Curriculum

Curriculum Reform

Over the past three years, the leadership team and staff have begun the journey towards Curriculum for Wales 2022. We began with auditing our provision and practice against the Four Purposes, considering specifically our teaching, and the learning that occurs in our school.  As we implement, trial and evaluate our new ‘St Mary’s Curriculum’ we maintain a focus on ensuring we inspire all children, and provide them with rich opportunities to achieve in all areas of learning.

Thematic overhaul

The first stage of overhauling our curriculum involved all stakeholders within the St Mary’s community. Led by a curriculum team (and assisted by the ‘Curriculum’ Senedd group), staff, parents, governors and children were consulted on the strengths and areas for development within our current curriculum provision. This data has been carefully considered alongside current educational research, particularly the work of Mary Myatt and Tom Sherrington around curriculum construction.

When developing a new curriculum for our St Mary’s learners, we want to prioritise:
 

• Ensuring progression across all Areas of Learning
• Opportunities for developing metacognitive strategies (making links within wider themes)
• The academic and holistic journey of every learner and their needs through our school.

In line with Curriculum for Wales expectations, all year groups will teach in a cross-curricular approach under three broad whole-school themes; Me! Here and Now,, Me and the World and Me and My Future. Within these themes there will be exploration of the Areas of Learning at an age appropriate and appropriately challenging level, with opportunities for referring to prior learning, and crucially building upon it at each stage. In addition to this, seven other whole-school ‘mini’ themes complete our yearly overview, embracing areas of the new curriculum of particular importance for learners in our setting. These include ‘Cymru a Fi - Wales and Me’, ‘Champions’ and ‘Expressing Myself’, and prioritise key ideas for developing the Four Purposes in our learners.

This new curriculum is now in its second year of trial implementation and is being continuously reviewed by all staff and the CfW Senedd group. New midterm and short term planning documents are in place to provide consistency in our curriculum provision. As teachers work with the new curriculum, this ensures a consistency across the whole school in the way we plan for our learners, and ensures we are revisiting and building on prior learning to make strong connections across our curriculum.