The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 (“the 2021 Act”) establishes a new legal framework for a curriculum and makes provision about assessment for pupils and children in Wales (“the CfW”).
The CfW will become mandatory as follows—
on 1 September 2022 for—
children receiving funded nursery education,
pupils in their reception year,
children and pupils in years 1 to 6,
on 1 September 2022 for children and pupils in year 7 in those schools and other settings where there is a curriculum adopted or otherwise provided in accordance with the 2021 Act,
on 1 September 2023 for children and pupils in years 7 and 8,
on 1 September 2024 for children and pupils in year 9,
on 1 September 2025 for children and pupils in year 10, and
on 1 September 2026 for children and pupils in year 11.
Part 2 of these Regulations makes provision in readiness for the first phase of the roll out of the CfW to children and pupils in Wales on 1 September 2022 to amend and revoke a number of Orders made under section 108 of the Education Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”). Those Orders make provision in relation to the assessment arrangements for the existing National Curriculum set out in Part 7 of the 2002 Act.
Regulation 3 of these Regulations revokes the National Curriculum (Key Stage 2 Assessment Arrangements) (Wales) Order 2004 (“the 2004 Order”) on 30 May 2022. This will mean that assessment under the 2004 Order will not take place in the school year 2021 to 2022. The 2004 Order sets out the assessment arrangements for the final year of the second key stage. That affects year 6. The CfW is not rolled out to pupils in that year until the school year 2022 to 2023.
The National Curriculum (Key Stage 3 Assessment Arrangements) (Wales) Order 2005 (“the 2005 Order”) makes provision for the assessment of pupils in the final year of the third key stage in maintained schools in Wales. That correlates to school year 9. The CfW will be rolled out to pupils in school year 9 in the school year 2024 to 2025. Regulation 4(1) disapplies the 2005 Order for pupils in special schools from the school year 2021 to 2022. Regulation 4(2) revokes the 2005 Order for all other schools from 1 September 2024.
Regulation 5 makes transitional provision in respect of the Education (National Curriculum) (Assessment Arrangements for Reading and Numeracy) (Wales) Order 2013 (“the 2013 Order”). The 2013 Order applies to those pupils in years 2 to 9. The tests required by the 2013 Order will continue to be administered by schools during the roll out of the new CfW to those years. The tests are widely known by practitioners as the “personalised assessments”. The transitional provisions amend the 2013 Order so that it will continue to work with the new CfW. The 2013 Order is revoked on 1 September 2024. From 1 September 2024 all pupils who are assessed pursuant to the 2013 Order will be following the CfW and the 2013 Order will no longer be needed. It is intended to make new Regulations in relation to reading and numeracy tests that will apply from 2024 onwards.
Regulation 6 disapplies the National Curriculum (Assessment Arrangements for the Foundation Phase and the Second and Third Key Stages) (Wales) Order 2014 (“the 2014 Order”) to coincide with the roll out of the new CfW. The 2014 Order is revoked on 1 September 2024. From 1 September 2024 all pupils who are assessed pursuant to the 2014 Order will be following the CfW and the 2014 Order will no longer be needed.
Regulation 7 revokes the National Curriculum (Moderation of Assessment Arrangements for the Second and Third Key Stages) (Wales) Order 2015 from 30 May 2022.
Regulation 8 revokes Part 4 of the National Curriculum (Desirable Outcomes, Educational Programmes and Baseline and End of Phase Assessment Arrangements for the Foundation Phase) (Wales) Order 2015 (“the 2015 Order”) on 30 May 2022. Part 4 of the 2015 Order sets out the assessment arrangements for the final year of the foundation phase. That correlates to year 2 and the CfW will be rolled out to pupils in that year in the school year 2022 to 2023. The 2015 Order is fully revoked on 1 September 2022.
Part 3 of these Regulations makes amendments to the Head Teacher’s Report to Parents and Adult Pupils (Wales) Regulations 2011 (“the Reporting Regulations”) and the School Performance Information (Wales) Regulations 2011 (“the School Performance Regulations”) which are consequential on the revocation of the 2004 Order and the 2015 Order.
The Reporting Regulations make provision as to the report the head teacher of a maintained school is required to send to parents and adult pupils each school year and the additional information a parent may request from the head teacher. Regulation 9 of these Regulations amends the Reporting Regulations so that head teachers are not required to report on the results of the statutory assessments that are revoked by these Regulations.
The School Performance Regulations regulate the transfer of information relating to the educational performance of pupils from head teachers to school governing bodies, local authorities and the Welsh Ministers. Regulation 10(2) of these Regulations amends the School Performance Regulations so as to remove the requirement on a governing body of a maintained school to provide the results of the statutory assessments that are revoked by these Regulations to the local authority that maintains the school and to the Welsh Ministers.
Regulation 10(3) further amends the School Performance Regulations by substituting a new Schedule 2. The effect of that is that the results of the reading and numeracy tests are excluded from the statutory assessments information that must be sent by a governing body of a school to the local authority that maintains that school.
Regulation 11 amends regulation 5 of the School Information (Wales) Regulations 2011 so as to remove the requirement for school local authorities to distribute copies of the composite prospectus without charge to parents and pupils who are in the final year at the school and might transfer to other such schools.
The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government at Crown Building, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ and on the Welsh Government website at www.gov.wales.