A COMMON STRUCTURE AND DESIGN
FOR ALL SUBJECTS
The programmes of study
The National Curriculum (NC)
programmes of study have been given a common structure and a common design.
In each subject, at each key stage, the main column 1 contains the programme
of study, which sets out two sorts of requirements:
- Knowledge,
skills and understanding 2 - what has to be taught in the subject during
the key stage;
- Breadth
of study 3 - the contexts, activities, areas of study and range of experiences
through which the Knowledge, skills and understanding should be taught.
The programmes of study
for English, mathematics and science
The programmes of study for English,
Mathematics and Science contain sections that correspond directly to the attainment
targets (ATs) for each subject. In mathematics, this one-to-one correspondence
does not hold for all key stages - see the mathematics programme of study
for more information. In English, the three sections of the programmes of
study each contain Breadth of study requirements. In
mathematics and science there is a single, separate set of Breadth
of study requirements for each key stage.
The programmes of study
in the non-core foundation subjects
In these subjects (except for
citizenship), the programme of study simply contains two sets of requirements
- Knowledge, skills and understanding and
Breadth of study. The programmes of study for citizenship contain
no Breadth of study requirements.
Information in the margins
At the start of each key stage,
the margin begins with a summary 6 of the main things that children will learn
during the key stage. The margins also contain four other types of non-statutory
information:
- notes
giving key information that should be taken into account when teaching the
subject;
- notes
giving definitions of words and phrases in the programmes of study;
- suggested
opportunities for children to use information and communication technology
(ICT) as they learn the subject;
- some key links
with other subjects indicating connections between teaching requirements,
and suggesting how a requirement in one subject can build on the requirements
in another in the same key stage.
