In February 2015, a review of the school curriculum and assessment arrangements commissioned by the Welsh Government found that the current arrangements ‘no longer meet the needs of the children and young people in Wales’. Professor Graham Donaldson, who led the review, said ‘the case for fundamental change is powerful’.

Set against a backdrop of continuing efforts to improve school standards and the relative underperformance of Wales’s pupils, the Welsh Government accepted Professor Donaldson’s recommendations. This marked the beginning of a new phase in Wales’s education reform journey.

Key features of the new curriculum

- Four key purposes

- Six areas of learning

- Literacy, numeracy and digital competence embedded across curriculum

- No more key stages

The curriculum will consist of six areas of learning and experience and should all make distinct and strong contributions to developing the four purposes of the curriculum. Taken together, they should define the breadth of the curriculum.

- Ambitious capable learners

- Ethical informed citizens

- Enterprising creative contributors

- Healthy confident individuals

Please click on the links below for an update on each school curriculum: