CfE Implementation e-bulletin
October 2012
Welcome to the October issue of the CfE
Implementation e-bulletin which continues to
bring you the most up to date information and
resources from our partner organisations. The
aim of the e-bulletin is to support positive
engagement among practitioners, pupils and
parents by providing you with up to date
information on resources and materials to help
embed Curriculum for Excellence.
To further support this, a brief and succinct leaflet has been developed which
provides a very comprehensive list of resources and key milestones. This has
been made available to the profession through a variety of sources.
A key focus of work continues to be very much on ensuring that course
materials, across the full range of the new National 4 and National 5
qualifications, are available on schedule by Easter next year.
SQA have just made available the first package of unit assessment support and
have begun their series of Subject Implementation Events which will give
subject practitioners an overview of assessment support materials that will be
produced ahead of the new National Courses starting in August 2013.
Education Scotland is developing Professional Focus Papers which will be
available from the end of November. The first of these are undergoing peer
review and quality assurance at the moment. Additionally, Education Scotland
and ADES are continuing to work closely on the development of the web-based
Course Materials.
Work also continues on the popular CfE Briefing Series and the next two titles
will be available next month and discussions and planning is taking place to
bring you a variety of topics in CfE Briefings in the new year.
Many parents and practitioners are finding Parentzone to be a very useful
resource. We are continuing to develop the site and provide you with further
materials to support parental involvement.
Further information on all of these areas of work has been detailed within this
e-bulletin.
Dr Bill Maxwell
Chair of CfE Implementation Group
CfE support and materials: leaflet now available
A new, succinct leaflet has been produced detailing the support and materials
already available for CfE and what is planned across the year from the partners
involved in Curriculum for Excellence.
This leaflet demonstrates our commitment to continue working with teachers,
schools, other education settings and authorities across Scotland, providing
advice and materials to support embedding of Curriculum for Excellence.
Find out more on the Education Scotland website.
Unit Assessment Support Materials for National 2 and National 5
Courses
Today (31 October) SQA published the first of its Unit Assessment
Support packs for Courses at National 2 to National 5. These are
available on the SQA's secure website.
Practitioners should speak to the SQA Coordinator in their school or
college to access the materials.
These new documents are intended for assessors in schools and
colleges and should be treated as confidential and must be held
securely. These documents are valid from August 2013.
This is the first of three packages SQA is developing to support
practitioners in the assessment of National 2 to National 5 Courses.
SQA assessment support materials are designed to encourage
professional judgement and support learning and assessment methods
that will motivate and challenge learners.
SQA has also published the draft Unit Specifications for the new
Advanced Highers. These can be accessed using the subject drop-down
menu on the SQA website.
Practitioners can give feedback on these draft Advanced Higher Unit
Specifications via Have Your Say.
Final documents for Advanced Higher will be published in April 2013.
Development of National 4 and National 5 Support Materials
Professional Focus Papers
Education Scotland will provide a full suite of Professional Focus Papers for
qualifications at National 4 and National 5. These brief papers and will set out
the main differences between Standard Grade/Intermediate courses and the
new National 4 and National 5 courses with the focus firmly on approaches to
learning and teaching. These papers will be published on the Education
Scotland website and the first titles in the series will be available from the end
of November.
Web–based Course Materials
Education Scotland and ADES are continuing to work very closely to co-ordinate
the development and publication of exemplar course materials across the full
range of National 4 and National 5 qualifications.
Course materials are being developed from a variety of sources but many are
being developed locally and shared nationally so that teachers can see what
colleagues in other areas are preparing for their own contexts. They are
exemplars which teachers may find helpful to adapt to their own circumstances.
This new approach to sharing resources and expertise to support practitioners
as part of a national professional learning community, will increase capacity and
readiness across the country and benefit our young people in their journey
towards the new qualifications.
These web-based course materials will be available on Glow by April 2013.
CfE Briefings Series
There are now four titles available in this popular series and a further two will
be published next month which focus on Progression from the Broad General
Education to the Senior Phase and Personalised Learning. The titles currently
available are:
Broad General Education in the Secondary School
Assessing Progress and Achievement in the 3-15
Broad General Education
Profiling and the S3 Profile
Interdisciplinary Learning
These are all available on the Education Scotland website and multiple copies
have been sent to establishments across the country.
Languages commitment
The report, Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach, published on
17 May 2012, contains 35 recommendations advising on how the Scottish
Government’s commitment to create the conditions, whereby children can learn
two additional languages, might be delivered.
Dr Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages welcomed the
report during the languages debate held in the Scottish Parliament on
24 May; in particular, the report’s headline recommendation that language
learning should begin from Primary 1.
The Scottish Government will shortly publish a full response to the report’s
recommendations. This will help inform participants’ discussions at a joint
Scottish Government/ADES national languages conference to be held in Stirling
on 27 November. Scottish Government will work with local authorities and
schools, Education Scotland and other stakeholders, including SCILT (Scotland’s
National Languages Centre) to take forward the commitment to a new
languages model for Scotland’s schools.
Scottish Government Publish Response to Science Report
The Scottish Government published its response to the report of the Science
and Engineering Education Advisory Group (SEEAG) on 10 October 2012. The
Group looked at ways to strengthen learning in the Sciences within Curriculum
for Excellence, build better awareness of pathways into STEM careers, and
improve wider public science engagement.
The Government response sets out a number of priorities for action, including
building the expertise of teachers, and ensuring that pupils experience science
learning which is inspiring and relevant.
The Scottish Government is now working with a reformulated grouping – the
STEM Education Committee – to take forward implementation matters.
Education Scotland is a member of the Committee.
SSLN Professional Learning Resource (Numeracy)
Education Scotland has published a Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy
Professional Learning Resource to support all those involved in the development
of children and young people’s numeracy skills.
The resource forms part of an overall support package that is being created in
response to SSLN, the findings of which were published earlier this year.
The SSLN Professional Learning Resource (Numeracy) provides both an
overview and further detail of children and young people's strengths and areas
for improvement within measurement and fractions, decimal fractions and
percentages (including ratio and proportion).
Find out more on the Education Scotland website.
Parentzone – useful resource for parents
Since the start of the school session there has been lots of communication
aimed at parents focusing on the Parentzone website as a useful resource for
parents. This has led to a marked increase in the number of visitors to the site
and very positive feedback from parents.
The Parentzone website has information about key areas such as Transition,
Assessment, Qualifications and Broad General Education. It also encourages
parents to participate in their child’s learning with sections on Supporting
learning at home and Get involved.
Please remember to highlight the Parentzone website to the parents of the
children in your establishment.
Find out more on the Parentzone website.
New Resources
Schools Global Footprint Calculator – online resource
Education Scotland’s new-look Schools Global Footprint Calculator is now live.
This key online resource has had a significant refresh with many improvements
made to the calculator to make it even easier to use.
In addition to providing an exciting real-life context for delivering the
experiences and outcomes, the resource greatly supports Eco-Schools activities
and provides learners with skills for learning, life and work as Scotland moves
towards a low-carbon future.
Find out more on the Education Scotland website.
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