Aim
Curriculum for Excellence is intended to help children and young people gain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for life in the 21st century, including skills for learning, life and work.
Purpose
Its purpose is often summed up as helping children and young people to become:
Successful learners
Confident individuals
Responsible citizens
Effective contributors.
These are referred to as the four capacities.
Q.I. 2.2 Curriculum (Education Scotland, 2016)
Curriculum areas
There are eight curriculum areas:
Expressive arts
Health and wellbeing
Literacy
Mathematics
Religious and moral education
Sciences
Social studies
Technologies.
Literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing are recognised as being particularly important – these areas are seen as being the ‘responsibility of all’ staff.
How the children learn at the Playgroup
The children will learn through planned taught activities accessing the Experiences and Outcomes (E's and O's ) from the curriculum for excellence and through Free Play.
Children and young people have a right to play and this is respected and promoted through all that we do at the Playgroup. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states (in Article 31) that every child should have
"The right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts." (UNICEF, online)
Free play is what happens when children and young people follow their own ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons. They can do this on their own or with others either inside or outside. Children and young people should be given the choice of how and when they play. There is lots of information available about the health and wellbeing benefits of play. Active play helps to build strong bones and muscles. Children and young people explore their feelings through play, and this can help them build resilience and cope with stress.
Play is how young children make sense of their world. There is also evidence to show that play in early childhood can influence the way your child's brain develops, helping to co-ordinate their mental and physical capabilities. Through play, children and young people of all ages develop problem-solving skills, imagination and creativity, language and observation skills, and memory and concentration. Children and young people use play to test their theories about the world and their place in it.
Q.I 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion (Education Scotland, 2016)
