Overview of the 5-14 Curriculum

Overview of the 5-14 Curriculum PGDE(S) Core TiSS Session Yvonne Bain Programme Director PGDE(S)

Curricula in Scottish Schools • A Curriculum Framework for Children 3 to 5 • 5 - 14 Curriculum • Primary 1 to Secondary 2 • National Qualifications • Standard Grade (S3 – S4) • Intermediate 1 or 2 (S3 – S4 or S5 / S6) • Higher (S5 / S6) • Advanced Higher (S6) • equivalent in level to first year Scottish Degree level • All under review within the development of the 3 to 18 Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum Continuity

Balance of the Curriculum

5-14 Aim • The aim of the 5-14 programme has been to promote the teaching of a broad, coherent and balanced curriculum that offers all pupils continuity and progression as they move through school. • http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/5to14/about5to14/index.asp

5-14 Guidelines • All 5-14 Guidelines online at Learning and Teaching Scotland • http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/5to14/guidelines/index.asp

The principles of 5-14 • Breadth • Comprehensive range of areas of learning • Balance • Appropriate time for each area of the curriculum • Coherence • Cross-curricular connections • Continuity • Builds on previous experiences and attainment • Progression • Series of challenging but attainable goals

The 5-14 curriculum provides a structured continuum of learning • Language • Mathematics • Environmental Studies • Expressive Arts • Religious and Moral Education • ICT • Health • Personal and Social Development

Aims to help each pupil to acquire and develop: • knowledge, skills and understanding in literacy and communication, numeracy and mathematical thinking • knowledge, understanding and appreciation of themselves and other people and of the world around them • the capacity to make creative and practical use of a variety of media to express feelings and ideas • knowledge and understanding of religion and its role in shaping society and the development of personal and social values • the capacity to take responsibility for their health and safe living

Aims to help each pupil to acquire and develop: • capability in ICT and an awareness of the uses of ICT in the world at large • the capacity to treat others and the world around them with care and respect • the capacity for independent thought through enquiry, problem solving, information handling and reasoning • positive attitudes to learning and personal fulfilment through the achievement of personal objectives

The 5-14 curriculum should help pupils acquire and develop.. • Dispositions • Ways in which pupils think and feel about themselves and the world • Core skills and capabilities • Literacy, numeracy, ICT, personal and intrapersonal, problem-solving, learning and thinking • Knowledge and understanding • Refer to Section 1 of “The Structure and Balance of the Curriculum” for further detail

Essential Experiences • Working cooperatively and independently • Encountering challenge, support and a sense of achievement • Receiving regular feedback and progress and opportunities for self- and peer-assessment • Taking and sharing responsibility for what they learn • Making connections in their learning

The 5 – 14 Levels of Attainment • Level A • Attainable in the course of P1 – P3 by most pupils • Level B • Should be attainable by some in P3 but by most in P4 • Level C • Attainable by most pupils over P4 – P6 • Level D • Attainable by some in P5 –P6 but by most in P7 • Level E • Attainable by some in P7 – S1 but by most in S2 • Level F • Attainable in part by some in P7 – S2 but completed by a few over P7 – S2

Some issues? “Almost half of secondary maths teachers and the majority of English teachers did not refer to primary school records at all. Where they were used, it was normally to group pupils or to identify those likely to have particular needs. For the individual pupil, an entrenched preference for a ‘fresh start’ and lack of interest in records and work sent by previous teachers is a cause for concern.” • SCRE (1996) 5-14 A Progress Report • http://www.scre.ac.uk/pdf/news/nl58harlen.pdf#search=%22Primary%20Secondary%20transition%20issues%205-14%22

Some issues? "There is an academic discontinuity between primary and secondary school, the steady progress of pupils in their primary schools being checked and in some cases reversed after the transition to secondary," says former Alloa Academy teacher and education researcher Shelley Fouracre, who has studied the issue since the early 1990s.” Reported by Blane (2003) TES: http://www.tes.co.uk/section/story/?section=Archive&sub_section=Scotland&story_id=375730&Type=0

Overview of the 5-14 Curriculum