CfE - What is it?
Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) represents a different approach to learning in schools and in the way education is delivered in nursery, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, the workplace and the community.
How is it different?
It takes a new approach to what, how and where young people learn, through less rigid learning paths, with the aims to raise standards, improve knowledge and develop skills by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum from 3 to 18.
Ultimately it aims to develop "four capacities" in young people which are: successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.
For more information on the background and benefits of CfE, see the further resources below.
At the National Parent Forum of Scotland Annual Conference, on the 6th of October 2012, Education Scotland’s Ken Muir spoke about Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland’s comparative position and the opportunities and challenges facing our education system in the 21st Century.
The PowerPoint slides that accompanied Ken’s presentation are attached below.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0040/00405768.ppt
Further information on the Conference, including a report on the event, is available on the NPFS website.
Overview documents:
CfE Factfile: Overview of key terms and features,published May 2011
CfE Background and Benefits factfile, published August 2010
For other useful CfE factfiles which explain in plain English what's new or different about the new curriculum see http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/parentzone/cfe/index.asp .
The CfE Video Series - Curriculum for Excellence in Action
The Scottish Government has produced a series of videos demonstrating the practical application of Curriculum for Excellence to learning and teaching. http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/understandingthecurriculum/whatiscurriculumforexcellence/toolkit/curriculumforexcellenceinaction.asp . These videos as well as other examples of CfE in action can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk/cfeinaction .
OTHER CfE RESOURCES
The SQA
As part of the process developing the new National Qualifications, the Scottish Qualifications Authority has been and will continue to publish regular updates on their website - http://www.sqa.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence - which contain information on the subjects young people will choose and details the draft Course content at a number of different levels.
As the development work progresses, they will continue to publish further detail on the draft proposals for information and feedback prior to finalisation.
The SQA's dedicated parents website. http://www.sqa.org.uk/cfeforparents is also a comprehensive source of information about the new qualifications, including 'mythbuster' videos.
- What is curriculum for excellence?
- Why are qualifications changing?
- Which qualifications are changing?
- Where can I find further information?
Parentzone
CfE Updates are also available through the Parentzone website http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/parentzone/index.asp
User journeys illustrating CfE in action
To see samples of the approach some Schools are taking in implementing CfE, see our real world examples. Choose a school to see an explanation of their approach for the different age ranges within the senior phase (S4-S6) then scroll down to see pupil names and the range of qualifications they achieved.
Senior Phase - Learner Journeys
CfE In More Depth
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/understandingthecurriculum/whatiscurriculumforexcellence/
More detail on:
- Understanding The Curriculum as a whole
- The Purpose Of The Curriculum - The Four Capacities
- How The Curriculum Was Developed
The CfE Communications Toolkit
Contains all of the key factfile documents in PDF form for you to print and distribute as well as guidelines/templates for Teachers and Educators to create their own literature explaining CfE.