Successful futures for all: Explorations of curriculum reform

There were two aims to the programme of research reported in the publication: the first relating to the need to identify emergent issues in the development of the curriculum as they relate to disadvantage; the second related to the need to build education research capacity in Wales.
In order to meet both of the Programme’s aims, we developed a ‘hub and spoke’ model. The ‘hub’ project provided a more comprehensive overview of the how the new curriculum might relate to socio-economically disadvantaged learners. This project then connected with five satellite projects that each focused on a different dimension of disadvantage. Two focused on schools and pupils that are likely to experience particular challenges – schools in rural areas and learners with additional needs. Two focused on particular areas of learning – the Digital Competency Framework (DCF) and the Expressive Arts and one project has explored the role of Mindfulness interventions to promote health and wellbeing. Although the six projects all explore different dimensions of disadvantage, there are some notable similarities in their findings both in terms of what the new curriculum promises and its potential perils.