As the new academic year begins, the Camau i’r Dyfodol project enters phase 2 of research and evidence gathering. Key to this new phase of activity is the formation of a co-construction group, consisting of schools from across Wales and wider education sector partners, with support from researchers at University of Wales, Trinity St David, and Glasgow University.
The group will draw upon the experience of schools and partners to co-develop evidence-based approaches and resources that will enhance understanding of learning progression within the context of the new curriculum. This will include shaping future National Network Conversations on progression and assessment.
We are looking for around 30 schools, representative of the sector here in Wales, to participate in the group. All schools are welcome to apply.
See full details on the group, its activities and the benefits of joining in the FAQ section below. If your school would like to participate, please complete this electronic form.
Recruitment for the co-construction group will close on 30 September.
Co-Construction Group – FAQs
What is the Camau i’r dyfodol project?
The Camau i’r Dyfodol project (Steps to the Future) is a 3-year 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 by working with teachers and educational partners across the system to co-construct project outputs that will advance practical understandings of learning progression. 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.
Camau i’r Dyfodol is a research project that will look to develop understanding of learning progression which will feed back into the Welsh education system and contribute to national and international understanding.
As part of this you will be invited to participate in research activity as part of your involvement in the Co-Construction Group. Your decision to be part or not be part of research activities will be free and informed and will have no bearing upon your participation in the Co-Construction group.
The Camau i’r Dyfodol project has been designed to take place through four phases and the co-construction group will begin the work of Phase 2 during the 2022-23 academic year.
What is the purpose of the co-construction group?
Developing knowledge, understanding and capacity in learning progression is a vital part of curricular realisation for Wales. To support this, the Camau i’r dyfodol project will bring together teachers, educational partners, and researchers as a ‘Professional Co-construction Group’. This group will identify priority areas and opportunities that will help to advance practical understandings of learning progression for those involved in realising the new curriculum. It will work through these using evidence from research, policy and practice in order to co-develop approaches and resources that are both helpful and valuable to the work of schools and partner organisations across Wales. The expertise and experience of those with different roles in the education system are essential to this. Active participation, equity and openness to different perspectives are central to the work of this group.
What will the co-construction group do?
The aims of the co-construction group will be to collaboratively develop: 1) approaches and resources that will advance practical understandings of learning progression, and 2) ways of ensuring these can be used by schools and educational partners across Wales as part of their own thinking and practice.
Specifically, the group will:
- Identify the priority areas or opportunities that are most valuable to work on.
- Develop ways of working within the group and with participating schools and organisations.
- Critically engage with research, policy and practice to build knowledge and develop thinking and practice to advance priority areas and opportunities.
- Develop and lead National Network Conversations to share and inform the work of the group.
- Create resources that allow the knowledge and approaches developed by the group to be used by teachers, schools, education professionals and partner organisations across Wales as part of Curriculum realisation.
The work of the group will be manageable and meaningful to schools and will link to wider work on curriculum realisation. It will feed into the ongoing activities that schools and organisations are already engaged in to realise the new curriculum, while simultaneously developing approaches and resources that can be used more widely across the system. Priority areas and opportunities identified by the group should develop knowledge and understanding of learning progression, support people to realise the new curriculum, and come from within the Welsh Education system. They could arise from questions people have involving aspects of assessment, pedagogy, curriculum development, and may be cross-cutting or inform different AoLEs. They may be challenges or things that are significant because they are common to schools, partners and organisations.
The work of the co-construction group will be supported at all stages by the Camau i’r dyfodol project team and additional information and support will be given prior to the initial meeting of the group.
Who can be involved and how is it organised?
The co-construction group is intended to include a range of people from across all geographic regions of the Welsh Education system including school professionals, regional partners, Estyn and Qualifications Wales, as well as members of the Camau i’r Dyfodol project team. The composition of the co-construction group is intended to include diverse perspectives, roles, and expertise through the inclusion of a range of educational partners and schools from across sectors of the education system (non-maintained setting, primary, secondary, and special schools). Ideally, the co-construction group will include those who have and have not been part of the previous Pioneer and AoLE development work.
The overall co-construction group will work closely together with several sub-groups formed in relation to identified priority areas and opportunities. As far as possible, sub-groups will reflect the diversity of the overall group and will not work in isolation from each other. On-going opportunities will be developed for groups to act as critical friends, to share and draw upon expertise, to reflect and propose, and to make collective decisions about the approaches taken to ensure the overall co-construction group remains effective. Members of the Camau i’r Dyfodol team will work with the co-construction group to support the activity of the sub-groups, the use of evidence and the development of research skills and capacity. They will also support the development of new knowledge that feeds back into the system and contributes to wider understandings of progression and educational change.
What will the commitment of group members look like?
The co-construction group provides the necessary support, space and time to develop a deeper understanding of learning progression and approaches that can support the realisation of a progression-centred curriculum for Wales. Regular and consistent member participation in different types of organisational, developmental, reflective and analytical activity will be important to achieving this. As part of Phase 2 of the Camau i’r Dyfodol project, the co-construction group will operate across the 30 weeks of the 2022-23 academic session.
The activity of the group has been designed flexibly so that most of the commitment can be met remotely and through existing work within school and partner organisational settings. Only the core co-construction activity which cannot be done remotely takes place in person. It is expected that the work of the co-construction group will be actively used to support, and be developed through, the on-going work on learning progression of the participating school/partner organisation. This in-school and in-organisation commitment should reflect the direct commitment to group activities described in the table below. This table breaks down the expected time commitment per person for the designated co-construction activities.
| Group Activity | Time commitment | Location for participants |
| Project Meetings Approximately 1 hr per fortnight. | 3 days | Virtual |
| Co-Construction Workshops with CAMAU Team Arranged across the 2022-23 academic session. | 6 days (off-site) | In-person, will alternate between Wrexham and Cardiff |
| Twilight Workshops with CAMAU Team Approximately 1.5 hrs, twice per half-term. | 3 days | Virtual |
| National Network Conversations | 1 day | Virtual |
| Total commitment across the 2022-23 year | 13 days per person |
Expected Time Commitment Per Person Attending the Co-Construction Group
What are the benefits of participating in the Co-Construction Group?
Those who participate in the project will develop their understanding of learning progression, through looking at aspects of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. They will play a role in shaping the Camau i’r Dyfodol project and help to advance thinking and practice at local and national levels. It is a unique opportunity to share and develop thinking with different people from across the system and to engage critically with national and international research evidence.
Participating schools and partner organisations will be able to use evidence and learning from the co-construction group as a focal point for professional learning and development to refine and advance their own approaches to learning progression. It is an opportunity for schools and partner organisations to share and reflect on their learning across different areas of the curriculum and connect with others from across Wales.
Whether you are a school, organisation or individual, participation in the co-construction group will enable you to support the creation of new knowledge that will feed back into the system and enhance wider understanding of progression and educational change.
What are the benefits for those who do not participate directly in Co-Construction Group?
Realising a new national curriculum is a long-term and iterative process rather than a single solution or event in time. The Camau i’r Dyfodol project has been specifically designed to benefit everyone and not only those who are directly involved in the co-construction group. National Network Conversations will provide an opportunity to learn from and feed into the work of the co-construction group. The approaches and resources developed by the group will be made available for all schools and educational partners to use as part of their on-going thinking and development work.
Will I be able to apply for remuneration of staff costs for them to engage with project meetings and workshops?
Costs to the school for participation in the co-construction group can be met through Welsh Government funding allocated to schools via your regional / local school improvement services for developing learning progression in the Curriculum for Wales.
Participating practitioners’ schools will be compensated by their regional consortium or partnership for the time commitment of working directly with Camau i’r Dyfodol, at a rate of £200 per day, prorated for shorter sessions. This compensation applies to the time commitments set out in the table above, it does not include additional time that may be taken before or after these sessions for preparation and embedding of learning in school.