Ysgol Tryfan is a bilingual comprehensive school in Bangor, Gwynedd. The school plans to introduce the new curriculum to year 7 in September 2022, even after a challenging few years thanks to Covid.
Their approach to informing parents of the changes and gathering their views has received positive feedback from parents for its simplicity and straightforwardness. And whilst there are of course many ways to approach the task, headmaster Arwyn Williams agreed to share the Tryfan approach.
Planned by Assistant Head Cheryl Roberts, Osian Hughes and the senior leadership team, the on-line survey was part of wider engagement with pupils, governors, staff and others. Parents are often time-poor, so making the exercise quick and easy was a major consideration.
The feedback, also from focus groups, was very constructive, and in some cases exposed issues which were ‘better discovered here than discussions taking place elsewhere’. Priorities that parents felt needed more emphasis were global citizenship, sustainability and working with local organisations and the community.
‘Can you help us provide enriching experiences?’ Was the final question and brought several great responses including STEM help from Bangor University, several business offers, youth work, creative skills and volunteering.
Here’s the Tryfan approach in full:
Good afternoon
We are preparing for the introduction of a new curriculum for year 7 learners in September 2022. In order to offer our learners the best experiences we would like to hear your views please. There are questions on our vision here at Ysgol Tryfan, the experiences we offer our learners and what you as parents can offer. We would appreciate it if you took a few minutes to complete the questionnaire.
https://forms.gle/DgbotKs3Joz7vCuk6
Thank you very much.
Ysgol Tryfan
Please note, the animation featured in the survey has since been revised and the new version can be seen here: 2022 – A new curriculum for Wales has arrived