S1 to S3 stage
At the end of P7, almost all young people look forward with excitement to entering the new environment of secondary school.
In their primary school they are likely to have had experience of taking on significant responsibilities, often acting as role models for younger children. At least one teacher will have known them very well. They will have progressed at different rates, but many will already have reached high levels of literacy and numeracy and tackled challenging problems.
They need their secondary teachers to build on what they have already achieved. During the early years of secondary education, young people will extend their skills substantially and develop their particular strengths and interests further and this is an important period for their personal development. Their motivation for learning needs to be maintained in the face of peer and other pressures so that they make a successful transition into the senior phase.
The period from S1 to S3 has a clear purpose: that all young people will have a strong platform for later learning and for successful transition to qualifications at the right level for them.
The experiences and outcomes include opportunities at this stage, as at other stages, for challenge and success in different contexts, for example cultural, physical and technological.
The curriculum continues to provide opportunities to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle and to plan for future life and careers.
As they continue to develop the four capacities, the curriculum should enable each young person to:
- experience learning across a broad curriculum, covering sciences, languages, mathematics, social studies (including Scottish history); expressive arts, health and wellbeing, religious and moral education and technologies
- achieve stretching levels of literacy and numeracy
- develop skills for learning and skills for life and skills for work
- develop knowledge and understanding of society, Scottish contexts, history and culture and Scotland's place in the world
- experience challenge and success.
At the end of S3 young people should have their progress and achievements recognised by the school or establishment. Before they enter the senior phase, where formal qualifications will be encountered, it is not anticipated that young people will be presented for examinations. It is important that the qualifications framework supports the curriculum rather than leads it and does not narrow learning too soon.
The S1 to S3 curriculum should provide a rich and stimulating learning experience which is not burdened by over-assessment and which allows teachers more opportunity to exercise their professional abilities to focus on the individual needs of their learners.
Those involved in planning the curriculum will, however, wish to ensure that the foundations are being laid for transition to the senior phase in a way appropriate to the needs of the young person. This may include participation in Skills for Work qualifications.
| Level | Stage |
|---|---|
| Third and fourth | S1 to S3, but earlier for some. The fourth level broadly equates to Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level 4 |