Summary
The report evaluates the quality of Welsh Baccalaureate provision at level 3 in secondary schools, identifies case studies of good practice and provides recommendations for improvement.
Recommendations
The Welsh Government should:
- consider reviewing the structure of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification, to build on its strengths and eliminate its weaknesses;
- work with schools and the WJEC to plan how to introduce grading into the assessment of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification; and
- review the arrangements for assessing essential skills qualifications.
Awarding organisations should:
- provide further guidance and exemplar materials to support schools in the delivery and assessment of essential skills; and
- develop the Welsh Baccalaureate website to include a wider range of approved resources, including Welsh-medium resources.
Secondary schools should:
- monitor more closely the arrangements for delivering and assessing essential skills so that they are not overly bureaucratic;
- monitor the quality of learning and teaching on the Welsh Baccalaureate as part of their normal self-evaluation procedures, with a particular focus on student progress and standards; and
- gather and use students’ evaluations of their experiences of the Welsh Baccalaureate to improve the provision.
Best practice case studies
You can read the following examples of best practice in Appendix 1 of the full report:
- Ysgol Y Preseli - Students' knowledge, understanding and skills
- Ysgol Morgan Llwyd - Curriculum planning and delivery (the language module)
- Whitchurch High School - Staff development and training
- Hawarden High School - Mentoring programme
