Our school community have worked together to design our new curriculum following the direction of the Curriculum for Wales documentation.
We have worked as a staff to develop our Vision for Learning and Teaching at our school and received valuable input from our learners, Governors and families.
Our Cwmnedd curriculum is purpose driven and the four purposes underpin and inform our school vision. Our vision for learning and teaching is ‘to nurture Learners who have Ambition and Motivation to do their Best to Succeed’. Our curriculum will aide our learners to develop themselves as:
- ambitious, capable learners;
- creative contributors;
- healthy, confident individuals;
- ethically, informed citizens.
We have developed a curriculum that is concept based and uses concepts that are embedded in the descriptions of learning within the 27 statements of what matters across the Areas of Learning and Experiences.
Our emphasis is on the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills and so we aim to teach Language, Literacy and Communication and Maths and Numeracy explicitly. Using the Literacy and Numeracy frameworks we will provide opportunities for cross curricular links. Our curriculum aims to develop learners who are equipped for an ever-changing digital world and so the DCF will be used to provide opportunities for learners to thrive in their future.
The development of Integral Skills throughout all aspects of learning, will allow our learners to develop attributes and dispositions for life-long learning.
A whole school concept will form the basis of termly learning, with sub concepts or projects created for pairs of year groups.
We have organised our learning across the schools using progression steps and will utilise the suggestion of Nursery and Reception Progression Step one, Year 1 , 2 and 3 Progression step 2 and Year 4,5 and 6 Progression step 3.
We are developing a school based understanding of progression and how we assess progress within learning. As a school we are dedicating time during weekly staff Professional Learning Meetings to discuss progression within and across AoLEs.
We will continue to utilise some diagnostic assessment (summative) to support progress and the development of Individual Development Plans for our learners with Additional Learning Needs.
Our curriculum will have an emphasis on formative assessment, and we will use observations of learning which is planned for and purposeful to inform learning and teaching. We will work within and beyond our cluster of schools to develop and refine a common understanding of progression and assessing of progression. This will be achieved through regular cluster meetings with a focus on progression involving staff and learners.
Our curriculum will be constantly under review to ensure that it provides our learners with a broad range of knowledge, skills and experiences; and is robust and meeting the needs of our learners as citizens of Glynneath, Wales and the world.
We will engage in reflection with staff, learners, families and Governing Body to ensure we react to our learners needs and to meet our legal requirement.
Updated September 2023