Curriculum Overview
Our Curriculum Statement and Vision
At Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School, we have developed a curriculum to fully address the requirements of the Welsh Government whilst ensuring, we keep “Christ at the Centre” at all times.
Our core purpose is to ensure that all pupils reach or exceed their potential by using their God-given talents to develop as healthy, ambitious, life-long learners ready to live as valued members of our local community, Wales and the world. We aim for all our pupils to leave our school as Empowered, Virtuous and Employable individuals. (EVE)
We endeavour for all our learners to become empowered by learning the skills they need to be resilient and more confident. This will help them to become ambitious, capable life-long learners fully equipped to make the ethical, healthy decisions help them to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.
Our Catholic Pupil Profile ensures that our pupils are encouraged to behave virtuously in their everyday lives. They are encouraged to be faith-filled, curious and discerning so that they become ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world.
We want our pupils to develop their strengths; learning and developing the skills they need to become employable once they leave full-time education. By developing qualities such as self-discipline, reliability and leadership our pupils will become enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work.
This will be achieved through consistent modelling of these personal strengths helping the pupils learn through a lens of Catholic faith. Our curriculum, through the knowledge, skills and experiences we provide, will develop our pupils empowering them to become the best versions of themselves
Our engagement process
Our school vision, underpinned by the principles of EVE is well established and was developed in consultation with staff and learners.
In order to develop our curriculum, we have worked closely with all stakeholders in order to ensure we have taken into account ideas and opinions. Surveys have been conducted with pupils and parents and visits to local schools have helped to develop future collaborative partnerships. This includes the introduction of Pedagogy Ambassadors since July 2023. Our governing body has been kept informed of progress and the role of link governors has been further developed to incorporate curriculum developments in the future.
How our curriculum meets the required elements of the Curriculum for Wales
Our work in developing our curriculum has ensured learners will experience an authentic, broad and balanced curriculum covering all Areas of Learning and the cross-curricular themes. In addition to literacy, numeracy and digital skills, there will be six areas of learning and experience. Everything our children learn will be connected to these areas.
- Humanities
- Expressive Arts
- Health and Well-being
- Languages, Literacy and Communication
- Science and Technology
- Mathematics and Numeracy
The curriculum will also cover:
- human rights
- diversity and respecting differences
- experiences and skills for careers and the workplace
- learning about local, national and international contexts
- developmentally appropriate relationships and sexuality education.
We have ensured the content and skills being taught will allow our pupils to have the experiences they need as they work towards each progression step whilst encompassing the ‘Statements of What Matters’. We have used the Welsh Government’s Principles of Progression to ensure our children have the optimum chance to reach or exceed their potential as they progress and develop throughout the school. There are a range of assessment processes in place both formative and summative to help us develop a clear understanding of how to effectively support each child.
Learning progression and our arrangements for assessment
We have refined our assessment processes to develop a common understanding of expectations in terms of skills development.
We will work within our cluster team of schools, the Local Authority, the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Central South Consortium (CSC) to develop a shared understanding of progression with the clear aim of ensuring our children are Empowered, Virtuous and Employable.
Our self-evaluation processes will allow us to continually reflect on the quality of our curriculum offer, assessment processes and teaching and learning expectations to ensure it is refined and further developed.
How our curriculum will be continually reviewed and revised
We have developed a clear and robust cycle of monitoring and review, as a part of our self-evaluation processes. For us, we understand the ever-changing needs of our learners and we will ensure there is a continual process of review and consultation as we implement the new curriculum from September. Working closely with our pedagogy pupil ambassadors and the teaching and learning group of staff we will involve and consult with parents to provide updates to involve the wellbeing, curriculum and standards committee of our governing body. In addition, we will continue to work closely with the local authority, Archdiocese and consortia to develop and refine our curriculum offer and processes.
Curriculum Organisation
Key Stage Three
At key stage 3 (Years 7 – 9) the school curriculum consists of Core subjects (English, Welsh, mathematics, science and religious education) and Non-core subjects (Modern foreign languages, design technology, ICT, history, geography, art, music, physical education, PSE). Learners are encouraged to apply their interdisciplinary skills in a range of subject area, particularly focusing on the development of Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Competence.
Sept 2023 - Year 7 and 8 will be following the "Successful Futures" curriculum plan to continue on the good progress made from feeder primary schools.(see the documents below)
Alongside subject specific assessments, all learners sit the National Government Numeracy and Reading Tests (NGNRT) in Years 7, 8 and 9. These follow on from testing in KS1 and KS2 and aim to provide learners, parents and teachers formative information to understand and improve procedural numeracy, numerical reasoning and reading ability.
Year 7 Pupils will also sit CAT tests to help establish where learning needs and support is needed, and also to help develop appropriately challenging targets for progress across all learning in the school.
Key Stage Four
At key stage 4 (Years 10 – 11) the school curriculum consists of Compulsory subjects, made up of the following, English language and English literature, Welsh second language, mathematics: numeracy, mathematics, science, religious education, and physical education.
Alongside their compulsory subject, learners will select from a broad range of Option Subjects. This offer develops yearly to ensure that we are offering subjects tailored to the current cohort. More information about the option subjects available can be found in the Key Stage 4 Options Prospectus.
All subject areas are assessed formally in Key Stage Four and through varying methods. This may include Coursework, Controlled Assessment Tasks, Written Examination, Oral Examinations or Non-Exam Assessments. The assessment methods are tailored to each qualification and may have varying weightings.
Sixth Form
At key stage 5 (Sixth Form) the school curriculum consists of a broad range option subjects and the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ). We strive to offer a competitive variety of qualifications and ensure the highest standards of teaching. Our Sixth Form is highly successful and sits within in the top 5% nationally (ALPS 2019). All subject areas are assessed formally and lead to a formal qualification that can support progression into further education, employment or training.
More information about the option subjects available can be found 6th Form website page, accessed from the main menu.