1. Y7 Opening Minds
Every pupil in Year 7 follows our competency based curriculum for 5 hours a week. We believe this curriculum is unlike any other in the area. The following slides provide an insight into why we have developed this approach to the curriculum, and how it is delivered. Further information can be gained by looking in more detail at the scheme of work.
First session today – until about – short presentation by me, break out into groups for you to be creative!
11.30 – 1.00 – In depts, HOY & HoKS together
1.00 – 2.00 – Lunch
2.00 – 3.00 – FT’s and HOY
First session – concentrate on the curriculum at KS3 – particularly Y7 and visit some fundamental questions
What is our core purpose,- in Y7 and in a wider sense throughout their school life
What are we preparing our young people for exactly?
Is what we are doing fit for purpose?
What are the key determinants of our curriculum? what are we being driven by?
Is there another way to drive up standards in school ?

2. What counts as an educated 19 year old in this day and age?
Wanted for the 21st Century workforce:
“Resilient, independent learners who have flexible skills and competencies, work well in teams and can lead themselves and others to perform up to and beyond their potential”
There are few that would not recognise the sentiments expressed above. However if a modern curriculum is to help support these aspirations we believe it is time to look at its structure and content afresh.
The Nuffield review of education starts with this question
In particular it asks these questions on behalf of our learners –
What should achievement & commitment mean ?
What knowledge and understanding do they need ?
What are the big issues and ideas that they need to discuss ?
What qualities and virtues should be nurtured ?
What competencies do they need in adult life ?
What interests should young people be enabled to develop to enrich their lives ?
What guidance do all young people need ?
How can young people be supported for a role in a global, multi cultural, multi faith society ?
Do we Produce the latter now in Coedylan?
If we don,t – Shouls we try? How do we start to do it?
If we don,t now, when should we start?

3. What is the best we can achieve for our learners
What is the best we can achieve for our learners? Ask both teachers and parents this question and the list would most probably look something like this below
Be confident
Know how to learn
Be engaged
Be resilient
Stay positive
Be flexible
Be tolerant
Be independent
Stay motivated
Be able to adapt
Love learning
Be a life long learner
Be literate, numerate
Confident with technology
Computer literate
Be able to get things done
Be able to relate to others
Communicate
Be able to manage time
Manage change
Be enterprising
Manage risk
Want to achieve
If we sat down and asked what do we want our curriculum to do? or
What is the purpose of education?
our lists would contain these things
We could all add our own – knowledge of big ideas that shape the world for example

4. Skills V’s Content
Our children will live in a world very different from ours. For one thing, our children will have more or less instant access to vast amounts of information from virtually anywhere. This calls into question a curriculum solely emphasising content and knowledge in the familiar way.
This is now recognised both globally and nationally as education systems begin to adjust to highlight the importance in developing in our young people skills appropriate to life in the 21st Century

5. The approach taken in PHS
All of the traditional subjects are still taught in Y7 at PHS. However we have created time on the time table to give 5 hours a week over to a discrete competency based curriculum called “Opening Minds.” During this time -
Students taught by same teacher in same room for a chunk of timetable
Subject areas are combined and delivered in a project based format.
Subject knowledge is used as “servers” rather than determinants of the lesson aims
5 areas of competency underpin planning and assessment – not subject content
The OEDC identifies the key determinants of economic success as
the ability of the labour force to handle information & knowledge
- the ability to work flexibly
- the ability to adapt quickly
Many countries have skills at the heart of the curriculum with a focus for learning on attributes, attitudes
In the Learning Country the intention to develop a skills-based curriculum from Foundation to is made explicit.
Learning pathways 14 – 19 and the Welsh Bacc both have as their core requirements the Key Skills
The ESTYN CIF, the Modern Apprenticeship framework, and the review of the National Curriculum, and GCSE,s are all promoting skills
The NAfW is currently consulting on a non-statutory skills framework
The RSA Opening Minds project set out a competency based curriculum for the 21st Century – plenty of pilots now exist from which to draw inspiration

6. RSA – Opening Minds
Students taught by same teacher in same room for a chunk of timetable
Subject areas are combined and delivered in a project based format.
Subject knowledge used as “servers” rather than determinants of the lesson aims
5 areas of competency underpin planning and assessment – not subject content
In essence
Students meet fewer teachers and move less frequently – an obvious link to Y6
Curriculum more coherent and relevant avoiding the compartmentalisation of the curriculum at Y7
- like reading 12 chapters of the same book rather than 1 chapter from 12 books at the same time.

7. In essence then -
Students move less frequently – an obvious link to Y6
Curriculum more coherent and relevant avoiding the compartmentalisation of the curriculum at Y7 - like reading 12 chapters of the same book rather than 1 chapter from 12 books at the same time.
Skills and attributes are grouped under Citizenship, Learning, Managing Information , Relating to People, and Managing Situations. The development of these skills are at the forefront of lesson planning the subject content being used to serve the delivery of these rather than being the end in itself.