Our Vision - Ein gweledigaeth 

To support and inspire all pupils to be confident, ambitious life-long learners.

Mission Statement - Datganiad o Fwriad 

Our aim is to be a caring, inclusive learning organisation where everyone enjoys learning something and has the confidence to take an active role in their own development to be the best they can be. 

School Aims - Amcanion yr ysgol 

Our aims are to create: 

Learning experiences, through a range of activities or enrichments, which are carefully planned to engage and motivate pupils in a meaningful way and challenge their thinking, questioning and decision making to give them the best chance for a life full of fulfilling opportunities.  

Authentic, inclusive, local, bespoke curriculum that is carefully planned and meticulously crafted to inspire inquisitive learners to achieve their best. There is a focus on pupils thinking about who they are, where they come from and the part they have to play in their own futures.  

A school ethos where pupils and staff have positive relationships that enables all pupils to develop their personal attributes, qualities, skills, habits and qualifications to enable them to achieve their ambitions.  

Staff leading professional learning, through collaboration and enquiry, to inform innovative, imaginative, creative pedagogy which refines a curriculum which suits the development of each learner to reach their potential.  

Curriculum Ethos

Our curriculum is designed to follow a disciplinary approach, which means that it is organized around specific subject areas. This allows students to develop deep knowledge and understanding which can then be transferred across the curriculum. In addition, our curriculum focuses on developing skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. We believe that these skills are essential for success in today's world. Our curriculum will be kept under review and adapt to the changing needs of our school community and learners. 

Pedagogy

Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. It is the way that teachers deliver the content of the curriculum, the teaching style used, and the theories employed. Excellent pedagogy is essential for curriculum design because it ensures that the curriculum is delivered in a way that is effective and engaging for learners. Walkthrus resources developed by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli, are used to develop pedagogy by providing teachers at Dŵr Y Felin with a framework for reflecting on their practice and identifying areas for improvement in their teaching.

Four Purposes & Integral Skills

The four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales are to:

• Ambitious, capable learners: Learners should be ambitious and have the skills and knowledge to learn throughout their lives.

• Enterprising, creative contributors: Learners should be enterprising and creative and have the skills and knowledge to play a full part in life and work.

• Ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world: Learners should be ethical and informed citizens of Wales and the world and have the skills and knowledge to make a positive contribution to society.

• Healthy, confident individuals: Learners should be healthy, confident individuals and have the skills and knowledge to lead fulfilling lives.

The integral skills are the skills that underpin the four purposes. They include:

• Creativity and innovation: Learners should be able to think creatively and come up with new ideas.

• Critical thinking and problem solving: Learners should be able to think critically and solve problems.

• Personal effectiveness: Learners should be able to manage themselves and their time effectively.

• Planning and organising: Learners should be able to plan and organise their work effectively.

The school will develop the four purposes and integral skills by providing learners with opportunities to:

• Learn in a variety of ways: Learners will be given opportunities to learn through a variety of methods, including project work, problem-solving, and collaborative learning.

• Work with others: Learners will be given opportunities to work with others to learn and solve problems.

• Reflect on their learning: Learners will be given opportunities to reflect on their learning and identify what they have learned.

• Be challenged: Learners will be given opportunities to be challenged and to stretch themselves.

Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Competence Frameworks

The mandatory cross-curricular skills of literacy, numeracy and digital competence are essential for learners to be able to access knowledge. They enable learners to access the breadth of a school’s curriculum and the wealth of opportunities it offers, equipping them with the lifelong skills to realise the four purposes. These are skills that can be transferred to the world of work, enabling learners to adapt and thrive in the modern world.  

Learners must be given opportunities across the curriculum to:

• develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills

• be able to use numbers and solve problems in real-life situations

• be confident users of a range of technologies to help them function and communicate effectively and make sense of the world

Cross Cutting Themes

Local, national, and international contexts: Learners need to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them and their place in it.

• The local context (Neath and surrounding areas) is important because it is where learners live and learn. It is the context that they are most familiar with and the context that has the most immediate impact on their lives.

• The national context (Wales) is important because it provides a sense of identity and belonging. It is the context in which learners share a common history, culture, and language.

• The international context (The World) is important because it helps learners to understand the world around them. It is the context in which they learn about different cultures, perspectives, and challenges.

Relationships and sexuality education (RSE): Teaching of learners about healthy relationships and sexuality. This can be a sensitive topic, so it is important for schools and practitioners to be sensitive to the needs of their learners and their families.

Human rights education and diversity: Teaching of learners about human rights and the importance of respecting diversity. This can be taught through a variety of subjects, such as civics, history, and language arts.

Careers and work-related experiences (CWRE): Teaching of learners about the different career options available to them and the skills they need to be successful in the workforce. This can be taught through a variety of subjects, such as economics, business, and technology.

By incorporating these cross-cutting elements into their curriculum, schools and teachers can help learners to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to be successful in Wales and the World.

Cluster Working

We are committed to working with our feeder schools to develop a shared understanding of progress being made by pupils and developing the knowledge, skills and experiences that the pupils will need on entry to Dŵr Y Felin. This will aid the transition of pupils by ensuring continuity in their learning.

Subjects

Pupils at Dwr y Felin should have the right to access information that keeps them safe from harm. This includes learning about healthy relationships, keeping safe, online and offline, and being confident to raise issues with responsible adults. 

RSE is designed to safeguard all our children and young people, supporting them to develop knowledge, skills and behaviours that will assist in protecting them throughout their lives. 

This is critical to building a society which treats others with understanding and empathy, whatever their ethnicity, social economic background, disability, sex, gender or sexuality.

For more information, click this link for the RSE page on the Hwb website.

Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) is the name Welsh Government has given to Religious Education in the Curriculum for Wales. RVE is mandatory for all learners aged 3-16 and now sits within the curriculum, in the Humanities Area of Learning and Experience (Area), along with geography, history, business studies and social studies. RVE incorporates a range of disciplinary approaches that can beused by learners to engage critically with a broad range of religious and non-religions concepts. For example, disciplinary approaches relevant to RVE may include religious studies, philosophy, theology, sociology, psychology, and anthropology.

Below is the Neath Port Talbot policy for the delivery of Religion, Values and Ethics.

Progression is a key principle of the Curriculum for Wales. It is about ensuring that learners make continuous progress in their learning, from early years to the end of compulsory education at the end of Year 11. 

Dwr y Felin School is committed to supporting all learners to make progress. The school has a clear understanding of the principles of progression and how they can be applied in the classroom. The school also has a range of strategies in place to support learners who are struggling or who need additional challenge.

Here are some specific examples of how Dwr y Felin School will use progression to support its learners:

• The school will use formative assessment to identify learners' strengths and weaknesses. This information will be used to plan lessons that are tailored to the needs of individual learners.

• Termly updates on how the learners is progressing, which will contain: 

  1. Current progress terms of their wellbeing, 

  2. Provide information about key progress and learning

  3. Identify key progression needs, the next steps to support their progression, and advice on how parents can support that progress. 

Assessment is a key component of the Curriculum for Wales. It is used to:

• Identify learners' strengths and weaknesses

• Track learners' progress over time

• Provide feedback to learners and teachers

• Make decisions about learners' next steps

Dwr Y Felin School is committed to supporting all learners to make progress. The school uses a variety of assessment methods to identify learners' strengths and weaknesses, track their progress over time, provide feedback to learners and teachers, and make decisions about learners' next steps. 

• Individual subject areas will have different assessment programmes based on their curriculums, so that assessments are conducted at the correct time to have the best impact on learner progress.

• Pupil progress is reported on three times throughout the year in line with Welsh Government policy.

• Once a year, pupils will undertake personalised assessments in Literacy (Reading) and Numeracy (Procedural and Reasoning). These assessments are a statutory requirement.