Welsh Baccalaureate

Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma

Introduction

The central focus of the Welsh Baccalaureate at Key Stage 4 is to provide a vehicle for 14-16 year olds to consolidate and develop essential and employability skills. The qualification will help learners to prepare for their future by developing skills, attributes and behaviours valued by post-16 educators and potential employers.

Content

The Welsh Baccalaureate is based on a Skills Challenge Certificate alongside Supporting Qualifications. The requirements of both the Skills Challenge Certificate and Supporting Qualifications must be met in order to achieve the overarching Welsh Baccalaureate. The Skills Challenge Certificate consists of four components which are followed by all learners:

Individual Project

The purpose of this project is for pupils to carry out a research activity in an area of personal interest or one that reflects future educational or career aspirations. During the Individual Project learners will explicitly develop skills in Digital Literacy, Planning and Organisation and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving and apply them in an appropriate manner. (50% assessment)

Enterprise and Employability Challenge

This challenge provides opportunities for learners to develop enterprising skills and attributes and enhance employability. During the Enterprise and Employability Challenge learners will explicitly develop skills in Digital Literacy, Creativity and Innovation and Personal Effectiveness and apply them in an appropriate manner. (20% assessment)

Global Citizenship Challenge

This challenge provides opportunities to understand and respond appropriately to global issues. During the Global Citizenship Challenge learners will explicitly develop skills of Critical Thinking and Problem Solving and Creativity and Innovation and apply them in an appropriate manner. (15% assessment)

Community Challenge,

This challenge encourages learners to identify and participate in opportunities that will benefit the local community. During the Community Challenge learners will explicitly develop skills of Planning and Organisation and Personal Effectiveness and apply them in an appropriate manner. (15% assessment)

Assessment

The Skills Challenge Certificate components are internally assessed and externally moderated.

The combined outcomes of the four components will determine whether the Skills Challenge Certificate is awarded at National or Foundation level.

The Supporting Qualifications

The supporting qualifications include two mandatory GCSEs of English Language or Welsh Language together with Mathematics-Numeracy. A further three GCSEs are also required, of which two may be of equivalent qualifications. To meet the National Welsh Baccalaureate requirements all five of the Supporting Qualifications must be achieved at grades A*-C. Similarly, for the Foundation Welsh Baccalaureate the Supporting Qualifications must be achieved at grades A*-G.

Aims

The aims of the Welsh Baccalaureate are to:

· develop and assess a wide range of essential and employability skills;

· promote the value and development of skills for education, life and work;

· provide opportunities to develop and assess skills through purposeful, meaningful and engaging learning experiences;

· make learning relevant and set in real-life contexts for real-life purposes;

· build on and align with the wider curriculum and associated learning frameworks.

Objectives

The objectives of the Welsh Baccalaureate are for learners to be able to:

· develop an appreciation of the importance of skills development as a key aspect of life-long learning;

· engage in active, creative, open-ended and learner-led opportunities;

· enquire and think for themselves, plan, make choices and decisions, solve problems and reflect on and evaluate these;

· broaden their experience through engagement with external organisations;

· develop as effective, responsible and active citizens ready to take their place in a global society and in the workplace;

· develop initiative, independence and resilience;

· increase their confidence and their motivation for learning and skills development;

· work independently, take on responsibilities and work effectively with others.

Skills

The Welsh Baccalaureate aims to enable learners to develop and demonstrate an understanding of and proficiency in essential and employability skills. These are the skills that employers and next-stage educators value and which learners need for learning, work and life. The seven essential and employability skills are:

Literacy

· Numeracy

· Digital Literacy

· Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

· Planning and Organisation

· Creativity and Innovation

· Personal Effectiveness

Religious Education is also compulsory as part of our Welsh Baccalaureate programme. During these lessons pupils will complete the global citizenship challenge, and follow the LA’s agreed syllabus for Religious Education. Pupils will also be able to opt to study full course GCSE Religious Education

We are also planning to include the following course as part of our WBQ programme: