New Curriculum

Curriculum Statement/Our Vision

At Crossgates, the wellbeing of our pupils is at the heart of our school.

Our aim is to provide a nurturing, inclusive environment where everyone, staff and children can flourish.

Our school provides a rich, varied and purposeful learning environment that supports children to achieve their full potential and have high expectations of themselves. Our School supports the concept of lifelong learning, recognising that both adults at school and children learn new things every day. We maintain that learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone. Through our teaching we seek to equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to be able to make informed choices about the important things in their lives and be prepared for future challenges as confident and ambitious learners.

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.

It’s designed by teachers

Teachers will plan the lessons and learning that will help your children be ready for their future. They will work with other schools and have guidance which other teachers have written to help them.

It’s built for all children

The new curriculum will support children through creative lessons that have real-life meaning. It will help them to reflect and think about what they’ve learnt and move forward.

It’s made for a fast-changing world

The world is more connected, so the subjects children learn will be more connected too. Knowledge is still really important, so the new curriculum will give our children skills and opportunities to grow.

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).

Progression (of learning)

  • Progression should be described along a continuum of learning in each area of learning and experience.
  • It is formative and involves the learner actively in the process.
  • Curriculum, assessment and pedagogy are seen as parts of an integrated whole.
  • The model has been developed based upon research and evidence alongside the CAMAU project.
  • Progression of learning is described through achievement outcomes at five steps on the continuum.
  • Progression steps relate broadly to expectations at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16.
  • Progression steps should be reference points, providing a ‘road map’ for each individual learner’s progress in their learning, not universal expectations of their performance at fixed points.
  • Authentic learning opportunities that connect aspects of the curriculum and make connections to ‘everyday life’.
  • Achievement outcomes are not to be used directly for assessment. They should be used:
    – for school-level and class- level curriculum design, development and planning
    –  to support practitioners’ understanding of moving learning forward.

Areas of learning and experience

Each area of learning and experience is organised into a suite of what matters statements which prioritise the important concepts about which learners must have experiences, knowledge and skills

Achievement outcomes

  • Described from the learner’s perspective, using terms like ‘I can … ’ or ‘I have … ’.
  • Describe the broad knowledge, competency or experience a learner needs to gain.
  • Should contribute clearly to the four purposes of the curriculum and have emphasis on achievement in a broad sense, rather than narrow measures of assessment.
  • Allow learners to make progress along the same continuum, regardless of any additional learning needs they might have, though they may move between progression steps at a different pace.
  • Should be used as the basis to build assessment approaches,
    e.g. formative, summative, self, peer, portfolio.
  • Should provide agency for professionals in developing curriculum and helping learners realise the achievement outcome.

Achievement outcomes are not:

  • narrow measures of attainment
  • qualification specifications
  • shallow descriptions of content
  • criteria for a single assessment piece.