Curriculum for Excellence

at

North Berwick High School

The challenge

Equipping our children with the knowledge and skills we believe they will need

• to succeed in a future we don’t yet know with jobs yet to be invented

• to build self-esteem and resilience• to harness knowledge yet to be discovered and

take account of new knowledge about the brain and how we learn

• to use new technology, which is so familiar to young people

What’s the aim?Curriculum for Excellence: the three pillars

• Raising standards• Improving knowledge• Developing skills

…Bringing life to learning and learning to life

Nurturing them to be:

– successful learners

– confident individuals

– responsible citizens

– effective contributors

The ‘four capacities’

What’s better?

• A planned ‘learning journey’ from 3 to 18 (not 5-14)

• Better transition and tracking of skills from primary to secondary

• Better transition and tracking of skills from school to ‘life after school’

What’s different?

Levels

Early pre-school and P1 (later for some)

First to end of P4 (earlier/later for some)

Second to end of P7 (earlier/later for some)

Third and Fourth S1-S3 (earlier/later for some)

Senior S4-S6 and college

Curriculum for Excellence “Level Map”

Second level – to end of P7, but earlier or later for some

Third and Fourth levels – S1 to S3, but earlier for some.

D = Developing - the pupil has started to engage in the work of the new level

C= Consolidating – has achieved a breadth of learning across most of the experiences and outcomes (Es & Os)for that level.

S = Secure - the pupil has responded consistently well to the level of challenge set out in these Es & Os

3 4D

C

2 S

C

D S

C

D S

Developing

Consolidating

Secure

The curriculum

• Broad and deep education• General education till the end of S3, with

increasing personalisation and choice

• All staff have responsibility for:– literacy– numeracy– health and wellbeing

• Expressive Arts – Art, Music, PE• Health and Wellbeing –HE, PSE, PE• Languages –English, Modern langs, Classics• Mathematics• Religious and Moral Education• Sciences – Biology, Chemistry, Physics • Social Studies – History, Geography, Modern

Studies, Business Education• Technologies – CDT, Computing, Business Education, HE

How does it work?

• Experiences – kind of activities which promote learning (e.g. outdoor learning, maps in Geography)

• Outcomes – what a pupil will be able to explain, apply or demonstrate (e.g. explain why people from beyond Scotland have settled here, in History)

• Skills – skills learned which can be applied elsewhere (e.g. developing reasoned and justified points of view, in Modern Studies)

• Relevance – (e.g. budget by identifying sources of income and items of expenditure, in Business Education)

What will young people experience?

• Learning according to needs and interests• Better engagement through more choices• More able to apply knowledge and learn how to

learn• Support for learning and with life’s challenges• Make useful links between subjects, e.g.

China/Scotland unit, Catered Ceilidh, Holocaust Memorial Day, Anne Frank, Malawi

•Active learning: questioning, doing, thinking. Involvement in own learning e.g. Viking museum, Crime symposium

•Sense of progress through assessment (Assessment is for Learning – you don’t fatten a pig by weighing it!)

•Assessment- ‘say, make, write and do’ e.g. a film about transition, a talk, a cake, a report

What will young people experience?

Moving into S2 next year

• Year 2 of a three year S1-S3 stage

• English, Mathematics, French, PE, RME, PSE, Social Subjects, Science, HE, CDT, Art, Music and BEF as in current S2

• Levels 2,3 and 4

• Two periods of enhanced choice (new for our pupils)

The enhanced choices in S2

1.‘Project’ work (one period per week).• For example,

– Local environment and heritage – Research, design, advertising and production – Drama production / film project

2. ‘Enhancement’ (one period per week)– Extra choices for all pupils to follow interests– Choice 1 June to December – Choice 2 January to May

On to S3

• Year 3 of S1-S3 stage

• Summer of S3 an end-point in its own right

• Keep building on personalisation and choice

• Looking ahead to certification S4 to S6

The qualifications landscape

• Two new examinations from 2014 : National 4 and National 5

• Access, Higher and Advanced Higher remain

• All subjects and examinations will be updated and revised by SQA

• In S4, most of our youngsters will study National 5

National 4: equivalent to General Level at Standard Grade

• Assessed entirely internally (with external moderation)

• No examination diet

• Series of Units

• Pass/Fail

National 5: equivalent to Credit Level at Standard Grade

• Series of Units, assessed internally

• External examination

• Grades awarded: A, B, C, D

The S3 curriculum

• All pupils will continue to study English, Mathematics, PE, RME, PSE

• They will study another eight subjects

• Allows fuller choice than at present, and a broader education

• Certificated work will be covered over S3 and S4

On to S4

• Pupils now entering the Senior Phase

• Studying largely for National 4 and 5

• English, Mathematics

• Six other subjects for certification

• First sitting in May 2014

On to S5 and S6

• At the moment, envisage a similar curriculum to the present

• Students study five subjects

• Enhanced options beyond the academic curriculum

• First sitting 2015 for S5 and 2016 for Advanced Higher for S6

What will young people experience?

Options in the senior phase – transition/moving on; skills for work/life skills; work placement/college; combinations of subjects at different levels

Partners to deliver this phase – Youth Café, Community Learning Development, Skills Development Scotland, Outdoor Education Service

Achievements inside and outside school valued – John Muir Award, Riding for Disabled, Coaching, Duke of Edinburgh. In school – citizenship awards, music, art, sport, clubs

What parents can do

Sharing, planning and learning!• Spend time together• Show interest, listen, share• Praise, encourage, support• Ask about their interests and challenges• Talk to them about how they are feeling

Further information

Parents can find out morewww.parentzonescotland.gov.uk

Teachers and other professionals: www.curriculumforexcellence.gov.uk

The partners working to deliver Curriculum for Excellence are:

Scottish Government www.scotland.gov.ukThe government has responsibility for the national education system

Learning and Teaching Scotland www.LTScotland.org.ukDevelops the curriculum, provides information and guidance on learning and teaching

Scottish Qualifications Authority www.sqa.gov.ukDevelops, marks and manages the qualifications process

HMIE www.hmie.gov.ukThe inspectors who monitor the quality of education