Curriculum for Excellence is Scotland’s curriculum for children and young people aged 3-18. It is an approach designed to provide pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need for learning, life and work in the 21st century. It aims to enable every child to be:
- successful learners
- confident individuals
- responsible citizens
- effective contributors
The curriculum is defined as all the experiences that are planned for children and young people, including activity that would previously have been thought of as extra-curricular. Curriculum for Excellence recognises four contexts for learning through:
- curriculum areas
- interdisciplinary learning
- opportunities for personal achievement
- the ethos and life of the school as a community.
The eight curriculum areas are:
| Expressive Arts | Health & Wellbeing | Languages | Numeracy and Mathematics |
| Religious & Moral Education | Sciences | Social Studies | Technologies |
These curricular areas may be taught as discrete strands but may also be part of an interdisciplinary approach when aspects of several curricular areas are taught within a common context/topic.
Curriculum for Excellence progression Levels
Progress in learning is indicated through curriculum levels as detailed below.
| Curriculum Level | Stage |
| Early | The pre-school years and P1 or later for some |
| First | To the end of P4 but earlier or later for some |
| Second | To the end of P7 but earlier or later for some |
| Third, Fourth | S1 to S3 but earlier for some |
| Senior phase | S4-S6 and college or other means of study |
Useful websites
For additional information on the curriculum you can visit the following websites:
Education Scotland www.education.gov.scot
National Parent Forum of Scotland www.npfs.org.uk
