Curriculum for Wales Summary:

Ysgol Carreg Hirfaen

Our curriculum has been co-constructed through engaging with all stakeholders and will meet the following requirements:

Our vision

Our aim at Carreg Hirfaen is to provide the children and young people in our area with education of the highest quality. We will achieve this in a friendly, homely, well resourced environment by means of professional, committed, caring staff who continually strive for the highest standards.

We work with our community to provide our pupils with the widest range of educational and extra-curricular opportunities, developing them into ambitious, creative, ethical, capable learners and contientious, confident, bilingual citizens of the future.

Our values

At Carreg Hirfaen we aim to:- 

• create a happy welcoming school environment that respects the UNCRC’s Rights of the Child.
• deliver a “four purpose” driven curriculum
• develop each individual to their potential through offering a wide range of high quality skills and knowledge based experiences.
• promote equality of opportunity and respect for everyone, irrespective of belief, race and gender.
• encourage a love of learning and high levels of confidence through a growth mindset approach
• develop effective thinking, independent learning and the ability to solve problems creatively.
• use every opportunity to develop the skills of numeracy, literacy and digital competence enabling each child to experience achievement at all levels.
• enable pupils to be given progressive responsibility for organising their learning and management of time.
• enhance self-worth and the ability to value each person’s own worth through a caring, secure environment. This will develop empathy, self-discipline, high self-esteem and acceptable behaviour.
• develop imagination and creativity by offering a wide range of authentic experiences.
• develop the natural curiosity that children exhibit about themselves and their world, and use their curiosity to foster positive attitudes to learning.
• develop an appreciation of the heritage and history of Wales and that of our locality.
• develop an appreciation of the Welsh language.

Our inclusive curriculum

Our curriculum will raise the aspirations for all learners. As a school we have considered how all learners will be supported to realise the four purposes and to progress. We have considered our ALN provision and how we will meet the needs of different groups of learners.

The four purposes

The four purposes are the starting point and aspiration for  our school curriculum design. Our school aims to support our learners to become:

• ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives
• enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work
• ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world
• healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society

The statements of what matters

Our curriculum will provide opportunities and experiences to develop the key concepts, knowledge and skills as described in the statements of what matters and in line with the Statements of What Matters  Code.

Areas of Learning and Experience

Our curriculum will provide learning experiences through the 6 AoLEs of: 

• Languages, Literacy and Communication
• Expressive Arts
• Science and Technology
• Humanities
• Maths and Numeracy
• Health and Wellbeing

Learning, Progression and Assessment

Our curriculum will support learning through designing learning opportunities that draw upon the pedagogical principles.

Our curriculum, supported by effective teaching and learning enables learners to make meaningful progress. Over time our learners will 

develop and improve their skills and knowledge. Our curriculum focuses on understanding what it means to make progress in a given Area or discipline and how learners should deepen and broaden their knowledge and understanding, skills and capacities, and attributes and dispositions and is informed by the Progression Code. This in turn supports our approach to assessment, the purpose of which is to inform planning for future learning. Assessment will be embedded as an intrinsic part of learning and teaching. All learners will be assessed on entry to the school.

Welsh and English

• Schools providing Welsh-medium education use Welsh to deliver the curriculum. English lessons are introduced in Year 3.

Cross curricular skills

Our curriculum will develop the mandatory cross-curricular skills of literacy, numeracy and digital competence. Our curriculum will enable learners to develop competence and capability in these skills and to extend and apply them across all Areas. Learners will 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

UNCRC : The Rights of the Child

Our school will promote knowledge and understanding of Part 1 of the UNCRC, and of the UNCRPD, among those who provide teaching and learning.

CWRE : Careers and Work-related Experiences

Our curriculum will incorporate careers and work related experiences for all of our learners.

Relationship and Sexuality Education RSE

Our school curriculum embraces the guidance in the RSE Code. Our RSE provision will have a positive and empowering role in our learners’ education and will play a vital role in supporting them to realise the four purposes as part of a whole-school approach. Helping learners to form and maintain a range of relationships, all based on mutual trust and respect, is the foundation of RSE. These relationships are critical to the development of emotional well-being, resilience and empathy.

Religion Values and Ethics RVE

Religion, values and ethics (RVE) is a statutory requirement of the Curriculum for Wales and is mandatory for all learners from ages 3 to 16.

There is no parental right to request that a child is withdrawn from RVE in the Curriculum for Wales

As RVE is a locally determined subject, the agreed syllabus specifies what should be taught in RVE within the local authority and our curriculum will reflect this guidance.

Review and refinement

Our school curriculum will be kept under review in order to respond to the outputs of professional inquiry, the changing needs of learners and social contexts and needs. The reviews will take into account the views of stakeholders and will be signed off by the Governing Body. We will publish a summary of our curriculum and revise the summary if changes to the curriculum are made during the review process.

Headteacher :              A Jones Evans                    14.09.2022

Chair of Governors:    D Evans                               14.09.2022

Review date: September 2023