• Previous
• Next
• Section Contents

Scotland : Curricula (age 3-19)

• 5.1 First phase: Pre-compulsory education, ages 3 - 5
• 5.2 Second phase: Compulsory primary education, ages 5 - 12
• 5.3 Third phase: Compulsory (lower) secondary education, ages 12- 16
• 5.4 Fourth phase: Post-compulsory (upper) secondary education, ages 16 - 18

Last reviewed and updated: 19-Dec-2011

---

 

Select the sub-headings above for access to information on the curriculum by educational phase.

 

---

 

 

The curriculum at all stages of education in Scotland is not described by statute or regulation but by advice from the Scottish Government in non-statutory guidelines.  The curricular guidelines are designed to ensure continuity between the different phases of education.

Curriculum Reform: the Curriculum for Excellence
In 2002, the Scottish Executive embarked on an extensive consultation exercise on the state of school education - the 'National Debate on Education'.  This confirmed that a number of features of the present Scottish curriculum are highly valued. These include the flexibility which already exists in the system, the commitment to breadth and balance in the curriculum, the quality of teaching and, importantly, the comprehensive principle. However, there were clear demands for change and improvement which included requirements to:

• Reduce overcrowding in the curriculum.
• Make learning more enjoyable.
• Make better connections between the stages in the curriculum from age 3 to age 18.
• Achieve a better balance between 'academic' and 'vocational' subjects.
• Broaden the range of learning experiences for young people.
• Equip young people with the skills they need now and in future employment.
• Make sure that approaches to assessment and certification support learning.
• Offer more choice to meet the needs of individual young people.

In response to the National Debate, Ministers established a Curriculum Review Group in November 2003.  The Group's task was to identify the purposes of education for the 3 to 18 age range and determine the key principles to be applied in redesigning the curriculum. The Review Group took full account of the views expressed in the National Debate, and drew on research and international comparisons. It considered the implications of a huge range of global, local, economic, educational and social developments for the aims and purposes of education. Its work resulted in the publication in November 2004 of 'A Curriculum for Excellence'⁹³ which provides explicit statements of the aims of education in Scotland, concepts which have long been implicit. In summary, the purposes of education within the Curriculum for Excellence are to enable all young people to become:

• Successful learners
• Confident individuals
• Responsible citizens
• Effective contributors.

The Curriculum for Excellence also established clear principles for curriculum design to provide a framework within which improvements can and should be made. The principles identified - challenge and enjoyment; breadth; progression; depth; personalisation and choice; and coherence and relevance - will have different emphases at different stages and as each young person learns and develops.⁹³

These statements about the purposes of education, and the definition of principles for curriculum design, were endorsed by the, then, Minister for Education, in the document 'A Curriculum for Excellence: Ministerial Response'.⁹⁴   The Ministerial Response set out a range of actions designed to give shape to these aspirations, including:

• 'De-cluttering' (slimming down/reducing) and redesigning the curriculum, starting with science.
• Recognising achievement in Secondary 1 (S1) to Secondary 3 (S3) (12- to 15-year-olds) 
• Introducing Skills for Work courses.

The next stage in the development of the new curriculum was publication of the document 'A Curriculum for Excellence: Progress and Proposals' (in March 2006).⁹⁵   This outlined some of the main features of the new curriculum and defined the scope of the curriculum as extending beyond subjects to include:

• The ethos and life of the school as a community.
• Curriculum areas and subjects.
• Interdisciplinary projects and studies.
• Opportunities for wider achievement.⁹⁵

It also proposed that expectations for learning within the curriculum areas should be gathered under the headings:

• Expressive Arts
• Health and Wellbeing
• Languages
• Mathematics
• Religious and Moral Education
• Science
• Social Studies
• Technologies.⁹⁵

As 'Progress and Proposals' explains, these curriculum areas aim simply to provide a device for ensuring that learning takes place across a broad range of contexts, and offer a way of grouping experiences and outcomes under recognisable headings. These experiences and outcomes may be secured within school and beyond in, for example, the workplace, college or outdoor education settings.

In the latest publications, the differences with the previous system have been outlined as

In the latest publications, the differences with the previous system have been outlined asIn the latest publications, the differences with the previous system have been outlined as:

• Learners will experience a broad, deep, general education to S3 (age 14-15), with options in the senior phase to specialise, go on to further study, improve skills and get work experience.
• The 'learner journey' will be joined up from age 3-18 to avoid gaps and overlaps in learning and to make the most of achievements outside school.
• Learners will work at a pace that suits, with enough challenge and support to stretch them.
• Lessons will be more engaging, inspiring and relevant to everyday life.
• Teachers will make connections between subjects, helping children make sense of the world.
• Children will learn how to learn and how to use their learning, not just memorise information to pass tests. This will help them adapt in an uncertain future with the ability to think for themselves, make sound judgements, challenge, enquire and find solutions.
• There will be more focus on knowledge and skills - including vital skills: literacy and numeracy, which underpin all learning and are critical in life.
• There will be changes to assessment and how progress is reported to give learners, parents and employers better information on potential and achievement.
• There will be new qualifications from 2013 and more flexibility in how young people take qualifications. 

Since Autumn 2010, children from pre-school to S1 (age three to 13 years) have been working to Curriculum for Excellence guidance and standards. Students in S2 and above (age 13 and over) have  continued to work primarily within the existing curriculum and qualifications system, and benefit from changes in learning and teaching. Those who started S1s in Autumn 2010 will be first to take the new qualifications from 2013-14.  

 

The key documents are:

• 'Building the Curriculum 5: A framework for assessment' provides an outline of the approaches to assessment to support the purposes of learning 3 to 18. It provides detailed guidance for practitioners on how the new assessment system which aims to raise standards and expectations, promote depth of understanding and improve skills.
• Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, life and work - is intended to support planning, design and delivery of the curriculum in pre-school centres, schools and colleges. It sets out skills for learning, life and work and shows how they are embedded in the experiences and outcomes and the senior phase. It supports thinking about evidence of progression in those skills and how they can be developed and applied across learning and in different contexts.
• 'Building the Curriculum 3 - A Framework for Learning and Teaching' will replace existing guidance on the 3-5 curriculum, 5-14 curriculum and curriculum design in the secondary sector (S3, 14+ onwards).  It will be complemented by further advice, guidance and exemplification and provides the framework for planning a curriculum which meets the needs of all children and young people from age 3 to age 18, ensuring a focus on developing the four capacities (successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, effective contributors) at every stage.
• 'Building the Curriculum 2 - Active Learning in the Early Years' describes the experiences and outcomes for children's learning in ways which will support a more active approach to learning and teaching in early primary school and encourage better continuity and progression for all children across all settings.
• 'Building the Curriculum 1 - the Contribution of Curriculum Areas' aims to involve groups of teachers in professional reflection, debate and rethinking which will be an essential part of successful implementation.

All five documents are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website.  

• Previous
• Next
• Section Contents