Curriculum for WalesCurriculum for Wales

Vision and Values

At Ysgol Treffynnon, our vision for the Curriculum for Wales is to ensure that all our students have good physical and emotional wellbeing, enabling them to learn effectively and reach their full potential as ethically informed citizens. We want our students to develop ambition, confidence, and resilience, encouraging them to pursue their dreams and seize opportunities. We have engaged with various stakeholders to create a shared vision that promotes an inclusive and challenging curriculum, closing attainment gaps and supporting the four core purposes.

Starting from September 2023, a customized curriculum will be delivered to Year 7 and 8 students, expanding to include Year 9 from 2024. This curriculum aligns with the national aspirations and fulfils mandatory requirements.

In designing our curriculum, we have undertaken extensive research and training, collaborated with primary schools through meetings, collaborative teaching and sharing best practice, considered our school context, and listened to the views of governors, staff, parents, and students via meetings, discussions and questionnaires.  Throughout all this we have kept excellent teaching at the heart of our training and planning. Our curriculum will provide a broad and balanced education, develop concepts and ideas, and ensure appropriate progression. It aligns with the mandatory requirements of Curriculum for Wales and integrates important cross-curricular skills. Our teaching and learning approaches prioritize enjoyment, progress, and inclusivity, catering to students with diverse needs, while also challenging our most able students. We strive for academic excellence and provide opportunities for extracurricular participation.

Assessment and progression are integral to our curriculum, with a focus on Assessment for Learning strategies. This allows us to identify learning gaps, provide additional support, and challenge students accordingly. Our assessment process facilitates active engagement and continuous improvement, helping us understand individual strengths and areas for development.

To ensure our curriculum remains effective, we regularly review and evaluate its impact on our learners at Ysgol Treffynnon. Self-evaluation activities, collaboration within our school and cluster, and partnership with governors contribute to our ongoing efforts to meet the needs of our students and fulfil our school's vision.

In designing our curriculum we have:

  • Undertaken reading and research and attended professional learning about Curriculum for Wales
  • Conducted staff training about Curriculum for Wales including core purposes, integral skills and the importance of progression
  • Worked in partnership with our cluster primary schools to develop Literacy, Numeracy and Curriculum on a continuum of learning
  • Understood key features of our school context, students and local community which inform the approaches and experiences best suited for the needs of our students
  • Listened to the views of governors, staff, parents and students regarding what all pupils should know and be able to do underpinned by the four core purposes.
  • Developed a plan for enriching learning through experiences outside the classroom and developing CWRE opportunities across the school

 Our curriculum will enable our students to fulfil our vision by:

  • A broad and balanced curriculum which includes knowledge, skills, understanding and experiences within and across all of the AoLEs.
  • A curriculum which uses the Statements of What Matters to develop concepts and ideas and provides appropriate progression in accordance with the Principles of Progression.
  • Aligning with the mandatory requirements of Curriculum for Wales and the cross-curricular skills of Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Competence.
  • Ensuring teaching and learning approaches allow all students to enjoy learning and make progress.
  • Stretching and challenging our most able students.
  • Inclusive provision for students with Additional Learning Needs.
  • Striving for academic excellence.
  • Developing opportunities for extra curricular participation.
  • Developing our learners' Welsh language skills through their Welsh lessons and in conversational Welsh across the school.

Progression and assessment of progression is fundamental to ensuring we achieve our school vision. Our curriculum is underpinned by the mandatory principles of progression which describe what it means for learners to make progress. We use a variety of Assessment for Learning strategies which enable all of our students to make progress at an appropriate pace. We use Assessment for Learning to identify gaps in learning, those students who require additional support and those students who need to be further challenged. Our assessment process provide information which informs next steps in learning for individuals and groups of learners. Our assessment arrangements ensure active engagement from both students and staff through reflection, discussion and improvement and is based on on-going understanding of the students’ strengths and areas for development.

 

Our curriculum will be under regular review to ensure that it is meeting the needs of our learners at Ysgol Treffynnon and is fulfilling our school Vision. A variety of self-evaluation activities will take place throughout the year and findings will be used to inform our understanding of the effectiveness of our curriculum and the required revision. We will continue to work within our school, across our cluster and in partnership with governors.

If you would like more information about the changes to the curriculum in Wales, please follow this link: https://gov.wales/education-changing

A new curriculum in Wales - A Guide

Check out this video for more information about the curriculum for Wales

Shared understanding of progression

 

The curriculum states that:

‘Progression in learning is a process of developing and improving in skills, knowledge and understanding over time’

Practitioners at Ysgol Treffynnon will continually develop the teaching and learning and assessment within their discipline as in order to develop and increase the depth, breadth and sophistication of the students’ knowledge, understanding, skills and capacities, and attributes and dispositions. Students will begin make links across their learning and apply this in new and challenging contexts which is underpinned by the Four Core Purposes of Curriculum for Wales.

In order to develop and maintain a shared understanding of progression within Ysgol Treffynnon, between other secondary schools within our consortium and beyond, and in collaboration with our primary school cluster, we will explore, discuss and understand:

  • Our expectations for how learners make progress in their knowledge, skills, understanding and experiences.

  • We will draw on the Statements of What Matters, Descriptions of Learning and the Progression Steps as set out in the curriculum guidance to ensure that this is purposeful

  • We will endeavour to ensure coherent progression for learners throughout their learning journey

  • We will work with our cluster of primary schools to ensure that progression is continual through meetings, sharing best practice and exploring common ways of working to ensure coherence at transition and beyond

  • We will develop our curriculum and assessment to best enable progression in collaboration with our consortium of secondary schools to ensure that our expectations for student progression are high

  • We will develop links between ourselves and schools outside our consortium to ensure that our curriculum, assessments and progression provide equity.

  • We will liaise with further education providers to ensure that the continuum of progression is continual

  • We will keep these approaches under continual review

Language Policy
Our Curriculum for Wales Journey in LLC