Curriculum for Wales
Designing a curriculum in Wales and for Wales
The Framework reflects Wales, its cultural heritage and diversity, its languages and the values, histories and traditions of its communities and all of its people.
Instilling learners with passion and pride in themselves, their communities and their country is central to the four purposes. Learners should be grounded in an understanding of the identities, landscapes and histories that come together to form their cynefin. This will not only allow them to develop a strong sense of their own identity and well-being, but to develop an understanding of others’ identities and make connections with people, places and histories elsewhere in Wales and across the world.
It is important for this to be inclusive and to draw on the experiences, perspectives and cultural heritage of contemporary Wales. Confidence in their identities helps learners appreciate the contribution they and others can make within their different communities and to develop and explore their responses to local, national and global matters.
It also helps them to explore, make connections and develop understanding within a diverse society. This also recognises that Wales, like any other society, is not a uniform entity, but encompasses a range of values, perspectives, cultures and histories: that includes everybody who lives in Wales. This cynefin is not simply local but provides a foundation for a national and international citizenship. Further guidance on developing the Welsh context in learning is provided in the section on local, national and international contexts.
The Framework also reflects our bilingual nation. All learners should have appropriate pathways for learning Welsh and English to enable them to develop the confidence to use both languages in everyday life. Opportunities to use Welsh within and beyond the classroom (including on digital platforms) support learners to use Welsh confidently and appreciate its usefulness to communication in a bilingual Wales. Being (at the least) bilingual is not only a communication skill. Access to both languages helps unlock Wales’s rich and unique literatures, geography, democracy, history and culture. To have knowledge, experience and an understanding of these supports learners to be active and successful citizens in contemporary Wales.
Developing learners’ comfort and ability to work in two languages also provides a strong foundation for learners to engage with different languages they encounter and develop learning in other languages as they progress. Schools should ensure rich language environments for all learners and reading, listening, speaking and writing across the curriculum should be developmentally appropriate.
The Siarter Iaith (Welsh Language Charter) is a national framework for all settings and schools to provide a holistic basis for planning experiences across the curriculum in order to increase learners’ use of Welsh and develop their confidence in the language from an early age.
Local, national and international contexts
The local, national and international contexts provide key perspectives for learners and are of particular importance in supporting learners to realise the four purposes. They help learners make sense of the skills and knowledge they are developing by making connections with surroundings, experiences and events they may be more familiar with. They also introduce learners to less familiar contexts, broadening their horizons, engaging with perspectives different from their own and appreciating wider challenges and issues. These contexts also help them make sense of their relationship with their communities, their national identity and the wider world. This supports learners to develop a citizenship which is multifaceted, reflecting on their roles and responsibilities within each context and recognising the diversity within each. While local, national and international contexts provide distinct contributions to learning, they are profoundly interconnected. Curriculum content can often be considered through each context and practitioners should seek to draw across these contexts and support learners to understand the clear, intrinsic links between them.
These contexts provide an important opportunity for learners to understand and respond to different issues and challenges, including social, economic and environmental questions in working towards a sustainable and equitable future. The environment forms an important part of each of these contexts, with human impact transcending geographical and political boundaries. This includes the relationships between human activities and the local, national and international environment. Learners should have opportunities to respond to the issues and challenges that arise from these relationships, considering how they have shaped our past and present and how they may shape our future.
To understand Wales, learners should also develop an understanding of its relationship with and changing place within the United Kingdom and the stories and peoples of these islands: both now and in the past. Learners’ understanding of Wales should also recognise how different perspectives, values and identities shape Wales, rather than presenting a simplistic characterisation of a uniform Welsh identity.
Practitioners’ own understanding of the school’s local area and awareness of the changing issues and challenges in each context will help them to be creative in embedding these contexts in learning and teaching.
When embedding local, national and international contexts, practitioners should look for opportunities to support learners to:
develop learning through a range of places and events of significance
make links with local communities and organisations
learn about the contributions and experiences of different individuals that shape each context
learn about cultural diversity, values, histories and traditions that shape each context
understand different identities, histories, cultures, perspectives and values that shape communities and societies
recognise and engage with factors, influences and impacts (including economic, social and environmental impacts) locally, nationally and internationally
develop an authentic sense of cynefin, building knowledge of different cultures and histories, allowing them to develop a strong sense of individual identity and understanding how this is connected to and shaped by wider influences
draw on the stories and distinctiveness of a school’s local surroundings
understand their role as citizens and the structures of government which affect them in each context
explore, critically analyse and respond to contemporary issues and challenges affecting their lives and the lives of others through each context
understand sustainable development, the challenges the environment and society face and how they can engage with and make a difference on these issues supporting sustainable citizenship
understand contemporary Wales, providing opportunities to reflect, understand and analyse contemporary society and their engagement with it
recognise Wales’ diverse linguistic heritage and culture, and its connections with the rest of the world
recognise how our languages unlock knowledge about our literature, geography, history and their links beyond Wales
recognise the links between local, national and international contexts, understanding how they constantly influence each other
use critical analysis in each context, recognising both positive and challenging aspects within each.