Curriculum for ExcellenceDeveloping our Learning Communities

Moira Lawson

Curriculum for Excellence Development Officer

National Context

Scottish Government Priorities

Health and Well Being

Early Years

Curriculum for Excellence

Early Interventionfour key themes

• Building parenting and family capacity pre and post birth

• Creating communities that provide a supportive environment for children and families

• Delivering integrated services that meet the holistic needs of children and families

• Developing a suitable workforce to support the framework

Impact of Early Education

The early years are a key time in influencing the future lives of children and quality early education has a strong impact on children’s future attainment and achievement.We want to live in a Scotland where children and families are valued and respected at all levels in society and where their voices are sought, heard and acted upon by all those who support them and provide services to help them.

Key Features of Curriculum for Excellence

• Focus practice on the learner and the development of the four capacities to maximise potential and build on skills for learning, life and work

• Simplify and prioritise the current curriculum• Build on Assessment is for Learning programme• Encourage more experiential ‘active learning’• Create a single framework for the curriculum and

assessment 3-18 • Work in partnership across professional boundaries

6

4 CapacitiesSuccessful Learners

Use literacy and numeracy Link and apply different kinds

of learning in new situations Learn independently and as

part of a group

Responsible Citizens Make informed choices and

decisions Develop informed, ethical

views

Confident Individuals Relate to others and manage

themselves Assess risk and make

informed decisions

Effective Contributors Work in partnerships and in

teams Apply critical thinking Communicate in different ways

and in different settings

...solve problems

...plan and organise ...work with

others

...think critically & creatively

...use initiative

...lead ...to learn

...take risks

The ability

to

Skills for Scotland – A Lifelong Skills Strategy

The Aberdeenshire context• Aberdeenshire’s Curriculum Framework 3-18• Rationale• Curriculum Design and Architecture• Learning, Teaching and Assessment• Transitions• Entitlements• Review of curriculum support• National qualifications

Entitlements for all our children and young people in Aberdeenshire

• A coherent high quality 3-18 curriculum that is dynamic, relevant and inclusive

• Creative and enterprising experiences• Inspirational cultural experiences • Environmental experiences which offer effective

learning in, about and through Aberdeenshire• Vocational experiences which develop transferable,

collaborative skills and enterprising attitudes• Health and Well Being which ensures that all are

safe, nurtured, happy and can meaningfully contribute to society

Embedding and sharing good practice

• Through our learning communities and partnership working

• Engagement of all staff in quality CPD

• Case Studies of emerging good practice

• Use of Glow/Virtual schools/Video Conferencing/Podcasting etc!

New Inspection Model

• Nursery classes now part of generation cycle

• Focus on nursery and continuity in Primary 1 and beyond

• Curriculum for Excellence – active learning, opportunities for play

• Literacy and Numeracy

Serving Aberdeenshire from mountain to sea - the very best in Scotland

Self-evaluationVision & Leadership

Work and Life of the School

Successes and Achievements

Professional Reflection and Teamworkin our learning communities

Journey to Excellence

Self-Evaluation

• How well does the school or centre know itself?• Improves the successes and achievement of learners

and focuses on effective learning and teaching• Shares good practice• Gathers and responds to the views of all partners• New documentation, which looks in depth at the

curriculum and improving outcomes for learners• Improvement Planning showing implementation of

actions, which have impact on the quality of the provision