The revised National Curriculum Statement (NCS) will be implemented in the whole of the Intermediate Phase in 2005.
The national Department of Education is in the process of sending copies of the NCS to schools. So far, schools should have received the Overview to the NCS in all 11 official languages, the Learning Area Statements for all eight learning areas in English, as well as the Languages Learning Area Statement for Home Language, first additional language and second additional language in all 11 official languages.
The NCS has simplified and streamlined C2005 in its original form. The Committee that reviewed C2005 in 2000 recommended that an NCS should be designed using the critical outcomes as a starting point. For each of the eight learning areas,
a Learning Area Statement should be produced stipulating learning outcomes and assessment standards for each grade.
Two years down the line, we now have such a set of revised policy documents in the form of the NCS. Each Learning Area Statement provides learning outcomes and assessment standards that map the progression of knowledge, skills and values from Grade R to Grade 9 (the General Education and Training Band).
You will find a whole section in the middle of each Learning Area Statement that deals with the Intermediate Phase. Begin by familiarising yourself with the Overview of the NCS and the learning outcomes and assessment standards for Grade 4, 5 and 6 for each of the eight learning areas.
You may be wondering whether the learning areas will be combined into the same learning programmes as was previously the case. The answer is not necessarily negative.
This time round, the policy only stipulates that Languages (no longer LLC) and Mathematics (no longer MLMMS) will be distinct learning programmes. How the other six learning areas are combined into learning programmes will be up to each school to decide.
According to the Overview of the NCS, ‘Schools may decide on the number and nature of learning programmes in the Intermediate Phase based on the organisational imperatives of the school, provided that the national priorities and developmental needs of learners in a phase are taken into account.”
In theory teachers will be responsible for the development of learning programmes. In reality, we have seen how difficult it is to expect teachers to take on this responsibility without adequate training in the policy requirements, access to high-quality learning support materials and other resources, or the required skills and resources to develop and duplicate their own materials.
You effectively have two years before formal implementation of the Intermediate Phase begins. How can you use this time to build the confidence and capacity of your teachers so that they don’t feel that they are once again being thrown in at the deep end?
One strategy might be to set up forums for teachers to engage with the NCS. Let teachers discuss and debate the learning outcomes and assessment standards for the Intermediate Phase with their colleagues.
Do they think the NCS could be used as a meaningful resource to support the work they are currently doing in the different learning areas/programmes? For recording and reporting purposes, it’s easy enough to make links between the new learning outcomes and the existing specific outcomes.
Encourage teachers to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the textbooks they are using. If they could select textbooks over again, what would they look for?
Although it is expected that schools will combine some learning areas into learning programmes, for example Science and Technology, there are likely to be separate textbooks for each learning area in the Intermediate Phase. Neither the provincial education departments nor the publishers will be able to anticipate which learning areas different schools will choose to combine into learning programmes.
Keep a watch for assessment policy requirements for the NCS – these are not available yet. This will enable you to give clear guidance on assessment to your teachers.
I know that teachers and school managers are suffering from curriculum change fatigue. But I’d like to encourage you to be positive as the NCS is a big step in the right direction.
The revised National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for General Education and Training (GET – Grade R to 9) is available on the government website:
http://education.pwv.gov.za in all eleven official languages. It will be phased in over the next six years in the following way:
Timetable for implementation
2004: Foundation Phase
(Grades R, 1, 2 and 3)
2005: Intermediate Phase
(Grades 4, 5 and 6)
2006: Grade 7
2007: Grade 8
2008: Grade 9