Curriculum for Excellence is now being introduced across Scotland for all 3–18 year olds – wherever they learn. It aims to raise standards, prepare our children for a future they do not yet know and equip them for jobs of tomorrow in a fast changing world.
Curriculum for Excellence enables professionals to teach subjects creatively, to work together across the school and with other schools, to share best practice and explore learning together.
Teachers and practitioners will share information to plan a child’s “learning journey” from 3-18, helping their progression from nursery to primary, primary to secondary and beyond, ensuring the change is smooth. They’ll ensure children continue to work at a pace they can cope with and with challenge they can thrive on.
Curriculum for Excellence balances the importance of knowledge and skills.
Every child is entitled to a broad and deep general education, whatever their level and ability. Every single teacher and practitioner will be responsible for literacy and numeracy – the language and numbers skills that unlock other subjects and are vital to everyday life.
It develops skills and learning, life and work to help young people go on to further study, secure work and navigate life. It brings real life into the classroom, making learning relevant and helps young people apply lessons to their life beyond the classroom. It links knowledge in one subject area to another helping children understand the world and make connections. It develops skills so that children can think for themselves, make sound judgements, challenge, enquire and find solutions.
There will be new ways of assessing progress and ensuring children achieve their potential. There will be new qualifications for literacy and numeracy and from 2013/14, new National 4 and 5 qualifications will be in place. Our well regarded Access, Highers and Advanced Highers will be updated to take account of and support the new approaches to learning and teaching.
There’s personal support to help young people fulfil their potential and make the most of their opportunities with additional support wherever that’s needed. There will be a continued emphasis by all staff on looking after our children’s health and wellbeing – to ensure that the school is a place where children feel safe and secure.
Ultimately, Curriculum for Excellence aims to improve our children’s life chances, to nurture successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors, and responsible citizens, building on Scotland’s reputation for great education.
The curriculum, or what we plan for our pupils to learn, is carefully structured to ensure progression and continuity across a broad and balanced range of subject areas.
The content and structure of this curriculum, and more significantly, the methods by which we deliver it, seek to enable our pupils to become:
It is important therefore that curriculum delivery enables our pupils to see the links between various curricular areas, and how learning in school links to real life and assists them to become active citizens in a modern Scotland. We will aim to develop our children as lifelong learners, by teaching them a range of ‘learning skills’ and encouraging the continuation of learning beyond the classroom.
Knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities across all curricular areas will be developed progressively, across a range of learning experiences and outcomes, and delivered in contexts and/or discretely, as most relevant and appropriate to children’s needs.
The curriculum offers breadth and balance in the teaching and learning of 8 principle areas of learning:
Here are links to some useful information regarding a Curriculum for Excellence(CfE):
