Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 17 October 2018.
Thank you, Suzy. I had indeed anticipated, at some stage, you would ask this question, because of your times campaigning in this regard. As you quite rightly identify, 'Successful Futures' has challenged us to rethink our approach to the curriculum, and it makes very clear that a high degree of prescription and detail at a national level inhibits, and I would quote from Donaldson's report,
'flow and progression in children and young people’s learning'.
As such, we need to ensure that the curriculum does not provide a comprehensive, detailed list of everything that has to be taught, and there is real danger in doing that. However, these are important skills that children should have access to learning. So, you'll be aware that one of the areas of learning and experience, as outlined by Donaldson, is health and well-being, and that work is currently being taken forward by our network of pioneer schools. Officials are also working with pioneer schools and representatives from the British Heart Foundation, the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance to consider safety and the health of others in the new curriculum. And they're working together to consider how that curriculum can support and enable schools to incorporate life-saving skills as the learner needs.