Planning and co-ordinating provision for skills (literacy, numeracy and digital competence) purposefully to enrich subjects across the curriculum effectively
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Information about the school
Ysgol y Strade is a bilingual comprehensive school that provides education for pupils aged 11-18 in Carmarthenshire local authority. The school is situated close to the coast, on the west side of Llanelli. There are 1,270 pupils on roll with 182 pupils in the sixth form. The school’s catchment area extends along the south-east coast of Carmarthenshire, from Fforest and Hendy in the east, to Kidwelly in the west. Most pupils come from Llanelli and the surrounding villages.
The headteacher was appointed to the post in September 2017. The leadership team also includes a deputy headteacher and four assistant headteachers.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Following the arrival of Curriculum for Wales, the school’s leaders identified the need to ensure that the development of literacy, numeracy and digital competence skills are planned purposefully and coherently across all Areas of Learning and Experience, supporting clear progression in pupils’ learning experiences over time. The school was keen to move beyond mapping superficial skills towards a curricular planning model that integrated the skills naturally within authentic contexts across the curriculum.
To achieve this, leaders developed a whole-school planning model for pupils in Years 7 to 9, based on principles that prioritise pupils’ progress. This is at the heart of the planning process, supporting departments to identify clearly which skills were being developed, how they were building on previous learning, and how they were contributing to progression along the learning continuum.
As part of this work, the school worked closely with its partner primary schools to develop a 3–16 skills continuum, particularly in reading, writing and numeracy. This enabled leaders to use transition information more strategically when planning provision and ensure that opportunities to develop skills build systematically on pupils’ previous experiences.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
The planning model, which is based on the principles of ‘backward planning’, encourages teachers to begin with a clear definition of ‘the essence of learning’ and the expected progress, before planning appropriate learning experiences. As a result, skills mapping is integrated purposefully into departmental learning plans and contributes directly to planning progression over time.
To support this process across the school, leaders developed a whole-school skills mapping framework which organises the skills within three key categories, namely ‘Communication, Thinking and Learning’. This framework is used by all Areas of Learning and Experience to identify purposefully which skills are developed within each unit of work and how they build on pupils’ previous experiences. This enables departments to plan specific opportunities to develop the skills as an integral part of the subject content, rather than as separate additional activities.
To support this further, leaders developed a “whole-school progress capture” system for pupils in Years 7 to 9 to monitor the development of skills over time across the curriculum. This system is used alongside transition information from the partner primary schools to identify strengths and areas for development in pupils’ skills early in their time in secondary school.
Literacy, numeracy and digital competence co-ordinators work closely with senior leaders to evaluate the effect of provision through whole-school monitoring activities, including scrutiny of pupils’ work, lesson observations, learning walks and discussions with pupils. The findings of these activities are used to inform departmental and whole-school improvement priorities. These monitoring activities are an integral part of the school’s ‘Gwerthuso a Gwella’ (‘Evaluation and Improvement’) arrangements and link directly to the professional learning programme, ‘Gwella gyda’n Gilydd’ (‘Improving Together’), ensuring that skills development remains at the heart of the school’s priorities.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
The whole-school approach to planning the development of literacy, numeracy and digital competence skills has ensured that these skills are integrated purposefully into learning experiences across the curriculum. As a result, pupils are given regular opportunities to develop and apply their skills in relevant subject contexts and many make sound progress in using them confidently in different subjects. For example, in their Welsh and English lessons, reading programmes such as Dim ond Darllen support pupils to interpret texts more confidently by expressing responses orally before writing. In their history lessons, pupils develop their extended writing skills by analysing and evaluating the value of a variety of historical sources, for example when studying the Chartist movement and the fight for rights in Year 7.
Purposeful opportunities to apply numeracy skills in subjects such as geography and technology enable pupils to interpret data, draw and analyse graphs and undertake problem-solving tasks in meaningful contexts. For example, in their geography lessons in Year 8, pupils analyse population data sets and draw and interpret graphs to compare geographical patterns. In their textiles lessons in Year 9, pupils use the four operations to make financial decisions based on information, for example when comparing the cost of materials and applying discounts and special offers when designing and creating a tote bag.
Pupils also develop their digital skills effectively through dedicated provision in their digital lessons, along with further opportunities across the curriculum to use technology to plan, record and edit work, for example when filming and evaluating performances in drama lessons.
A strong alignment between whole-school evaluation activities and the school’s professional learning programme, Gwella gyda’n Gilydd, ensures that the development of learners’ skills is at the heart of the professional learning focus of staff. By focusing on teaching strategies, such as effective questioning, developing oracy and providing timely feedback, staff strengthen pupils’ ability to express their ideas more clearly both orally and in writing and to improve the quality of their work more independently.
As a result, many pupils apply their skills confidently across the curriculum and build firmly on their learning over time.
How have you shared your good practice?
Leaders have shared the curricular planning model and skill mapping arrangements through whole-school professional learning opportunities and through regular co-operation between skills co-ordinators and heads of department. This has supported a consistent understanding among staff of how to plan for the development of skills across the curriculum.
The school has also worked closely with its cluster of primary schools to develop a 3–16 skills continuum, sharing planning practices and using transition data to support progression in learning.
The school’s leaders have also contributed to national professional learning programmes and shared their experience of curriculum design and skills mapping with colleagues across the sector through training and presentation opportunities at a national level.