Curriculum Statement

At Bryncoch Church in Wales Primary school, The Governing Body along with senior leaders, staff, pupils and parents have all worked collaboratively to develop a shared vision for the curriculum.

Our school’s curriculum meets the required elements as set out in the national framework in the Curriculum for Wales. All elements of school life focuses on ensuring that pupils develop the four purposes of being Ambitious Capable Learners; Enterprising Creative Contributors; Ethical and Informed Citizens and Healthy Confident Individuals.

Each term, there is a whole school Concept linked to an Area of Learning and Experience which is the focus for teaching and learning, some of which have included Life, Belonging, Movement and Culture.

Being a Church School, our curriculum nurtures pupils’ spirituality and well-being through providing opportunities to explore Christianity, other world religions, non-faiths and people of inspiration.

The school will monitor the impact of its curriculum on pupils’ progression and their development of the four purposes on a continuous basis throughout the academic year and complete a formal review on an annual basis.

As part of our school vision, our curriculum aims to develop a sense of Cynefin for our pupils.  The children should value being part of a Church School, in Wales and learning experiences aim to enhance this sense of belonging and aids pupils to develop their own sense of where they belong in their own lives.  This includes physically, geographically, historic, cultural and social place which has shaped and continues to shape the community which our school inhabits in Bryncoch. We aim to help our pupils make sense of their own identities and those of others, in our community, Wales and the across the world.

The curriculum at our school is progressive and takes into account the needs of all leaners, including their strengths and areas which need developing.  Pupils are given opportunities to develop control and independence in literacy, numeracy, digital and integral skills, all whilst driving towards the four purposes.  The teaching and learning of values, attitudes, processes and skills permeates through a range of learning experiences where pupils engage with increasingly complex and sophisticated content to progress their understanding even further.  Learners apply the knowledge and skills gained in areas of the curriculum in order to demonstrate a deeper understanding and to express their opinions, make valued choices, take measured risks, have time to collaborate with others and to establish and enhance their own creativity.  This is achieved by a whole school approach to independent learning through ‘Missions’.  This incorporates the six Areas of Learning and Experiences, including Health and Well-Being, Mathematics and Numeracy, Science and Technology, Languages, Literacy and Communication, Humanities and Expressive Arts.  There is a heavy focus on Higher Order Thinking Skills where sessions are specifically planned for to teach children how to think.  Learners then apply these Higher Order Thinking Skills in the independent Missions activities.

Assessment at our school enables learner progression as it is focused on supporting learners to move forward with their learning on a day-to-day basis and identifying, capturing and reflecting on learners’ progress over time. A range of Assessment for Learning Strategies are used to enhance this such as learning intentions, success criteria, traffic lights and purple pen of progress.  All of which highlight what the children are expected to make progress in, what learners are doing well and what the next steps in their learning would be.

The school will monitor the impact of its curriculum on pupils’ progression and their development of the four purposes on a continuous basis throughout the academic year and complete a formal review on an annual basis.