Minutes:
The Secondary Teacher Representative presented to the Forum. They described the key approach to Religion, Values and Ethics in Bassaleg School.
Key Points:
· Bassaleg School uses a process of continuous assessment and minimum expected grades (MEG). These changes to assessment have meant a mindset and culture change for students, staff and parents.
· There is a whole school assessment policy but also specific department level policies.
· Learner engagement is crucial and RVE should be perceived as integral to the curriculum and the purpose of everything we do in and outside the classroom should be considered.
· It is a unique subject area that reinforces what other subjects can offer but stands alone in its uniqueness and what it offers to learners.
· The study of RVE should be multidisciplinary, adopt a worldviews approach and include breadth and depth.
· RVE should be objective, critical and pluralistic and it should be relevant and inclusive of all.
· The RVE curriculum should be built around ‘learner experiences’ and should allow opportunity for individuality, creativity and skill development.
· RVE requires a holistic approach.
The following was discussed:
The Forum stated that some of the teaching techniques used are good for multi-lingual learners. They enquired whether when classrooms are turned into war zones this is handled sensitively. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that it is not an uncontrolled discussion and there are learners who have been directly affected by these issues who want to discuss their experiences.
The Forum queried where Bassaleg School are in terms of RVE. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that they are a pilot school, and all Key Stage 3 students are on the new curriculum.
The Forum enquired how Year 9-11 wellbeing works with the SACRE agreed syllabus. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that Year 9 and 10 complete three hours per fortnight and Year 11 do one hour per week. This is studied alongside wellbeing but makes for a programme that is better in terms of delivery as it used to be two sessions of four hours within the year.
The Forum queried what was the approval rating from the children as short course had a good rating as they had a qualification. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that Year 9 have a high approval rating as they have come from the new curriculum. They are facing some difficulties with Year 10 when compared with Welsh Compulsory but what is being provided now does meet statutory requirements but no qualification at the end. The Forum stated that it would useful for the Secondary Teacher Representative to return to the Forum at the end of the school year once there has been a chance to evaluate it.
The Forum enquired what opportunities were available in the cluster to develop progression steps to avoid repeating things and ensure that pupils develop knowledge over time. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that they have worked on the progression steps with Primary which feeds into Secondary. There is still work to be done and there are Quality Assurance procedures in place to ensure that work is being done in the department.
The Forum stated that they like the approach to capturing learning and understanding and feel this gives pupils more autonomy to demonstrate their understanding. They feel it is imperative that pupils have open minds and understand their place in the world and other people’s point of view and experience and there does not need to be accreditation attached to that. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that they do try things and see what is successful and what is not.
The Forum enquired how much of a link is there between History, Geography and RVE and how a humanities cluster works in the school. The Secondary Teacher Representative informed the Forum that Areas of Learning and Experience (AOLE) meetings take place which have four areas of focus and there are representatives from each part of the AOLE. They informed the Forum that the links are made by the students, and they are asked at the end of each lesson to link it to other parts of the curriculum, and they work closely enough together to understand what each part of the curriculum is doing.
The Forum stated that children learning about the world and becoming ethical, informed citizens is important and this is one of the fundamentals that tie in with the Welsh Government’s anti-racism plan.