The final version of the new curriculum for Wales has been published, as schools prepare for a complete overhaul of how children are taught.
It follows a consultation in 2019 on the complete reform of the system for the first time in more than 30 years.
Teaching unions said the current state of school funding did not match the aspiration of the new curriculum.
The changes will be introduced in 2022 for all children currently in year three or below.
The curriculum does not set out a detailed plan for exactly what schools should be teaching.
The biggest changes are likely to be in secondary schools where subjects will be incorporated into six “areas of learning and experience”.
The curriculum sets out “what matters” and “progression steps” for each learning area.
The new curriculum for Wales
Six areas of learning and experience
- Maths and numeracy
- Languages, literacy and communication
- Health and well-being
- Humanities
- Science and technology
- Expressive arts
Source: Welsh Government, 2019
How will the new curriculum work?
Education Minister Kirsty Williams said she expected to publish the curriculum’s implementation plan after Easter.
“Schools should not rush into trying to plan for this… Schools should take space and time to understand the model of the curriculum,” she said.
“The next step in our reform journey is to prepare the profession.”
An extra inset training day has been introduced this academic year and for the next two years to help schools prepare, along with £39m for training teachers.
The only mandatory subjects in the curriculum are:
- Literacy, numeracy, and digital competence
- Religion, values and ethics
- Relationships and sexuality education
- Welsh
- English
Head teachers and nurseries will have discretion over how much English children learn up to the age of seven after Welsh language campaigners and unions raised concerns about a previous plan to make English compulsory in Welsh-medium nurseries.
There will still be annual national reading and numeracy tests for seven to 14 year olds.
Watchdog Qualifications Wales is consulting on “reshaping qualifications to complement the new curriculum” until February 7, and there are major questions about how exams at 16 will work in the context of the broader sort of education the new curriculum is meant to introduce.
