Primary School is proud to have been selected by the Welsh Government as one of only 68 Curriculum Pioneer School from across Wales.

On 30 June 2015, the Minister for Education and Skills announced that the Welsh Government would accept, in full, all of the recommendations set out in Successful Futures, Professor Graham Donaldson’s independent review of the curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales. Building on the Digital Pioneers model announced on 10 June 2015, this document sets out how, working in a new way with schools, local authorities, regional consortia, Estyn, leading academics and employers as well as other key stakeholders we will together build our new curriculum in Wales.

As a Curriculum Pioneer school we work together as part of an all-Wales partnership team to design and develop the new curriculum for Wales.

The all-Wales partnership team is charged with designing the new Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE), including progression steps, achievement outcomes, and assessment and reporting arrangements.

Going forward, as a Pioneer School we will play a key role as pathfinders for the new curriculum, supporting, leading and embedding realisation of the new curriculum framework both locally and nationally - sharing our vision, knowledge, understanding and experience of the new curriculum with other schools.

This is a very exciting time for us at Whitchurch Primary School.

A new curriculum for Wales

This is an exciting time for the young people of Wales. A new Curriculum for Wales is coming that will enthuse learners from 3 to 16, giving them the foundations they need to succeed in a changing world.

A new curriculum for Wales will be developed with education professionals across Wales with the aim of it being available to settings and schools by September 2018.

Schools will have some flexibility in determining how and when they begin first teaching of the new curriculum. Our ambition is that by 2021 settings and schools will be using the new curriculum to underpin teaching and learning for children and young people aged 3-16. A New Deal for the Education Workforce will equip education professionals to deliver the new curriculum.

4 purposes

The 4 purposes will be at the heart of our new curriculum. They will be the starting point for all decisions on the content and experiences developed as part of the curriculum to support our children and young people to be:

ambitious, capable learners ready to learn throughout their lives
enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work
ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world
healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

Key elements

The new curriculum will include:

6 Areas of Learning and Experience from 3 to 16
3 cross curriculum responsibilities: literacy, numeracy and digital competence
progression reference points at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16
achievement outcomes which describe expected achievements at each progression reference point.

The curriculum will be organised into 6 Areas of Learning and Experience:

Expressive arts
Health and well-being
Humanities (including RE which should remain compulsory to age 16)
Languages, literacy and communication (including Welsh, which should remain compulsory to age 16, and modern foreign languages)
Mathematics and numeracy
Science and technology (including computer science).

Timeline

Below we set out the high level key milestones:

2015 - 2016: Pioneer Network established

2015 - 2018: Design and development phase of the new curriculum

July 2016: All New Deal Pioneer Schools will have developed their individual action

plans

September 2016: Digital Competence Framework available

2017 - 2021: Practical support to schools to prepare for the new curriculum

July 2018: Nationally, a consistent professional learning offer will be available to all

practitioners across Wales

September 2018: New curriculum and assessment arrangements available

September 2021: New curriculum and assessment arrangements in place

Download a copy of 'A Curriculum for Wales - a Curriculum for Life'

Download a poster explaining 'The Four Purposes'.

Successful Futures A brief overview of Successful Futures, Professor Graham Donaldson

Mr Chris Newcombe spoke about progress on the new curriculum and assessment arrangements for Wales at an Achievement for All event.

Minister accepts "Successful Futures" in full

Minister for Education and Skills, Huw Lewis, has announced that Welsh Government will accept all 68 recommendations in "Successful Futures", Professor Graham Donaldson's far-reaching, independent report on curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales.

Professor Donaldson delighted his recommendations have been accepted

Professor Graham Donaldson is delighted that the Minister for Education and Skills has accepted all 68 recommendations in his "Successful Futures" report on curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales.