• The Early Level covers the early years in nursery and Primary 1
• The First Level covers P2 to Primary 4
• The Second Level runs until the end of Primary 7
• The Third and Fourth Levels cover from Secondary 1 to Secondary 3
• The Senior Phase runs from S4 to S6 in school and college, or other means of study, up until the age of 18

Effective transition arrangements are especially important in Curriculum for Excellence to ensure continuity of learning for each pupil. Key transitions are the Early Level (from nursery to primary), from primary to secondary (moving from the Second to the Third Level of learning) and during the Senior Phase to ensure a positive destination into higher education, work, training or college.

The new curriculum will help children and young people develop the skills and knowledge that employers require now and in the future.

What will be different?

• Every teacher will be responsible for literacy and numeracy – skills that unlock other subjects and are vital to everyday life
• Every teacher will look after our children’s health and wellbeing
• Teachers will work together to plan a child’s ‘learning journey’ from 3-18, helping them move from nursery to primary, on to secondary and beyond, ensuring they can learn in a way that works for them, at a pace they can cope with and with challenges they can thrive on

Curriculum for Excellence is a different approach to teaching which is more interactive between teachers and those children and young people with whom they are working.

Curriculum for Excellence will provide increased opportunities to work in partnership with other subjects e.g. using a topic to combine different elements from different subjects e.g. Planet Earth draws on Sciences but could also include Geography and Mathematics.