Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill - Please Support Government Amendments

I appeal for your support and 5 minutes of your time to ensure that proposed Welsh Government legislation does not disadvantage St. Joseph’s.

The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill is a piece of Welsh Government legislation currently making its way through the Government’s writing and implementation process; https://business.senedd.wales/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=28836.  The first draft of the Bill raised extremely significant concerns within the Catholic school community and indeed, other faith-based school settings, that we would be required to teach two [or more] separate RE curricula, not of our choosing.

Whilst we are supportive of the understanding of other religious teachings, the specific requirements of the draft Bill could hinder the delivery of our own RE teaching and would be at odds with our own Catholic ethos.

It appears that better judgement is beginning to prevail and, after much lobbying already, amendments to the draft bill have been proposed which do appear to address our principal concerns.

It is extremely important that the concerns of the Catholic schools community continue to be heard and carry weight to ensure that the proposed amendments are now actually incorporated into the draft Bill and that once incorporated, they are retained.  We can help to ensure that this happens by making representations to our Members of Senedd; a quick and easy way to achieve this is by using the link below. 

 http://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/welshschools

This is where I appeal for your specific support and encourage you to use this tool to make your voice heard.  The more support that we can mobilise the better. 

Yours sincerely,

Simon Lawrence

Chair of Governors

St. Joseph’s RC Primary School