At Nursery our RE topic is Galilee to Jerusalem. During this topic we listened to stories of Jesus’ love for us. One of the stories was the Feeding of the Five Thousand portrayed through a book called The Boy Who Shared His Sandwich. Following the story we made flat bread. Making the flat bread became a cross curriculum activity with ‘Change’ our current school concept. We discussed how the dough changed into edible tasty bread after we applied heat.
We plan our curriculum in accordance with the Curriculum for Wales. The curriculum is underpinned by the Four Purposes to ensure our pupils leave primary education with a sound basis for lifelong learning and the work place. There are many layers to our curriculum including:
• Integral Skills
• 6 Areas of Learning and Experience
• Cross Curricular Skills
4 Purposes
The Four Purposes will be at the heart of our curriculum. They will be the starting point for all decisions on the content and experiences developed as part of the curriculum to support our children and young people to be:
Concept Based Approach
At St Joseph’s Catholic Infant School, we used a concept-based approach to our curriculum. A concept is an abstract idea that represents a category, object or situation. Generally, they are broad, abstract and not contained or belonging to a particular time, group of people or area. They are accessible to every child regardless of their background.
In our school the following concepts are explored by all pupils over a term. These are covered in a three-year cycle and all concepts are continuously reviewed to ensure that they are relevant to our children and the context of the school:
| Year | Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term |
| 1 | Nature | Community | Life |
| 2 | Family | Climate | Survival |
| 3 | Bravery | Change | Community |
From these concepts, lines of enquiry are developed to suit the interests and needs of the pupils whilst also ensuring that they develop appropriate knowledge and skills. Through this concept-based approach, children experience a broad and balanced curriculum, covering all 6 Areas of Learning and Experience. The 6 Areas of Learning and Experience as outlined by the Welsh Government are:
Integral Skills
The four purposes are also underpinned by integral skills which will be developed through a wide range of teaching and learning within our curriculum.
Creativity and innovation
Learners should be given space to be curious and inquisitive, and to generate many ideas. They should be supported to link and connect disparate experiences, knowledge and skills, and see, explore and justify alternative solutions. They should be able to identify opportunities and communicate their strategies. This should support learners to create different types of value.
Critical thinking and problem-solving
Learners should be supported to ask meaningful questions, and to evaluate information, evidence and situations. They should be able to analyse and justify possible solutions, recognising potential issues and problems. Learners should become objective in their decision-making, identifying and developing arguments. They should be able to propose solutions which generate different types of value.
Personal effectiveness
Learners should develop emotional intelligence and awareness, becoming confident and independent. They should have opportunities to lead debate and discussions, becoming aware of the social, cultural, ethical and legal implications of their arguments. They should be able to evaluate their learning and mistakes, identifying areas for development. They should become responsible and reliable, being able to identify and recognise different types of value and then use that value.
Planning and organising
Where developmentally appropriate, learners should be able to set goals, make decisions and monitor interim results. They should be able to reflect and adapt, as well as manage time, people and resources. They should be able to check for accuracy and be able create different types of value.
Cross Curricular Skills
We believe that the mandatory cross-curricular skills of literacy, numeracy and digital competence are essential for learners to be able to access knowledge. They enable learners to access the breadth of our curriculum, equipping them with the lifelong skills to realise the four purposes. These are skills that can be transferred to the world of work, enabling our learners to adapt and thrive in the modern world.
Our curriculum is designed in a way that enables learners to develop competence and capability in the cross-curricular skills and extend and apply them across all Areas.
Across our curriculum, learners will be given a range of opportunities to: