Education Scotland has pulled together five models of how senior phase education might look under Curriculum for Excellence. Read on for some inspiration.
The senior phase of a child’s education is one of the most important, and potentially one of the most challenging. Schools are tasked with creating a curriculum that not only provides a meaningful learning experience which supports pupils in obtaining qualifications, but also enables them to develop emotionally, physically and socially as young adults. In short, the senior phase prepares pupils to make their own way in the world.
The flexibility of Curriculum for Excellence means that schools can shape the curriculum around each individual learner, personalising their educational experience and ensuring they study the right range of subjects at an appropriate level for them. Yet this level of flexibility can also lead many schools to wonder ‘where do I start’?
To help answer that question, the Cabinet Secretary Michael Russell MSP asked Education Scotland to develop a series of models designed to stimulate discussion and aid planning and CPD at a local level. There are five models so far – four school models, of which two are real, and two are hypothetical.Each shows the delivery of the full range of learner entitlements and illustrates six learner journeys.
The models are complemented by a range of reflective questions that encourages schools to think about what would work for their learners, and CPD sessions are being planned with local authorities. More models will follow in the months ahead. The fifth model illustrates the senior phase in a college context.
'The senior phase is not just about qualifications – it’s about looking at the individual experience of each pupil,' says Linda Rae, National Co-ordinator, Building Your Curriculum at Education Scotland. 'One of the big challenges is achieving the breadth, depth and progression which builds on the broad general education but at the same time provides personalisation and choice. I hope the models will help schools to look at the flexible delivery of different learning pathways.
'They are not designed to be exhaustive or prescriptive. Instead, they aim to provide inspiration. The new curriculum brings with it an opportunity to approach things in a totally new way, and I hope the models will support schools to think more creatively about how they deliver the curriculum.'
'We are charting new territory'
Prior to starting the modelling exercise, we were looking at S1–S3, so planning the senior phase curriculum required us to think quite far ahead about how we can meet the needs of the full range of learners as they come up into S4 and beyond. We needed something that was flexible enough to cater for all interests and abilities, so we came up with small building blocks through which learners can build up their qualifications. It works a bit like a jigsaw puzzle that will be pieced together over time.
Under the broad general education, we have maintained a traditional curriculum structure for S1, introduced a degree of choice in some curriculum areas by the start of S2, and strengthened our commitment to interdisciplinary learning. Moving up into the senior phase, S4–S6 are timetabled as a single cohort and will follow one of two key routes (see panel on right).
Route A is most suitable for less academic pupils, including up to 10 options with a three-period allocation for each. There is one core column for PE, PSHE and RE. In Route B, pupils have a choice of five courses at SCQF levels 4,5,6 and 7. There is a six-period allocation for each column, but one period of each is dedicated to other activities related to achievement. The biggest change is that pupils in S4 can choose to undertake two-year courses, and particularly capable pupils and those in S6 may take a one-year course. Many pupils will take a combination of routes A and B, mixing them to suit their own needs and interests.
This is a structure we have never tried before. It enables the most able pupils to bypass a national examination in S4, allowing them to get started early with Highers. This level of flexibility is also beneficial for less academic young people. We are looking at ways to improve achievement as well as attainment, for example by developing life skills such as enterprise and encouraging work in the community through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and similar schemes. We are taking Curriculum for Excellence as our checklist, and ‘successful learners’ is only one of the four capacities – we want to ensure we are meeting them all.
The model represents our plans for the senior phase. We have conducted six learner journeys which informed our thinking, and discussed our ideas with pupils and parents, but the next step is to look at the practicalities, such as timetabling. We are charting new territory here, so it’s important that we have as much support as possible. With that in mind, we conducted a wide consultation and have created a steering group made up of at least one member of staff from each curriculum area. Building a senior phase curriculum is not a management thing – it’s important that the whole school has a sense of ownership.
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