The deadline for submitting your response to the Qualifications Wales consultation is 5pm, 9 April 2021. In this blog item, we revisit the main purpose of the consultation and raise some important questions to think about.
Purpose of the consultation
The consultation forms part of a process to ensure that GCSE qualifications in Wales are fit for purpose within the new Curriculum for Wales context.
This guides the three consultation questions, which are:
- How far do you agree or disagree with our proposals to review and reform GCSEs in Business, Geography, History and Religious Studies?
- How far do you agree or disagree with our proposal to create a new GCSE in Social Studies, if feasible?
- How far do you agree or disagree with our proposal to create a new integrated GCSE in Humanities, if feasible?
In responding to these questions, you may find helpful a Qualification Wales webinar recording which raises some of the considerations here.
Some questions to think about
You might also find some of the following questions helpful when considering your responses:
- Is a review of the current Religious Studies (RS) GCSE required?
- Would a new name/title for the new RS qualification be appropriate?
- Is a short-course version of the new RS qualification important/necessary?
- How will the requirements of the agreed syllabus for RVE be met by this new qualification?
- How will the requirements of different local approaches i.e. denominational syllabi be met by this new qualification?
- What might be the unintended consequences of a new social studies GCSE (including the impact on the new RS qualification and the impact on mandatory RVE at KS4)?
- What might be the unintended consequences of a new Humanities GCSE (including the impact on the new RS qualification and the impact on mandatory RVE at KS4)?
If you want to talk to us about your views and/or want to offer any information to support your local authority’s response (Wrexham), please contact us by 8 April 2021.
Here is the documentation and consultation link.