THE CURRICULUM
A Curriculum for Excellence
Curriculum for Excellence (often shortened to CfE) is the curriculum in Scotland
which applies to all children and young people age 3-18, wherever they are
learning. It aims to raise achievement for all, enabling young people to develop the
skills, knowledge and understanding they need to succeed in learning, life and work.
The Four Capacities - the curriculum aims for all children to become:
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Successful Learners
Confident Individuals
Responsible Citizens
Effective Contributors
The Eight Curriculum areas are:
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Expressive Arts – including art and design, dance, drama and music
Health and Wellbeing – mental, emotional , social and physical wellbeing, PE,
food and health, substance misuse and relationships, sexual health and
parenthood
Languages – listening and talking, reading and writing in literacy and English
and modern languages, plus classical languages and literacy and
Gaidhlig/Gaelic learners (where available)
Mathematics – including analysing information, solving problems and
assessing risk
Religious and Moral Education (denominational and non-denominational)
learning about Christianity, other world religions, and developing values and
beliefs
Sciences – understanding important scientific concepts across planet Earth,
forces, electricity and waves, biological systems, materials and topical
science
Social Studies – understanding people, place and society in the past and
present including history, geography, modern studies and business education
Technologies – including computing science, food, textiles, craft, design,
engineering, graphics and applied technologies
Additional important themes across the curriculum are creativity, enterprise and
global citizenship, which include sustainable development, international education
and citizenship.
Curriculum Levels
There are national levels to describe different stages of learning and progress. For
most children the expectation is:
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Early Level – pre-school to the end of P1
First Level – to the end of P4
Second Level – to the end of P7
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Third and Fourth Levels – S1 to S3, with the fourth level broadly equivalent to
SCQF level 4
Senior Phase – S4-S6, and equivalents in other settings, where they can
continue to develop the four capacities and achieve qualifications
The Senior Phase
The Broad General Education in secondary schools continues from S1 to S3. All
young people will develop an S3 profile that describes their learning and
achievement from S1 to
S3. During S3 (normally January or February), pupils will be asked to choose the
courses that they will follow in S4. It is these S4 choices that lead to national
qualifications. In
Angus, almost all learners will study six different subjects in S4 (English, maths plus four
other options).
Each school will design a senior phase that best meets learners’ needs, whether
that’s continuing in school, learning full or part time in college, community learning
or work-based learning or a combination of these. For example, it may be possible
to pick up specialist subjects and work placements that can help young people get
real experience of the industry or sector that interests them. Each young person will,
in practice, have discussions with teachers and parents and carers to discuss and
decide the subject choices that best suit them for the Senior Phase.
Skills for Learning, Life and Work
The development of the skills for learning, life and work are the responsibility of all
practitioners and include literacy, numeracy and associated thinking skills; health
and wellbeing, including personal learning planning, career management skills,
working with others, leadership and physical co-ordination and movement skills; and
skills for enterprise and employability.
Through Curriculum for Excellence children and young people are entitled to a
continuous focus on literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. These skills are
essential if young people are to gain access to continuous learning, to succeed in
life and to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle. The use of ICT underpins these
overlapping and mutually supportive skills sets; ICT skills will continue to be
developed in a variety of contexts and settings throughout the learner’s journey.
All children and young people are entitled to opportunities for developing skills for
learning, life and work. These skills are relevant from the early years right through to
the senior phase of learning and beyond.
The Curriculum at Brechin High School
The following curriculum rationale for Brechin High School is based on national
guidance and developed through consultation with pupils, parents and staff.
Many factors influence the need for a coherent and robust curriculum within a
secondary school. One of these is the definition of curriculum. Before considering the
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rationale for Brechin High School’s curriculum it is fundamental we agree what
curriculum means.
The definition below encapsulates, for us, the curriculum within a secondary school.
Definition:
All the learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it
is carried out in groups or individually, inside or outside the school.
Consequently any curriculum developed within Brechin High School must reflect this
definition.
There are other factors, of course, influencing the school curriculum:
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Transition from P7 into S1
Transition from the Broad General Education (P1 – S3)
The needs of the school and its pupils
Staffing and facilities
Input from the wider community
Input from supporting agencies
Guidance from the local authority
Scottish Government policy
Curriculum Rationale
The principles of curriculum design form the basis of the rationale, structure and
delivery of the whole school curriculum and include the ideas of personalisation and
choice, providing challenge, providing depth and meeting the needs of all pupils
within the school.
Any rationale, must at its heart, reflect the core values of the school and be
transparent to all those involved e.g. authority staff, teaching staff, other school staff,
parents, the wider community and, of course, pupils.
The purpose of the curriculum is to engage young people in skills and knowledge
development so allowing them to be well prepared for the transition to the world of
work, continued learning and for life in general.
The curriculum offered by Brechin High School should be academic and vocational,
meet the needs of all learners and also should be enterprising, skills developing and
be easily accessible by all including those adults in the wider community.
The curriculum must be inclusive of national and local policy and must meet the
standards laid down by government and those national bodies charged with quality
assurance e.g. Scottish Qualifications Authority, Education Scotland. The curriculum
should ensure learners are offered their full entitlement under Curriculum for
Excellence.
The diversity of the curriculum must be open to input from teaching staff, outside
agencies and from the wider community who wish to provide alternative
educational experiences for pupils. The curriculum must also allow for achievement
as well as attainment with all success being recognised as having value for all
participants.
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The curriculum must be progressive, flexible and adaptable to change thus allowing
pupils to change direction throughout their school careers. Appropriate journeys for
individuals, through education are a must.
The structure of the curriculum, and how it is delivered in and out of school, must also
be flexible so everyone has the opportunity to experience as much or as little that is
required to progress beyond school to a positive and sustainable destination.
The curriculum offered must also be realistic and be designed to meet as many of
the needs of pupils as is possible. No curriculum, given the many constraints that
apply, can offer the perfect solution but every effort must be made to continuously
strive to this end.
The Structure:
The structure of the curriculum will be based on:
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the transition from and the link with outcomes and experiences in the broad
general education from nursery to S3
the skills and knowledge of teaching and non-teaching staff colleagues from
outside agencies and the wider community
the three cross-cutting themes of Literacy, Numeracy and Health and
Wellbeing
progression in learning using the Experiences and Outcomes to provide wellplanned and joined up learning across curricular areas, through Inter
Disciplinary Learning, personal achievement and through the life and ethos of
the school
engagement in breadth, depth, pace and challenge
personalisation and choice through consultation with pupils, staff, parents
and other agencies as necessary
Personalisation and Choice:
Through tracking and monitoring, quality learning conversations and building on
positive experiences in the Broad General Education pupils will be offered pathways
that lead them to positive outcomes after school.
The foundations of personalisation and choice are laid in S3 where pupils are given
the opportunity to select one subject from each curricular group plus an additional
selection of three subjects, including electives. Within the senior phase learners can
then opt to continue with five of these subjects or opt into others for the first time. This
will allow progression for many, breadth for others and depth for all.
This will include a flexible course choice structure that allows pupils to achieve and
attain their full potential by selecting a curriculum at levels appropriate to their
progression pathway and career choice.
The BGE Curriculum:
S1 and S2 will continue to offer a wide range of experiences across each of the
curricular areas. Learning will be aligned with level 3 outcomes and ensure
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entitlements are met in all core areas. Interdisciplinary learning will be planned and
will provide progression in learning.
Over recent times we have identified a need to review our broad general
education, in particular the S3 experience.
Our S3 must be appropriately challenging and increase opportunity for our pupils to
specialise in their chosen specialist subjects at the same time as allowing breadth
cross the curriculum areas. Learning should be more challenging across the third
and fourth level experiences and outcomes, preparing for the national qualifications
in the senior phase.
The S3 curriculum will be made up of:
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12 periods of core subjectso PSE x1,
o Physical education x2,
o Religious education x1,
o English x4,
o Maths x4
12 periods of the wider curricular areas (2 periods in each of the 6 areas)
o Languages
o Sciences
o Social subjects
o Expressive arts
o Technologies
o Health Improvement
6 periods of enhancements (2 periods in 3 additional chosen area)
o Additional time in a subject area
o New choice of subject area
o Personal development such as John Muir, Duke of Edinburgh Award,
ASDAN
The Senior Phase Curriculum
The curriculum itself will include a choice of subjects (vocational and academic)
and activities such as Duke of Edinburgh, ASDAN, Personal Development Awards,
Employability Skills, Volunteering etc. – these being delivered by school staff and
partners within the local and wider community.
Pupils will be given advice and input from school staff, Skills Development Scotland,
Further and Higher Education colleagues and others as to the appropriate choices
they need to make to ensure the correct pathway is open to them and leads
towards their chosen goal. This support will be offered at each ‘option choice’.
Parents and pupils will be consulted as part of this process with data collected on a
regular basis so the curriculum can be evaluated and updated to meet individual
needs. It is important to understand a number of factors such as staffing, pupil
numbers and school priorities can determine curricular outcomes.
The curriculum will have attainment and achievement at its heart. Learners will be
encouraged to engage in a curriculum that will deliver opportunities to be
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successful in attainment as well as wider achievement. Wider achievement will
include activities, both in and out with the school day, on the school campus and in
the wider school community. Achievements in these activities will be recorded in
pupil profiles as well as securing awards from providers.
As part of curriculum development a better use of private study is being considered.
Consequently the curriculum will also incorporate a number of electives both within
the broad general education and the senior phase where learners will have the
opportunity to opt into a variety of courses some of which will be SQA accredited
while others will offer awards from other national bodies. These will include such
activities as Travel and Tourism to Duke of Edinburgh, from Life Saving to meeting
standards for hygiene within a hospitality environment.
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