Curriculum for Wales
Curriculum Statement:
From September 2022 the children of Ystruth Primary School will follow the framework of the New Welsh Curriculum. The Governing Body adopted the curriculum which has been devised by the school on Wednesday 25th May 2022. The curriculum summary is available below. The curriculum must enable learners to make progress towards the four purposes, be broad and balanced and be suitable for learners of differing ages, abilities and aptitudes.
Covered in the curriculum are:
- Mandatory Elements, which are;
- Religion, values and ethics.
- Relationships and sexuality education (RSE).
- Welsh.
- English
- Mandatory Cross-curricular Skills, which must be embedded in any adopted curriculum of:
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- Digital competence
Curriculum topics studied at Ystruth will be based on values, ethics and children’s rights. They will be relevant to the child and centre on the rich heritage of Blaenau Gwent and Wales before moving to wider traditions of the United Kingdom, Europe and the World.
A broad-based curriculum has been devised to provide all children with a wide range of experiences in order to stimulate their interest and imagination. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of reading, writing, listening, speaking, numeracy and digital competency skills taught through authentic experiences in six areas of learning.
Areas of Learning and Experiences are:
- Literacy, Languages and Communication [Welsh, English, Other Languages]
- Numeracy and Mathematics [Mathematics and the application of numbers]
- Science and Technology [Science, Information Communication Technology [ICT], Design and Technology]
- Humanities [History, Geography and Social Science]
- Expressive Arts [Art, Music, Dance and Drama]
- Health and Wellbeing [Physical Education, Personal, Social and Health Education]
Religious Education
Religious education is timetabled and taught discretely and in a thematic way where possible. In addition to this, we hold a daily act of worship. The school follows the S.A.C.R.E guidelines for collective worship. An act of collective worship takes place in school every day which is of a broadly Christian nature. Whole school assembly takes place on Monday and Friday. Separate Phase/ Class Acts of Worship take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from collective worship and should inform the school in writing should they wish to do so. From time to time, we invite local people to lead an assembly.
Welsh and the Curriculum Cymraeg
We are proud to be a Welsh Primary School where Welsh is taught as a second language throughout the whole school and is used incidentally as part of the school day. Staff members attend courses on a regular basis to improve their Welsh. Use of the language is encouraged as widely as possible whenever and wherever appropriate. Children are encouraged to speak and follow instructions given in Welsh on a daily basis.
Our Welsh heritage is brought out in our weekly assembly with a Welsh theme, St David’s day celebrations and in many parts of our school curriculum.
Relationships and Sexuality Education [RSE]
The Welsh Government has designated this as a Mandatory Element of the curriculum. Primary schools have a graduated, developmentally appropriate programme of RSE tailored to the age and emotional maturity of the children. The content of this work is based around safe relationships. Children will learn appropriate language for body parts, including genitals, beginning in the nursery. Parents may discuss the teaching materials used.
Sports Activities
Our school has excellent grounds and we have a large grass pitch and two hard courts. There are a wide range of sports activities undertaken during the year where children represent the school. These include swimming, rugby, football, cricket, netball, rounders, athletics and cross-country. Any child taking part represents the school and this is recognised as a privilege equal to academic and artistic achievement. It also fosters team spirit and the development of skills. We aim to give children of all abilities the opportunity to participate in competitive events.
We allocate on average 2.0 hours per week in the curriculum to Physical Literacy and there are a number of opportunities to participate in PE in after-school clubs.
See the links below for information about the Curriculum for Wales:
https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/curriculum-in-wales-a-guide-for-parents