Skills
From September 2008, the curriculum will have a clearer focus on the needs of learners and the process of learning. It will also give fuller attention to the development and application of skills. To help schools deliver the revised curriculum, a non-statutory Skills Framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales has been developed. This framework defines the range of skills that learners aged 3-19 should develop. It provides guidance about continuity and progression in developing thinking, and communication, number and ICT skills.
Skills across the curriculum
At Key Stages 2 and 3, learners should be given opportunities to build on the skills they have started to acquire and develop at Foundation Phase. They should continue to acquire, develop, practise, apply and refine these skills through group and individual tasks in a variety of contexts across the curriculum. Progress can be seen in terms of the refinement of these skills and by their application to tasks that move from: concrete to abstract; simple to complex; personal to the “big picture”; familiar to unfamiliar; and supported to independent and interdependent.
For 14-19 learners, the framework should provide the basis for making effective progress in these skills, which can be assessed through a range of qualifications, including Key Skills.
Skills within PSE
An essential part of personal and social development is the cultivation of personal and social skills. These can be learned and practised in the classroom and applied in the many contexts and experiences offered in the wider school community.
The skills to be developed through PSE are:
- Developing thinking
- Developing communication
- Developing ICT
- Developing number
- Working with others
- Improving own learning.