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At the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, schools, settings, local authorities and regions, have six terms in which to engage with, design and begin to teach Curriculum for Wales, creating a local curriculum from the national framework. They do so in a climate we could not have imagined when the framework and guidance were published in January of this year. Although the journey to curriculum reform will be a little different from how you may have planned it, the principles and purposes of Curriculum for Wales are more relevant than ever in a rapidly changing and often surprising world. Now is the right time to overhaul the ways in which we learn, teach and assess to ensure a successful future for a new generation.

This on-line series of workshops will enable schools in the ERW region to continue the journey to reform through whole-school considerations and AoLE engagement wherever you are in your development. Journey to Curriculum for Wales ERW contains introductory videos which support practitioners to develop an understanding of the conceptual model of the curriculum. These curriculum models are followed by a set of four whole-school workshops which enable schools and settings to develop or update their vision with local stakeholders, to consider collaboration and to evaluate their pedagogy and assessment practice in relation to their whole-school development needs. In addition six individual AoLE workshops will support you to consider the vision for each area of learning and experience. Each set of workshops is preceded by an introductory page, 'whole school approach' and 'engaging with the AoLEs'.

Future iterations will support schools to start developing high-level curriculum and assessment design as they begin to trial aspects of design, new approaches and creative pedagogy, and to evaluate and refine their approach.

The Welsh Government has published its guidance on learning for schools from the autumn term and this guidance suggests that schools and settings may want to draw on the Curriculum for Wales guidance in their planning for learning with a particular focus on the four purposes. The guidance also encourages schools to be ambitious in approaches to learning. At present, the basic curriculum and assessment requirements remain modified, allowing schools the time they need to adjust to new ways of working.

The guidance also makes it clear that drawing on Curriculum for Wales at this time is not the same as preparation for reform. However, schools and settings are guided to become more consistent with the principles and ethos of Curriculum for Wales.

Journey to Curriculum for Wales ERW will support schools and settings to provide relevant professional learning which will meet these expectations.

🌐 Welsh Government guidance on learning in schools and settings from the autumn term

Each workshop can be used by individuals to further their knowledge, but they are best used collaboratively to elicit discussion wherever possible. They are designed to enable schools to use them flexibly to complement their planned professional development, to provide the basis for professional learning during training sessions or Inset days, or as part of longer term school / network development plans and research activities. Each can take as little as an hour as a recap to several weeks of more in-depth review. Schools should ensure that all staff and governors have a sound understanding of this new curriculum model, the importance of whole-school development and the vision for the six areas of learning before embarking on designing learning experiences. Where schools would like further support, ERW can support them with a blended approach as required.

Journey to Curriculum for Wales ERW is an online and blended learning professional development resource, complemented by the Transforming Your Curriculum site and the pedagogy training programmes Principles for Excellence and Learning for Excellence.

Please contact us if you would like more information on these programmes.

🌐 Transforming Your Curriculum

🌐 Principles for Excellence

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