“Love one another as I have loved you, then everyone will know that you are my disciples”. John 13:34

Our Mission Statement anchors our purposeful learning, so that valued in our uniqueness we nurture our skills and talents to our fullest potential. Our stimulating experiences promote our joy of learning as we thrive, growing in our self-belief, happiness and independence. We inspire and motivate each other to strive for excellence in our increasingly digital world, as we become advocates for our ever-changing future.

We develop our inclusivity and compassion for our global neighbours as we encourage each other in our responsibility to care for God’s world. Together, we build a stronger community through mutual respect of our differences and similarities, celebrating our home in Cymru and our place in the wider world as we Listen, Laugh and Live in the Light of the Lord.

As a faith school, the Gospel is the ‘Source and the Summit’ of our curriculum design. We aspire to follow the Gospel values in all aspects of our school life, extending these into our community and the wider world.

•  Faithfulness & Integrity
•  Dignity & Compassion
•  Humility & Gentleness
•  Truth & Justice
•  Forgiveness & Mercy
•  Purity & Holiness
•  Tolerance & Peace
•  Service & Sacrifice

Curriculum for Wales
There are two national priorities for Wales when it comes to improving the provision of education. These are a) improving pupils’ progression and b) reducing the impact of poverty upon pupils’ progression and attainment. The focus is upon developing experiences, knowledge and skills, in preparing our young learners for employment, lifelong learning and active citizenship. The Curriculum for Wales guidance enables each school to develop its own bespoke curriculum, which focuses upon the four purposes as a shared vision and aspiration for every child in Wales.

Four Purposes
The four purposes drives our curriculum design as we support all learners to become:
•  Ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives
•  Enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work
•  Ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the World
•  Healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

Inclusivity
At the heart of our curriculum is the drive of raising awareness, raising aspirations and raising expectations for all our learners. We are focused upon ensuring that all of our learners are fully supported to flourish throughout their time with us, so that they fulfil their potential once they embark into the wider world. We follow the Equity rather than Equality approach, to ensure that our provision meets the requirements for all of our learners, in particular consideration of our most vulnerable learners.

Statements of What Matters
Our curriculum provides rich opportunities, alongside real-life and authentic learning experiences to develop the key concepts, knowledge and skills as described in the 27 Statements of What Matters, in line with the Statements of What Matters Code.

Areas of Learning and Experience
Our curriculum provides learning experiences through the six Areas of Learning and Experiences:

• Languages, Literacy and Communication
Languages, literacy and communication addresses the fundamental aspects of human communication. Our aim is to support learning across the whole curriculum, alongside enabling learners to gain knowledge and skills in Welsh, English and international languages, as well as literature. Different languages are explored in relation to one another, as are the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Learning about and through literature contributes to all aspects of learning about languages.

• Mathematics and Numeracy
Mathematics surrounds us and underpins so many aspects of our daily lives, with numeracy being the vital life skill of understanding how mathematics is used in the real world and being able to apply it to make the best possible decisions. Our learning experiences are geared towards ensuring that our learners develop both mathematical competence and mathematical resilience.

• Health and Wellbeing
Health and Wellbeing provides a holistic approach and structure for understanding our physical health and development, mental health, emotional and social wellbeing. Our curriculum supports learners to understand and appreciate how the different components of health and wellbeing are interconnected, as we ensure learners recognise that good health and well-being are important to enable successful learning.

• Expressive Arts
The dynamic nature of Expressive Arts is utilised to engage, motivate and encourage learners to develop their creative, artistic and performance skills to the full. It encompasses the disciplines of art, dance, drama, music, film and digital media, as we foster confidence in our learners to express themselves freely.

• Science and Technology
Science and Technology draws upon the disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, design and technology to enhance our learners’ knowledge and understanding of the world. Our learning experiences support our learners to be able to assess, understand information and make informed judgments that impact their own behaviours and values.

• Humanities
Humanities seeks to awaken a sense of wonder, fire the imagination and inspire learners to grow in their knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Our curriculum encourages learners to engage with the most important issues facing humanity, alongside helping them to develop the skills necessary to interpret and articulate the past, the present and the future.

Learning, Progression and Assessment
Our learning experiences draw upon effective pedagogical principles that enables our learners to make meaningful progress in all areas of our curriculum. Our provision of rich, authentic learning experiences, empowers our learners to embed their developing knowledge, skills and understanding. Our assessment procedures are an integral part of our teaching and learning, which are utilised to inform planning for future learning.

Welsh and English
As an English medium school, learning takes place in both Welsh and English. We promote opportunities to use the Welsh language in our local area, making use of the Siartar Iaith to support this. Together with enhanced language skills, we foster an appreciation of Welsh culture as we embrace our place in the wider world.

Cross Curricular Skills
Our curriculum develops the cross-curricular skills of literacy, numeracy and digital competence. Our curriculum will enable learners to develop their competence and capability in these skills, being able to extend and apply them across all areas of learning. We use the Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Competency Frameworks as guidance to ensure all of our learners are provided with regular, authentic opportunities to:

•  develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills
•  use numbers and solve problems in real-life contexts
•  use a range of technologies to help them function and communication effectively in the 21st Century.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD)
As a school which prides itself on its inclusive ethos, we promote knowledge and understanding of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Careers and Work-Related Experiences (CWRE)
Our curriculum incorporates careers and work-related experiences, as we prepare all of our learners to play a vital role in today’s society in Wales and the wider world.

Outdoor Learning and Curriculum Enrichment
Our curriculum promotes the value of outdoor learning, both within the school environment, in our local community and further afield. The provision of regular opportunities for our learners to benefit from such a wide variety of learning environments enables the development of knowledge, skills and understanding in real-life contexts.

Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE)
In keeping with our Catholic status, we follow the Life to the Full programme, which is underpinned by a Christian faith understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God. This programme follows the RSE statutory guidance and the RSE Code, to provide our learners with a rich foundation for growth, personal development and happy, fulfilled relationships.

Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE)
As a Catholic school, this area of our curriculum is developed according to our Christian values and supported by the Diocese of Wrexham.

Review and Refine
We will keep our Curriculum under constant review in order to respond to the outputs of professional inquiry, the changing needs of our learners, alongside the social contexts of our community. This will ensure that our curriculum is both inclusive and responsive, meeting the needs of all of our learners. In this process, we will take into account the views of all stakeholders and the Governing Body will publish the updated Curriculum Summary on an annual basis.

Curriculum for Wales Guidance – Curriculum for Wales – Hwb (gov.wales)

United Nations Rights of the Child – UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – UNICEF UK

Careers and Work Related Experiences – Careers and work-related experiences (CWRE) toolkit (gov.wales)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | OHCHR

Outdoor Learning – first-steps-outdoors.pdf (gov.wales)

Relationships and Sexuality Education – curriculum-for-wales-relationships-sexuality-education-code.pdf (gov.wales)

Religion, Values and Ethics – consultation-document-curriculum-for-wales-religion-values-and-ethics-guidance.pdf (gov.wales)

Religious Education Directory, ‘To Know You More Clearly’ – 45011_P00i_253.indd (rcdwxmeducation.org)

Statements of What Matters Code – curriculum-for-wales-statements-of-what-matters-code.pdf (gov.wales)