What is taught in school?
Starting September 2022, we are adopting the 'Curriculum for Wales' (CfW). Please click here for more detailed information about CfW and here for our Ysgol Eirias Curriculum Summary for Year 7 September 2022
This new curriculum marks a shift from the previous content driven curriculum to a purpose driven curriculum, which is driven by the following four purposes:
- Ambitious, capable learners
- Enterprising, creative contributors
- Ethical, informed citizens
- Healthy, confident individuals
Everything that is taught in school in year 7 this year will be underpinned by these purposes of education, helping us to educate not only the head but also the heart and the hand of our learners.
The curriculum is split into the following 6 Areas of Learning (AoLEs):
- Expressive Arts
- Health & Well-being
- Humanities
- Languages, Literacy & Communication
- Mathematics & Numeracy
- Science & Technology
Each AoLE is made up of 'statements of what matter' and interweaved into these curriculum areas are the skills and experiences designed to support learners to be equipped and ready for a fast changing world. For a more detailed look at our curriculum for year 7, please click on the link above for our Ysgol Eirias Curriculum Summary for Year 7 September 2022.
What does teaching and learning look like?
We have our very own teaching and learning model, CLEAR.
Challenge, Learning links, Engagement, Assessment, Reflection and retrieval
This model is used by all of our teachers when planning their lessons and is rooted in the findings of cognitive science (the science about how the brain works). An example of this is that the brain needs to retrieve learning over time for it to be stored in the long term memory and not forgotten - see the diagram below for an illustration of this.
How do we help our learners to make progress?
As part of CfW, we are making a conscious effort to value every learner's specific learning journey from their own starting point. All research in this area identifies the importance of the individual learning journey, rather than comparing learning journeys of learners. We have a focus on identifying where each learner is in their learning, identifying their next steps and then supporting our learners to take these steps. This video clip of Austin's butterfly is a lovely example of this.