UK universities awarded £2 million to support schools in delivering Curriculum for Wales

The partnership between the University of Glasgow and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David will help educators build capacity for curriculum design, progression, and assessment.

The University of Glasgow and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) have received £2 million from the Welsh Government to support schools implementing the Curriculum for Wales.

The project, Curriculum Design Partnerships: Creating Learning for Wales, will provide professional development for educators in primary, secondary, and special schools across the country.

The initiative focuses on developing collaborative approaches to lesson design, classroom pedagogy, and assessment. By working directly with practitioners, the project aims to create “knowledgeable others” within school clusters who can support sustainable curriculum development beyond the life of the program.

Building confidence and expertise in schools

The project will form curriculum design teams, deliver workshops and twilight sessions, and provide school visits to develop locally relevant approaches. Support materials will also be created to share practice across the wider education system.

Dr David Morrison-Love and Dr Kara Makara Fuller, joint project leads at the University of Glasgow, say the project will help schools navigate the shift in practice required by the Curriculum for Wales. “It is a privilege to keep working with teachers in Wales as they continue to inspire what’s possible for children and young people in schools and classrooms across the country. Curriculum for Wales invites a shift in thinking and practice, and we hope that this project will provide the space and practical support for teachers from all sectors to develop knowledge, confidence, and reassurance as curriculum makers in their own schools and settings,” they say.

Professor Elwen Evans KC, vice-chancellor of UWTSD, highlights the strategic importance of the funding. “We welcome this significant investment by the Welsh Government. This project reflects our dedication to working in partnership with schools and educators across the country. We now look forward to working collaboratively to make a meaningful contribution to the future of education in Wales.”

Long-term capacity building

The funding builds on seven years of work undertaken by UWTSD and its partners to understand how the Curriculum for Wales is being enacted in schools. Jeremy Smith, dean of education and humanities, says the new project is designed to translate that research into practical classroom-level support.

“With our partners at the University of Glasgow, our researcher-educators have a uniquely comprehensive understanding of CfW and, crucially, how it is being enacted and understood in schools,” Smith says. “This new opportunity to draw on that expertise to offer schools practical, classroom-level support as part of this grant programme is a real privilege.”

The funding comes from the Welsh Government’s Curriculum for Wales Grant Support Programme, which aims to help schools adopt the new curriculum’s requirements effectively.