Curriculum reform
This page provides a summary of the key messages relating to curriculum reform during the academic year 2021-22. Click on the arrows for more details.
What’s going well
- Providers are working to maintain their momentum in adapting teaching and learning to align with the Curriculum for Wales.
- A majority of providers recognise the importance of adapting and improving their teaching.
- In non-maintained settings and primary schools, where teachers place an emphasis on engaging pupils in planning their learning, this often results in more engaging learning experiences and better progress for pupils.
- In the secondary sector, where teachers have carefully considered the benefits and pitfalls of the approach, cross-departmental working is resulting in more cohesive and engaging learning experiences for pupils.
- Practitioners across all sectors have welcomed the freedom to experiment, adapt and develop their practice.
- In the most effective providers, they have engaged with a range of stakeholders to create a clear vision for their curriculum.
- A very few primary schools used curriculum guidance confidently to develop a picture of what progress looks like through their own individual curricula.
What needs to improve
- Overall, the progress providers are making towards implementation of the Curriculum for Wales is too variable.
- Schools need to prioritise improving the quality of teaching and learning alongside their curriculum design.
- Cross-phase working to ensure continuity and progression for learners through the curriculum is too infrequent and not sufficiently effective.
- Too often the support provided by local authorities and regional consortia is not bespoke to the needs of providers and they do not evaluate the impact of their work effectively enough.
- Many leaders remain concerned about assessment and progression in the Curriculum for Wales and what progress through the curriculum should look like.