Camau i’r Dyfodol Project (Steps to the Future)
What is the purpose of the Camau i’r Dyfodol Project?
The Camau i’r Dyfodol project (Steps to the Future) is a joint project of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the University of Glasgow in collaboration with Welsh Government. The project is designed to develop new knowledge and support the realisation of Curriculum for Wales. It will do this by bringing together teachers, educational partners, and researchers to co-develop new capacity, ways of thinking and resources to build upon existing practice. Central to this process will be the integration of learning progression, curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. The expertise and experience of all those with roles in the education system are essential for the work of the project. At the same time, everyone across partner organisations and education settings can learn as we work together to take understanding of learning progression forward in the realisation of Curriculum for Wales for all children and young people.
What does the project look like?
Realising a new national curriculum is a long-term process rather than a single event in time. The Camau i’r Dyfodol project has four phases that take place over three years. In phase 1, we will learn from people where they are in the process and what would help them to move forward. It will help to identify priorities and draw ideas from a range of evidence from schools, research, and international practice. In phases 2 and 3 we will work with teachers and other educational partners to co-construct project outputs that will advance practical understandings of learning progression. The nature of the outcomes will be decided in partnership with project participants and will be designed to share approaches to progression that help to build confidence and capacity for those working in a range of settings. In phase 4, we will work with participants from across the system to identify what is needed to continue to build capacity among school professionals beyond the life of the project. What we learn collectively from each phase will feed back into the Welsh system and contribute to national and international understanding of learning progression and educational change.
How will the project work with people across the education system?
Co-construction and equity sit at the heart of the Camau i’r Dyfodol project with a recognition that no single solution can come from any one partner. Everyone will be able to engage with this work whether this is by local development in individual classrooms and schools, in educational organisations, through national network conversations or directly as part of the project’s activity. Schools continue to face a range of demands following the pandemic which means that engagement must be meaningful, manageable and valuable to people. We will work with a range of educational partners including those in schools, regions, the middle tier, HEIs, Estyn, Qualifications Wales and Welsh Government to help co-develop ways of thinking, associated resources and project outputs. The Camau I'r Dyfodol Project believes that change led by those at the heart of the system provides the best opportunity for sharing expertise, building confidence, fostering coherence across the system and for supporting the different people and organisations who matter in education in Wales to realise their new curriculum.