#TalkCurriculum Business Breakfast
We recently had a fantastic morning at the Welsh Government’s #TalkCurriculum Business Breakfast discussing qualification reform and networking with businesses and schools.
The direction in which the new curriculum is taking is very exciting. What has been proposed could mean drastic reform, with a focus on preparing children for the world of business and enable our economy to compete globally. We must help children and young people understand and consider all possible potential futures. This curriculum aims to provide this with greater involvement of the business world and advances in technology.
Leigh Hughes, Kirsty Williams, Steve Davies, Luke Mansfield, Hugh Davies and Jo Richards all very passionately put this point across at the breakfast meeting and made some very thought-provoking points about the changes required in education and what the new curriculum aims to achieve. It was apparent that the curriculums intent to ‘Properly Prepare People’ for the world of work is at the heart of the curriculum, as it aims to raise aspirations and understanding of the world of work and the opportunities new technological advances and innovation will provide.
The design and process of this curriculum in Wales is to align with the proposals of a revamp to qualifications and the skills taught within education. This will hopefully ensure qualifications support teaching, learning and job opportunities.
Steve Davies expressed why the curriculum had to change. Firstly, he stated that the OECD Review reported low performance across Wales in 2015. This was then matched by PISA data. The current curriculum was devised in 1988 and the Education Director believes it does not reflect technological advancements and does not prepare people for the working world of the future.
The Education Ministers’ closing statement was that telling schools what to do does not work. For this reason, the new curriculum is providing a framework for schools to essentially write their own curriculum. This provides schools with the freedom to enhance the provision for their own children’s specific needs and talents.
It was inspiring and encouraging to hear the proposals for the new curriculum. We hope that this curriculum can be enrolled successfully and efficiently funded to realise it’s potential.
