Freedom and responsibility
Establishments have freedom and responsibility to meet the needs of children and young people in their local communities.
Curriculum for Excellence allows for both professional autonomy and responsibility when planning and delivering the curriculum.
There are no longer specific input requirements in terms of time allocations. However, the Scottish Government expects schools to continue to work towards the provision of at least two hours of good quality physical education for every child, every week, in order to meet the expectations set out in the experiences and outcomes for health and wellbeing.
The framework provides flexibility to organise, schedule and deliver the experiences and outcomes in ways that meet the needs of all learners, but also provides reassurance about consistency where necessary.
It is the responsibility of schools and their partners to bring the experiences and outcomes together and apply the national entitlements to produce programmes for learning across a broad curriculum, covering:
- sciences
- languages
- mathematics
- social studies (including Scottish history)
- expressive arts
- health and wellbeing
- religious and moral education
- technologies.
Through this broad curriculum it is expected there will be an emphasis on Scottish contexts, Scottish cultures and Scotland's history and place in the world.
This planning should demonstrate the principles for curriculum design.
The curriculum must be designed, managed and delivered to take full account of each learner's individual needs and stage of development. This does not mean that there is an individualised approach to curriculum planning. Designing the curriculum requires planning in partnership with young people, their parents and carers and with a range of others who can contribute effectively to their learning, based on good evidence of progress in learning.
The Quality and Equity in Scottish Schooling report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated:
'The concept and design principles of a Curriculum for Excellence offer a broad framework within which local authorities and schools can create a range of learning opportunities that contain both intrinsic and extrinsic incentives for engagement. It should be the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that their communities have access to a wide range of programmes involving different delivery platforms, flexible approaches and sharing and collaboration amongst providers. Schools for their part are responsible for offering a broad curriculum and for differentiating this to address particular strengths and weaknesses.'
The framework encourages more responsive and dynamic approaches, which includes planning across partnerships to improve outcomes for all children and young people.
Reflective questions
How can you cluster experiences and outcomes into meaningful groupings to provide appropriate and exciting contexts for learning?
How can you best plan opportunities for learners to progress within levels through deepening learning and understanding within a curriculum area?
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