Curriculum / Cwricwlwm
The Curriculum
In accordance with Welsh Government policy, Ysgol Frongoch has worked hard to develop our vision and now implement the Curriculum For Wales. As always, all stakeholders have been asked to contribute at various stages and, whilst constructing the curriculum for our learners here at Frongoch, we have ensured that the learner's voice continues to drive our everyday learning. We have used the Welsh Government CFW guidance and have worked within our Denbigh Cluster [and beyond] and alongside the Regional Consortia GwE to develop our Curriculum to ensure the Curriculum Offer meets the needs of our learners. A curriculum review takes place every 2 years, with the most recent review taking place in 2024-25.
The school has implemented the Digital Competency Framework and the school has six areas of learning:
- Expressive Arts
- Health and Wellbeing
- Humanities
- Languages, Literacy and Communication
- Mathematics and Numercay
- Science and Technology
The content and nature of the work will be designed to suit the pupil’s needs, bearing in mind their age and stage of learning. As a school, we aim to help each child to develop in the following ways:-
a) to read fluently and accurately, with understanding, feeling and discrimination;
b) to develop a legible style of handwriting and satisfactory standards of spelling,
Syntax, punctuation and usage;
c) to communicate clearly and confidently in speech and writing, in appropriate ways
for various occasions and purposes;
d) to listen attentively and with understanding;
e) to learn how to acquire information from various sources and to record information
and findings in various ways;
f) to understand the applications of mathematical ideas in various situations in the home,
classroom, school and local area;
g) to observe living and inanimate things, and to recognise characteristics such as
pattern and order;
h) to master basic scientific ideas;
i) to investigate solutions and interpret evidence, to analyse and to solve problems;
j) to develop awareness of self and sensitivity to others, acquire a set of moral values
and the confidence to make and hold to moral judgements, and develop habits of
Self-discipline and acceptable behaviour;
k) to know about geographical, historical and social aspects of the local environment
and the national heritage, to be aware of other times and places, and to recognise
links between local, national and international events;
l) to acquire sufficient control of self or of tools, equipment and instruments, to be able
to use music, drama and several forms of arts and crafts as means of expression;
m) to develop agility and physical co-ordination, confidence in and through physical
activity, and the ability to express feelings through movement.
Our objectives are:
- to implement County policy statements and guidelines in all areas of the curriculum
- to continue to develop a balanced and coherent curriculum with particular emphasis on the six areas of the curriculum, i.e. language development, mathematical development, scientific development, personal and social development, aesthetic/creative development and physical development.
- to continue to emphasise the development of skills, values, attitudes and concepts
- to strengthen the existing links between the school and the community and the community and the school
- to strengthen, through frequent participation, the links with our feeder infant school, the local high school and the neighbouring primary schools.
- WELSH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
The medium of instruction is English. There is a strong emphasis on the Welsh heritage and culture at the school and all children are taught Welsh as a second language. The children learn Welsh during specific Welsh lessons and are encouraged to develop patterns and everyday Welsh at various times of the school day-for instance during Helpwr Heddiw and by taking the dinner register. The children develop their reading and writing skills in Welsh and there is a strong emphasis on the Oracy element of Welsh as the children progress through school. Criw Cymraeg is a Pupil Voice group which children can become part of and this group meets regularly with our Welsh language coordinator to discuss and agree on various ways to develop Welsh at Frongoch. Criw Cymraeg takes services, arranges cake sales and, in the past, have invited parents/carers into school for their Caffi Cymraeg.
We celebrate St. David’s Day/Dydd Gwyl Dewi and participate in the Urdd Eisteddfod in as many competitions as possible. The children also learn the National Welsh Anthem. We are a bilingual school and look for every opportunity to use Welsh at an incidental level. The school, led by Criw Cymraeg, achieved the Bronze Cymraeg Campus award in 2019-2020 and aims to achieve the Silver award during the 2025/26 academic year.
- COLLECTIVE WORSHIP
According to the Education Reform Act, we are required to ensure that:
- All pupils take part in an act of collective worship every day.
- Such acts of worship may be as a whole school, or in other groups (except in religious groups).
- The majority of acts of collective worship in any school term shall be ‘wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character’ and which ‘reflect the broad traditions of Christian belief without being distinctive of any particular Christian denomination’.
Our aim for collective worship is to
- Foster a sense of community and provide the opportunity to celebrate the value of the school community
- Enrich the lives of all present
- Enable the sharing of common emotions (such as love, joy, fear, forgiveness, respect)
- Contribute towards spiritual and moral development.
Visitors from church and chapel, and possibly other religious communities, are invited to lead acts of collective worship.
In accordance with the legal requirements, parents have the right to withdraw their children from acts of collective worship. Those who may wish to do so are asked to discuss their concerns and the practical implications of withdrawal with the Headteacher.
- RELIGION, VALUES AND ETHICS
The change from Religious Education [RE] to Religion, Values and Ethics [RVE] reflects the expanded scope of Religious Education and ensures the legislation itself is clear that RVE includes non-religious philosophical views. Provisions in the Act are linked to the term ‘philosophical convictions’ within the meaning of Article 2 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights [A2P1]. Community schools such as Frongoch are required to ensure the provision of RVE within their curriculum.
The right to withdraw from the Curriculum for Wales from September 2022- please note there will be no parental right to withdraw from RVE in respect of all learners up to and including year 6, as the Curriculum for Wales will be implemented by all primary schools and settings from this date.
- HOMEWORK
We review our homework arrangements regularly. We ask for and receive feedback from all stakeholders. We ask all parents/ carers to read regularly with their children and to also practice the timetables with their children on a regular basis. In 2025-26, all other homework will be split into 3 different formats for the 3 terms:
Autumn - Project based. Spring – Grid options. Summer – 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾.
Please note that the purpose of homework is to develop basic learning skills and support the learning taking place at school. We also aim to develop health and wellbeing skills/ habits which will hopefully serve children and their families well as they prepare for life in 21st Century Wales.
- PROVISION FOR SPORT
Children take part in a range of sports and other physical activities, such as football, netball, gymnastics, dance. We have excellent space and facilities and frequently host area sporting tournaments on our site. All pupils have at least one session per week, most will receive two per week, and we ask learners to have the kit list below.
Swimming is also part of the curriculum and the children attend the local leisure centre under competent supervision. A voluntary contribution may be collected at the start of the swimming sessions to help meet the cost of hiring the pool. The school works hard to ensure and prioritise that all pupils leaving Year 6 are able to swim 25m and top-up sessions are offered when needed to Year 6 pupils.
