- Latest available (Revised) - English
- Latest available (Revised) - Welsh
- Original (As enacted) - English
- Original (As enacted) - Welsh
Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021
You are here:
- Acts of Senedd Cymru
- 2021 asc 4
- PART 2
- CHAPTER 2
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
Changes over time for: CHAPTER 2
Alternative versions:
Changes to legislation:
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, CHAPTER 2.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
CHAPTER 2E+WCURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS
GeneralE+W
19IntroductionE+W
(1)This Chapter sets out curriculum requirements.
(2)References in this Chapter to a curriculum are to a curriculum for any of the following—
(a)registered pupils at a maintained school, except those over school age;
(b)registered pupils at a maintained nursery school;
(c)children for whom funded non-maintained nursery education is provided.
(3)In this Chapter—
(a)references to pupils are to registered pupils at a maintained school or maintained nursery school, except those over compulsory school age;
(b)references to children, in relation to funded non-maintained nursery education, are to children for whom that education is provided.
Commencement Information
I1S. 19 in force at 1.9.2022 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 5(1)(2)(a), Sch.
I2S. 19 in force at 1.9.2023 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 6(1)(2)(a)
I3S. 19 in force at 1.9.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 7(a)
Curriculum requirementsE+W
20The four purposesE+W
The curriculum must enable pupils, or children, to develop in the ways described in the four purposes.
Commencement Information
I4S. 20 in force at 1.9.2022 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 5(1)(2)(a), Sch.
I5S. 20 in force at 1.9.2023 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 6(1)(2)(a)
I6S. 20 in force at 1.9.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 7(a)
21ProgressionE+W
The curriculum must provide for appropriate progression.
Commencement Information
I7S. 21 in force at 1.9.2022 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 5(1)(2)(a), Sch.
I8S. 21 in force at 1.9.2023 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 6(1)(2)(a)
I9S. 21 in force at 1.9.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 7(a)
22SuitabilityE+W
The curriculum must be suitable for pupils, or children, of differing ages, abilities and aptitudes.
Commencement Information
I10S. 22 in force at 1.9.2022 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 5(1)(2)(a), Sch.
I11S. 22 in force at 1.9.2023 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 6(1)(2)(a)
I12S. 22 in force at 1.9.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 7(a)
23Breadth and balanceE+W
The curriculum must be broad and balanced.
Commencement Information
I13S. 23 in force at 1.9.2022 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 5(1)(2)(a), Sch.
I14S. 23 in force at 1.9.2023 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 6(1)(2)(a)
I15S. 23 in force at 1.9.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 7(a)
24Areas of learning and experience and cross-curricular skillsE+W
(1)The curriculum must make provision for teaching and learning that—
(a)encompasses each of the areas of learning and experience, including the mandatory elements within the areas of learning and experience, and
(b)develops the mandatory cross-curricular skills.
(2)The provision for teaching and learning encompassing the mandatory element of Relationships and Sexuality Education must be developmentally appropriate for pupils, or children.
(3)The provision for teaching and learning encompassing the mandatory element of Religion, Values and Ethics must accord with Part 1 of Schedule 1, except where subsection (4) applies.
(4)This subsection applies where the provision for teaching and learning is made—
(a)for pupils in a class in which the majority of the pupils are below compulsory school age at the beginning of the school year;
(b)for children for whom funded non-maintained nursery education is provided.
(5)If the curriculum applies to pupils who have completed the school year in which the majority of the pupils in their class attained the age of 14, it must offer those pupils a choice of teaching and learning within each area of learning and experience.
Commencement Information
25Power to impose further curriculum requirementsE+W
(1)Regulations may specify further requirements with which a curriculum for a maintained school must comply so far as it applies to pupils within subsection (2).
(2)The pupils are those who have completed the school year in which the majority of the pupils in their class attained the age of 14, but are still of compulsory school age.
(3)The regulations may, among other things, specify provision—
(a)that must be made in a curriculum;
(b)that must not be made in a curriculum.
(4)The regulations may make provision by reference to courses of study (for example, so as to require a curriculum to make provision for a minimum number of courses of study, or for courses of study specified in the regulations).
(5)In this section, “course of study” means a course of education or training that—
(a)leads to a form of qualification or set of forms of qualification approved under Part 4 of the Qualifications Wales Act 2015 (anaw 5) or designated under Part 5 of that Act, or
(b)is designated by the Welsh Ministers under section 34(8) of that Act.
Commencement Information
I19S. 25 in force at 1.9.2022 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 5(1)(2)(b), Sch.
I20S. 25 in force at 1.9.2023 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 6(1)(2)(b)
I21S. 25 in force at 1.9.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2022/652, art. 7(b)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThis Chapter only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. The revised version is currently only available in English.
Original (As Enacted or Made) - English: The original English language version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Original (As Enacted or Made) - Welsh:The original Welsh language version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the Welsh Government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes accompany all Acts of Senedd Cymru.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.