Introduction to Curriculum for Wales guidance

The Curriculum for Wales guidance aims to help each school develop its own curriculum, enabling their learners to develop towards the four purposes of the curriculum, the starting point and aspiration for every child and young person in Wales.

This guidance is also relevant for funded non-maintained nursery settings, pupil referral units (PRUs) and those responsible for the provision of education other than at school (EOTAS) in other settings, enabling them to develop an understanding of the Curriculum for Wales Framework (Framework).

The Curriculum for Wales Framework is statutory guidance published under section 71 of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 (the Act) and as such the target audience is:

the headteacher of a maintained school or a maintained nursery school
the governing body of a maintained school or a maintained nursery school
providers of funded non-maintained nurseries (settings)
the teacher in charge of a PRU
the management committee for a PRU
a person who provides learning and teaching for a learner otherwise than at a maintained school, maintained nursery school or PRU, by virtue of arrangements made under section 19A of the Education Act 1996 (c 56)
a local authority in Wales.

As this Framework is statutory guidance its target audience must have regard to it when exercising functions under the Act. Throughout the Curriculum for Wales Framework we frequently use the word ‘should’ when we refer to the expectations set out in this statutory guidance. The use of that word refers to steps we strongly recommend schools and settings take. It does not purport to set out mandatory requirements (which are highlighted separately throughout the guidance). As these recommendations form part of statutory guidance, schools and settings must consider them, but may, with good reason decide to do something different.

The Curriculum for Wales Framework guidance sets out:

the curriculum requirements set out in legislation for all learners aged 3 to 16, to ensure all schools and settings cover the same core learning and to secure a consistency of approach for learners across Wales
guidelines for schools and settings in developing their curricula
expectations around assessment arrangements to support learner progression

It consists of the following:

Introduction to the Curriculum for Wales guidance.
Curriculum and assessment legislation requirements.
Designing your curriculum: general guidance on developing a curriculum across all areas of learning and experience (Area/Areas).
Supporting learner progression: assessment guidance
Continuing the journey: expectations on the ongoing process of curriculum design, review and amendment.
Introduction to each Area of learning and experience.
Statements of what matters: the ‘big ideas’ and key principles in each Area.
Principles of progression: how learners make progress throughout their learning across the curriculum.
Descriptions of learning: how learners should make progress within each statement of what matters.
Designing your curriculum: principles for each Area, more Area-specific guidance on developing a curriculum.

A vision for every curriculum for 3 to 16 year olds

Improving education is our national mission. Nothing is so essential as universal access to, and acquisition of, the experiences, knowledge and skills that our young people need for employment, lifelong learning and active citizenship.

The Curriculum for Wales guidance is a clear statement of what is important in delivering a broad and balanced education. The four purposes are the shared vision and aspiration for every child and young person. In fulfilling these, we set high expectations for all, promote individual and national well-being, tackle ignorance and misinformation, and encourage critical and civic engagement.

A school or setting’s curriculum is everything a learner experiences in pursuit of the four purposes. It is not simply what we teach, but how we teach and crucially, why we teach it.

Curriculum development should be at the heart of practitioner, school and national efforts which seek to raise standards for all, tackle the attainment gap, and ensure an education system that is a source of national pride and enjoys public confidence.

This development contributes to our goals as a nation as set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. It is also an important vehicle for embedding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in the experience of learning and teaching for our children and young people and for giving them an understanding of their rights.

The Curriculum for Wales Framework

The Curriculum for Wales guidance forms part of the Curriculum for Wales Framework (Framework). The Framework is determined nationally and includes both the curriculum requirements set out in legislation, and a range of supporting guidance.

The Curriculum for Wales guidance, and the other guidance we are publishing alongside it, is the result of co-construction. It has been developed in Wales, by practitioners for practitioners, bringing together educational expertise and wider research and evidence.

This guidance helps schools design their own curriculum. It contains information on legal requirements, guidance on how to develop a school curriculum, and an explanation of the purposes and principles of assessment.

Assessment should be intrinsic to curriculum design.

Funded non-maintained settings, pupil referral units (PRUs) and those responsible for the provision of education other than at school (EOTAS), are not required to design a curriculum in the same way as a maintained school or maintained special school. Further, more specific guidance is available for these settings to support them in fulfilling their legal obligations in relation to the Framework.

An integrated approach to learning and teaching

The Framework helps practitioners develop a more integrated approach to learning. The six Areas bring together familiar disciplines and encourage strong and meaningful links across them. Those individual disciplines still play an important role, especially as learners progress and begin to specialise.

The Curriculum for Wales guidance promotes collaboration and cross-disciplinary planning, learning and teaching, both within and across Areas. This will enable learners to build connections across their learning and combine different experiences, knowledge and skills.

There are 27 mandatory statements of what matters in this Framework. These ensure a level of consistency in curriculum design across settings and schools, as learners must develop an understanding of all statements. The process of exploring and revisiting these statements enables learners to develop ever deeper knowledge over the learning continuum and to progress to a more sophisticated understanding of the key knowledge, ideas and principles in each Area.

This more sophisticated understanding allows learners to value how their learning contributes to these ideas and why it is important, rather than simply being able to recall isolated facts without understanding the context. This progression should be supported by a variety of assessment approaches which enable the learner and the practitioner to understand where a learner is and what they need to do next.

The Framework does not require settings and schools to develop a timetable explicitly structured along the lines of the Areas or to organise the setting or school or staffing on that basis.

Designing a school curriculum

A defining feature of the Framework is that it requires schools to design their own curriculum and assessment arrangements. By itself, it is not an ‘off the shelf’ programme for delivery. Our approach recognises:

the role of leadership in enabling high-quality learning and teaching. Establishing a high-performing education system through high-quality learning and teaching depends on building its professional capacity, developing local leadership, responsibility and decision-making
within the national framework, schools and practitioners are best placed to make decisions about the needs of their specific learners, including choosing topics and activities which will best support their learning
the importance of meaningful learning. A content-focused curriculum does not guarantee meaningful learning, only that certain topics are covered to varying extents; instead, the Curriculum for Wales guidance articulates what concepts and essence of learning should underpin a range of different topics, learning activities and acquisition of knowledge
the need for innovation and creativity. Practitioners select content, enabling them to use their professional skills to drive improved learning and outcomes for their learners
the scope for practitioners to make greater links between Areas and disciplines. Practitioners have the licence to use topics and activities to combine meaningful learning from different Areas, disciplines and concepts

It is for these reasons that the Framework does not prescribe a full list of specific topics or activities. That is not to say that the specific topics or activities are unimportant. Instead, the Curriculum for Wales guidance sets out the essence of learning which should underpin them.

It is for schools and practitioners, drawing on guidance and resources, to decide what specific experiences, knowledge and skills will support their specific learners to realise the four purposes. This is set within the consistency provided by the national framework. Designing your curriculum gives guidance and support in developing a curriculum, offering key principles that serve as a common starting point for schools.

Other settings can use this as a starting point if they wish, however the Welsh Ministers are:

required to provide a curriculum which funded non-maintained nursery settings can adopt. If a setting wishes to create its own curriculum, that curriculum would have to meet the requirements set out in legislation and it could use the Curriculum for Wales guidance to inform their approach
providing guidance for PRUs and those responsible for EOTAS provision, to support them in providing learning and teaching in line with the Framework and fulfilling their specific responsibilities in the legislation

Progression and assessment at the heart of curriculum design

Another defining characteristic of the framework is the emphasis placed on learners’ progression. The Curriculum for Wales guidance has been informed by international evidence of what it means to make progress in learning.

The 27 mandatory statements of what matters are the basis of learners’ progression. It is through exploration of the key ideas and principles contained in these statements that they will develop their learning. Practitioners will need to design learning which supports an increasingly sophisticated understanding and application of the statements of what matters.

Taken together, the statements of what matters provide breadth and depth in the curriculum, and a level of consistency in curriculum design across settings and schools.

The Curriculum for Wales guidance describes mandatory principles of progression for the curriculum as a whole and for each individual Area. These articulate the ways in which learners make progress in their learning and contribute to the four purposes. This means that progression must be embedded in learning and teaching and should form the basis of thinking in schools when designing and planning the school curriculum.

Progression is further supported by descriptions of learning which provide guidance on how learners should progress within each statement of what matters as they journey through the continuum of learning. These are arranged in five progression steps which provide reference points for the pace of that progression.

These expectations are expressed from the learner’s perspective and are framed broadly so that they can sustain learning over a series of years. They are not designed as stand-alone tasks, activities or assessment criteria. While the learning continuum is the same for each learner, the pace of progress through it will differ. As a result, the progression steps can only broadly correspond to expectations at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16.

Together, the principles of progression and the descriptions of learning are intended to guide the development of a curriculum which reflects appropriate progression. Learners’ progress can then be identified through assessment, and allows practitioners to plan learning and teaching.

Progression should be supported through ‘deep’ learning. Each description of learning is designed to support increasing depth and sophistication of learning over time. This allows space for a variety of diversion, repetition and reflection as learners’ thinking develops over time to new levels of sophistication.

They are also designed to be considered through a range of contexts. Learning should bring together through experiences a breadth of knowledge and skills, allowing the learners to use and apply them in new and challenging contexts. Assessment is key to supporting ‘deep’ learning and should be used to identify whether learners need to consolidate their learning, whether further support is needed and the next steps for learners’ progress.

Assessment is intrinsic to curriculum design. Its overarching purpose is to support every learner to make progress. Assessment should always focus on moving learning forward by understanding the learning which has already taken place and using this to ensure that each learner is challenged and supported appropriately, according to their individual learning needs.

It requires partnerships among all those involved, including the learner. It should recognise the individual learning needs and backgrounds of each learner and encourage a holistic view of each learner’s development. Accordingly, both practitioner and learner should develop an understanding of how the learner learns and their attitude and approach to learning, in order to support them to continue to progress and to foster commitment to their learning.

This section of the Curriculum for Wales Framework guidance is statutory guidance. Further information on its status can be found in the 'summary of legislation'.