CURRICULUM FOR WALES 2022
Curriculum for Wales 2022 is the new curriculum reform in Wales. It incorporates subjects which were generally given less focus within previous curriculum's into 6 Areas of Learning (AoLE's). Geography is placed within the humanities AoLE. Schools will be responsible for creating their own curriculum's, allowing freedom for creativity. Each AoLE has a 'statements of what matters' and 'principles of progression' (Hwb) to support practitioners in implementing the curriculum successfully within the school. The 'statements of what matters' for humanities are:
* Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future.
* Events and human experiences are complex, and are perceived, interpreted and represented in different ways.
* Our natural world is diverse and dynamic, influenced by processes and human actions.
* Human societies are complex and diverse, and shaped by human actions and beliefs.
* Informed, self-aware citizens engage with the challenges and opportunities that face humanity, and are able to take considered and ethical action.
The new curriculum aims to develop pupils subject content knowledge within these 6 AoLE's whilst underpinning the 4 purposes of the curriculum. The curriculum also has mandatory cross-curricular skills which are literacy, numeracy and digital competence. These skills are to be developed at all opportunities whilst developing other AoLE's.
Case Study
This has been observed on previous school placement, where the school were preparing for the implementation of the new curriculum. Being situated close to Aberfan, the school decided that every class would have a project on the Aberfan disaster. It included each class visiting the graveyard where the deceased were buried. Throughout the topic all areas of the AoLE were covered, touching upon history, religion, values and ethics. Other AoLE's were covered such as science, art and English. This stood out as a very good example of how cross-curricular development could be achieved. The topic covered many AoLE's whilst being underpinned by the development of geography knowledge. The class was overwhelmingly engaged in the topic and all practitioners agreed at a post topic meeting that future topic work would follow a similar structure. The curriculum design pictured below was on display in every classroom within the school and was developed to precede the forthcoming Curriculum for Wales 2022.
* Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future.
* Events and human experiences are complex, and are perceived, interpreted and represented in different ways.
* Our natural world is diverse and dynamic, influenced by processes and human actions.
* Human societies are complex and diverse, and shaped by human actions and beliefs.
* Informed, self-aware citizens engage with the challenges and opportunities that face humanity, and are able to take considered and ethical action.
The new curriculum aims to develop pupils subject content knowledge within these 6 AoLE's whilst underpinning the 4 purposes of the curriculum. The curriculum also has mandatory cross-curricular skills which are literacy, numeracy and digital competence. These skills are to be developed at all opportunities whilst developing other AoLE's.
Case Study
This has been observed on previous school placement, where the school were preparing for the implementation of the new curriculum. Being situated close to Aberfan, the school decided that every class would have a project on the Aberfan disaster. It included each class visiting the graveyard where the deceased were buried. Throughout the topic all areas of the AoLE were covered, touching upon history, religion, values and ethics. Other AoLE's were covered such as science, art and English. This stood out as a very good example of how cross-curricular development could be achieved. The topic covered many AoLE's whilst being underpinned by the development of geography knowledge. The class was overwhelmingly engaged in the topic and all practitioners agreed at a post topic meeting that future topic work would follow a similar structure. The curriculum design pictured below was on display in every classroom within the school and was developed to precede the forthcoming Curriculum for Wales 2022.
The link below outlines Welsh Government guidance and support for teachers engaging with the new curriculum.
The video below has been produced by Welsh Government to promote and give more clarity on what Curriculum for Wales 2022 means for all key stakeholders, explaining the four purposes and six AoLE's