Curriculum Overview

St Cyres School provides a curriculum that is broad and balanced, which celebrates the specialism of subjects and encourages learners to explore the natural links that occur within and across all areas of learning. The term ‘curriculum’ covers everything that is taught and learnt in school, and classroom learning is supported by a broad range of enrichment activities. Our core values reflect our mission statement:

Strive Together Challenge Yourself Realise Everyone can Succeed

These values, such as the quality of relationships, the promotion of diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, high expectations and the way the school is organised, produce our school’s unique ethos. 

The school’s curriculum fulfils the requirements of the Learning and skills (Wales) Measure 2009 at Key Stage 4 and the Curriculum and Assessment Act (Wales) 2021 in Year 7 and 8.

Year 7 and 8

Pupils in Year 7 and 8 have started the new Curriculum for Wales which was adopted in September 2023. The Curriculum for Wales framework comprises 6 areas of learning and experience. Across these are 27 mandatory statements of what matters. It is through the exploration of the key ideas and principles contained within these statements that our pupils will develop their learning. Teachers have designed learning that supports an increasingly sophisticated understanding and application of the statements of what matters as learners progress through their curriculum journey.

Communicating progress with parents

Parents of pupils in Year 7, 8 and 9 will receive feedback on their child's overall progress and wellbeing every term via the following:

• Wellbeing and Academic Review Day
• Parent Teacher Consultations (PTC)
• End of year report

 

Pupils will study a range of subjects in the 6 Areas of Learning, including:- 

• Welsh
• English
• Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE)
• Religion Values and Ethics (RVE)
• Cross - curricular skills (literacy, numeracy and digital competence)
• Pupils in Year 7 and 8 will study either French or German.

Key Stage 4

At KS4 the school curriculum consists of:

• Compulsory subjects – English, Mathematics, Science, Religious Studies, Physical Education and Welsh second language,
• PSE (including sex education), Careers and the World of Work and Wales, Europe and the World.
• Wide choice and flexibility which will be provided through the wide range of general and practical/vocational subjects that are on offer in school and in partnership with other providers
• Opportunities to develop skills and engage in different experiences which will be provided through the Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma and other opportunities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

Learner support will be provided through:

• a Learning Coach
• personal support for those who may have additional learning needs
• careers advice and guidance from our independent Careers Wales Advisor.

In Year 9, pupils have the opportunity to choose five curriculum pathways which they will study together with English (Language and Literature), Mathematics, Science, Welsh, Religious Studies, Physical Education and the Welsh Baccalaureate. The Year 9 curriculum allows them to study the mandatory elements of the "what matters statements" within the Curriculum for Wales. In Year 10, pupils will choose three of these subjects to continue to follow further. 

Post-16 Education 

All students will be:

• studying 4 subjects/courses from a broad range at AS and later 3 or 4 subjects at A Level leading to external qualifications.
• The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ)

Curriculum for Wales

We have chosen to fully implement the new Curriculum for Wales in September 2023 for both Year 7 and 8.  At St Cyres, we have engaged with all stakeholders and will continue from first teaching in 2023 to evaluate our new curriculum.  We have fully embraced all mandatory elements of the Curriculum and the exciting opportunities it allows. 

Our school vision for Curriculum for Wales is to create a curriculum that places learners at its heart and ensures that they are challenged, engaged and successful.  We strive together to create ambitious and capable learners, who are enterprising and creative, healthy and confident, ethical and informed individuals. Everyone can succeed at St Cyres.

The term ‘curriculum’ covers everything that is taught and learnt in school. It includes not only what is learned from teachers and other pupils in the classroom, but also the attitudes instilled in pupils from day to day incidental contacts with the whole school community and from those created by our values and our beliefs. These values, such as the quality of relationships, the concern for equality and equity of opportunity for all, high expectations and the way the school is organised, produce our school’s unique ethos. In its widest sense, our curriculum is the whole range of learning experiences, both formal and informal, which we offer our pupils. It is the means by which we set out to achieve our aims and our

Mission Statement: “Strive Together Challenge Yourself Realise Everyone can Succeed”

School Aims 

• Develop ambitious, capable learners who are ready to learn throughout heir lives.

• Develop enterprising, creative contributors who are ready to play a full part in life and work.

• Develop ethical, informed citizens who are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world.

• Develop healthy, confident individuals who are ready to lead fulfilling ives as valued members of society.

Curriculum for Wales Map

 

 

How does the curriculum meet the required elements in the national framework?

At St Cyres we will keep our curriculum under review and will revisit it throughout 2023 as we do now. All mandatory duties placed on us by the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 are in place.

These include: -

• enable learners to develop in the way described in the four purposes

• provide for appropriate progression and accord with the principles of progression set out in the ‘Progression Code’ – which applies to all learning across all AoLEs.

• be suitable for learners of differing ages, abilities and aptitudes

• be broad and balanced

• encompass the concepts set out in the statements of what matters in the ‘Statements of What Matters Code’. These will be published in the updated St Cyres School Curriculum Policy 2023.

•provide for learning and teaching that encompasses each of the Areas of Learning and Experience

• Welsh

• English

• Relationships and Sexuality Education (including the detail of the Relationships and Sexuality Code)

• Religion Values and Ethics (RVE)

 • The cross-curricular skills (literacy, numeracy and digital competence)

In St Cyres we believe that subject disciplines offer learners different lenses through which they can see and think about the world, therefore we have maintained subject disciplines with a view to exploring and developing the intrinsic links that exist between them. Teachers have used agreed design principles in order to develop our curriculum.

These are: -

• value - the key concepts that are required to make sense within a discipline and how these develop over time
• breadth – the breadth of subjects, breadth within subjects, and a breadth of perspectives
• coherence - linking learning within and between subjects and cross cutting themes

 

These design principles have been applied in order for us to plan learning progression across the statements of what matters.

How St Cyres is approaching learning progression and its arrangements for assessment?

Descriptions of learning provide guidance on how learners should progress within each Area of Learning and Experience 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. While the learning continuum is the same for each learner, the pace of progress through it will differ. As a result, the progression steps only broadly relate to age. They broadly correspond to expectations at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16. 

Assessment in St Cyres will focus on identifying each individual learner’s strengths, achievements, areas for improvement and, where relevant, barriers to learning. This information should be used by the teacher, in discussion with the learner, to ascertain the next steps required to move learning forward, including any additional challenge and support required. This will be achieved by embedding assessment into day-to-day practice in a way that engages our learners. 

This is only the start of our exciting curriculum journey and we will continue to monitor and evaluate its effectiveness on a termly basis, with the help of learners, staff, parents and governors. 

Cross Curricular Skills

Literacy, numeracy and digital competence are mandatory cross-curricular skills within Curriculum for Wales. The Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF) and the Digital Competence Framework (DCF) can be accessed here.

https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/cross-curricular-skills-frameworks/