« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Introduction
A Curriculum for Excellence was published in November 2004 following the National Debate on education in Scotland. It set out, for the first time, values, purposes and principles for the curriculum 3 to 18 for all children and young people.
The Ministerial response to A Curriculum for Excellence initiated a programme of work to put these values, purposes and principles into practice. The Programme Board was established to advise Ministers and to steer this programme.
This publication marks the next milestone in putting A Curriculum for Excellence into practice and should be relevant to teachers and educators of children and young people from age 3 to 18. For reasons of brevity we mainly use the word 'schools' in this document to cover the different stages and establishments, from early years settings through to colleges and universities working in partnership with schools, and equally we have used the word 'teachers' for all educators.
This document is founded on the messages from the extensive process of engagement with colleagues in schools and education authorities and groups representing key stakeholders in Scottish education. Where there is a clear body of evidence or principles which justify them, we make proposals. We also identify areas for further consideration where wider engagement is needed to inform the thinking.
The purposes of this publication are therefore:
- to describe progress and the main findings of the activities so far
- to provide a narrative on the direction of travel, outlining recommended features of the curriculum in the future
- to outline aspects where more thinking is required
- to stimulate the next stage of professional discussion and reflection, as part of the continuing process of shaping and influencing the curriculum.
At key points within this document we have included a number of questions for reflection. Further guidance to support professional development activity amongst staff and to support schools' activities with their own stakeholders will be available on the website ( www.acurriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk ).
The document includes an outline timetable and more detail on the results of the review process so far, including a rationale for science. Over the next few months we will be placing the emerging results of work on specific curriculum areas and cross-curriculum aspects on the website for discussion and engagement.
« Previous | Contents | Next »