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Curriculum for Wales: published curriculum summary and design rationale

Required by law or statutory guidanceWalesNursery (maintained), Primary, Secondary (to age 16), SpecialFor: Headteachers, Curriculum leaders, Governors, Parents and carers

A template for the summary of a school's adopted curriculum under Curriculum for Wales: vision and the four purposes, the six Areas of Learning and Experience, mandatory elements, cross-curricular and integral skills, progression, assessment arrangements, the approach to English and Welsh up to age 7, choice at 14 to 16, and how the curriculum is reviewed.

iFairy working template — not official guidance. Built by reading the official documents listed under "Based on"; each requirement cites the document and section it comes from. Check the current official wording before you adopt it, and adapt it to your setting and your local authority or trust procedures.

Do you need one?The catalogue copy of the Curriculum for Wales guidance (January 2020) describes the duty to publish a summary of the adopted curriculum, keep it under review, set out the approach to English and Welsh up to age 7, and support the curriculum with assessment arrangements, as proposed legislative requirements in a Curriculum and Assessment Bill. That Bill has since become law, but the enacted wording is not in the catalogue copy: check the current statutory guidance on Hwb for exactly what the summary must contain.
Why this templateSchools in Wales design their own curriculum within a national framework and must publish a summary of it, but the national guidance does not give a format and runs to over 300 pages. This template sets out what the summary should cover, drawn from the Curriculum for Wales guidance, with plain-language wording a school can adapt for parents and the community.
ReviewKeep the curriculum under review continuously; revise the published summary whenever the curriculum changes, and check it at least annually alongside the school development plan.
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1. About this summary

Explain what the document is, who it is for and when it was last revised. The school must publish a summary and revise it when the curriculum changes.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • Who is this summary mainly for — parents and carers, learners, the wider community? Write for them, not for inspectors.
  • Will you publish it in Welsh and English? Where on the website, and in what other formats?

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

This is a summary of the curriculum adopted by [School name] for learners aged [3/4/11] to [11/16]. It explains what we want our learners to achieve, how our curriculum is organised, how we check and support progress, and how we keep the curriculum under review. It was approved by the governing body on [date] and last revised on [date]. The full curriculum is available from [contact / link].

2. Our vision and the four purposes

Set out the school's own vision for its curriculum and how it is built on the four purposes. The guidance makes the four purposes the starting point for all curriculum decisions.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • What is distinctive about your learners and community that shapes the curriculum (language, locality, socio-economic context, ALN)?
  • How did learners, parents, carers and the community contribute to the vision?
  • What does each of the four purposes look like in practice in your school?

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

At [School name] our curriculum is everything a learner experiences in pursuit of the four purposes — not only what we teach, but how and why. Our vision: [two or three sentences in the school's own words]. What this means for our learners: - Ambitious, capable learners: [e.g. how we build knowledge and a love of challenge] - Enterprising, creative contributors: [e.g. projects, enterprise, the arts] - Ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world: [e.g. local history, human rights, sustainability] - Healthy, confident individuals: [e.g. well-being, physical activity, relationships] We developed this vision with [learners / staff / parents and carers / governors / community partners] through [method] in [year].

3. The six Areas of Learning and Experience

Show that the curriculum contains all six Areas and covers every statement of what matters, and explain how the school organises them.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • Do you teach through the Areas, through subjects within Areas, through themes or a mix — and does this differ by age?
  • How do you check that every statement of what matters is covered across the 3 to 16 (or 3 to 11, 11 to 16) span, including with your cluster?

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

Our curriculum is organised around the six Areas of Learning and Experience. [Describe the organisation, e.g. 'In the early years and primary phase, learning is planned through cross-Area themes each term. From Year 7, learning is planned within Areas, with subject specialists working together in Area teams.'] | Area | How it is organised in our school | Examples of learning | |---|---|---| | Expressive Arts | [ ] | [ ] | | Health and Well-being | [ ] | [ ] | | Humanities (including religion, values and ethics) | [ ] | [ ] | | Languages, Literacy and Communication | [ ] | [ ] | | Mathematics and Numeracy | [ ] | [ ] | | Science and Technology | [ ] | [ ] |

4. Mandatory elements and the approach to English and Welsh

Show how the mandatory curriculum elements are included, and set out the approach to English and Welsh up to age 7, which the published summary must explain.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • Are you a Welsh-medium, English-medium, bilingual or dual-stream school, and how does that shape English and Welsh before age 7?
  • How are RSE and religion, values and ethics delivered, and how are parents told about them? (Check current RSE and RVE statutory guidance — not covered by this template's sources.)

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

Religion, values and ethics is taught [within Humanities / as …]. Relationships and sexuality education is taught [within Health and Well-being and across Areas], in a developmentally appropriate way. Welsh and English are taught [describe]. English and Welsh up to age 7: [Choose and adapt one] - [Welsh-medium] To help learners become fluent in Welsh, the headteacher has decided that English will [not form part of the curriculum before Year 3 / be introduced from …]. Learners are immersed in Welsh from nursery. English is introduced [when / how]. - [English-medium] English and Welsh are both taught from nursery. Welsh is developed through [daily routines, songs, …].

5. Cross-curricular skills and integral skills

Explain how literacy, numeracy and digital competence, and the four integral skills, are developed across all Areas rather than left to specialist teachers.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • How do you plan and track the cross-curricular skills across Areas — through the LNF and DCF, or your own progression maps?
  • Where are the integral skills deliberately taught and practised?

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

Every teacher is responsible for developing literacy, numeracy and digital competence. We use [the Literacy and Numeracy Framework and the Digital Competence Framework / our own skills map] to plan opportunities in every Area, and [describe how progress is tracked]. We also plan for the integral skills — creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving, personal effectiveness, and planning and organising — through [e.g. enquiry-based projects, enterprise activities, learner leadership roles].

6. Cross-cutting themes and learning at 14 to 16

Cover the cross-cutting elements the guidance expects, and — for secondary schools — how choice at 14 to 16 still gives every learner learning in each Area.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • How does your curriculum reflect your locality and Wales (cynefin), and diverse perspectives?
  • For 14 to 16: what are the pathways or option blocks, and how do you guarantee learning in every Area for every learner? Have Welsh Ministers' regulations or the current 14–16 qualifications offer changed what you must provide? (Check Hwb and Qualifications Wales.)

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

Our curriculum helps learners understand their local area, Wales and the wider world through [examples]. Careers and work-related experiences are built in from [age] through [examples]. Learning about human rights and diversity is part of [Areas / themes]. [Secondary schools] In Years 10 and 11, learners choose [number] options from [list/pathways] alongside [what all learners study]. Every learner continues to have learning in each of the six Areas through [describe, e.g. core programme, enrichment, Area-based modules].

7. Progression

Explain to parents how learners progress through the curriculum, avoiding language of levels or fixed age-related targets.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • How have you worked with your cluster to develop a shared understanding of progression?
  • How does the curriculum stretch more able learners and support learners with ALN at their own pace?

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

Learners progress along a continuum of learning from age 3 to 16. Progress means learning more deeply and applying it with increasing sophistication, not just covering more content. National reference points — progression steps — broadly relate to ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16, but each learner moves at their own pace. We work with [cluster schools] to make sure staff share an understanding of what progress looks like, and to support learners when they move [from nursery to primary / primary to secondary].

8. Assessment arrangements

Summarise how assessment supports each learner's progress. The curriculum must be supported by assessment arrangements.

Must include

Decide and write down

  • What assessment approaches do you use (observation, feedback, self- and peer-assessment, personalised assessments in reading and numeracy)?
  • When and how do parents and carers hear about their child's progress, and how are learners involved in that conversation?

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

Assessment at [School name] is part of everyday learning. Its purpose is to help each learner make progress. We use [approaches] to understand what each learner knows and can do, and to plan their next steps. We review progress over time [describe, e.g. through learning portfolios or progress reviews each term] and use what we learn about groups of learners to improve our teaching and curriculum. We share information about progress with parents and carers through [e.g. termly conversations, written reports, the learning platform]. Learners take part by [e.g. sharing examples of their learning and setting their own next steps].

9. How we review the curriculum and involve others

Explain how the curriculum is kept under review, how learners, parents, carers and the community contribute, and how the governing body oversees it.

Must include

Starter wording (edit the highlighted parts)

We keep our curriculum under review through [e.g. professional enquiry, learner voice, monitoring of progress, cluster work]. Learners contribute through [school council / Area learner panels]; parents and carers through [surveys, workshops]; and the governing body monitors the curriculum through [committee / link governors] and receives an annual report. We plan transition with [cluster schools / settings] so that learners continue to progress when they move between stages. To comment on our curriculum, contact [name, role, email]. This summary will be updated when we make changes to our curriculum.

Checklist

Watch out

  • The catalogue copies are pre-legislation. The January 2020 guidance describes the requirements as proposals for a Curriculum and Assessment Bill and says it will be revised once the Bill is passed. Use the current statutory guidance on Hwb (hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales) for the exact legal wording before publishing.
  • 'A Guide to Curriculum for Wales 2022' in the catalogue is the April 2019 draft for feedback. It is superseded; do not quote it as current guidance.
  • The catalogue item 'Curriculum for Wales - revised Areas of Learning and programmes of study' is a 2015 information document about the previous national curriculum, not Curriculum for Wales 2022. It is not used here.
  • The roll-out reached Year 11 in 2026 according to the 2019 draft's timetable. Check whether your 14 to 16 offer reflects the current qualifications and any regulations made for that age range.
  • Progression steps are reference points, not end-of-year targets or levels; avoid describing them to parents as grades.
  • RSE and RVE have their own statutory codes and guidance, and there are specific arrangements around them. This template does not cover those details; check the current RSE and RVE documents.
  • PRUs, EOTAS and funded non-maintained nursery settings have different requirements from maintained schools; this template is written for maintained schools.

Based on these official documents

Main source

Curriculum for Wales guidance (2020, full)

Summary of proposed legislation (curriculum requirements, publishing a summary, English and Welsh to age 7, 14 to 16 choice, assessment arrangements); Designing your curriculum (vision, four purposes, integral and cross-curricular skills, principles of design, reviewing a curriculum); assessment guidance (purposes of assessment, transition, communicating with parents/carers).

Supporting source

A Guide to Curriculum for Wales 2022

Background on the roll-out timetable and the structure of Areas, what matters statements and progression steps. This is the April 2019 draft for feedback, superseded by the 2020 guidance; used only where it agrees with the later text.