The Australian Curriculum outlines the essential knowledge, understanding and skills students should acquire during their first 11 years of schooling. It reflects what the Australian community values as important for young people to learn and sets expectations for the quality of learning as students progress. It is central to achieving the goals of the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration. The Declaration commits to promoting excellence and equity, and ensuring all young Australians become confident, creative individuals and lifelong learners.
Whole-school curriculum planning is about translating national expectations into meaningful learning experiences that prepare students for success in life and active participation in society. Schools use the Australian Curriculum as a foundation for planning for student learning.
Whole-school curriculum planning is not static – it is an ongoing process embedded in each school’s cycle of improvement. School leaders and teachers play a critical role in implementing the curriculum within their school context. Their professional judgement shapes how curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting work together to meet student needs. Effective whole-school planning involves all stakeholders, through discussion and dialogue, focused on improving student outcomes.
Eight aspects of curriculum planning
Eight aspects have been identified to focus discussions and support planning at a whole-school level. These aspects have been developed through a process of research, consultation and expert advice from key stakeholders. These aspects are not a checklist but an interconnected set of factors that influence the way in which the Australian Curriculum is implemented.
The 8 aspects are: Building teacher capability, Using the Australian Curriculum, Sequencing learning, Including all learners, Aligning curriculum and assessment, Planning for multi-age classes, Engaging with community and Evaluating resources.
School and curriculum leaders can use the advice and associated resources to guide discussions with leadership teams and teachers. These discussions will support the development of a whole-school plan for student learning that is based on the expectations and aspirations of the Australian Curriculum. To support this process, each aspect includes a set of guiding questions that school and curriculum leaders can select from when initiating planning discussions. These discussions may form part of a staff meeting, support school-based professional learning activities or guide team and faculty meetings.
Figure 1: The 8 aspects of whole-school curriculum planning and implementation
School and curriculum leaders need a shared understanding of the importance of a whole-school approach to curriculum planning and how they will collaborate to achieve it. A comprehensive approach to whole-school curriculum planning ensures that teachers know what they need to teach and when they need to teach it. The role of school and curriculum leaders is to have the necessary supports in place to enable teachers to do this well. With this planning in place, leaders and teachers can focus on using resources to enhance teaching and learning outcomes throughout the school.
School and curriculum leaders consider the following when developing a whole-school approach to curriculum implementation.
Building teacher capability
How can we support teachers to build their capability in understanding and using the Australian Curriculum?
Using the Australian Curriculum
What do we understand about the structure and intent of the Australian Curriculum?
Sequencing learning
How can we sequence the curriculum and evaluate the effectiveness of our approaches?
Including all learners
How can we ensure all learners are supported to access the curriculum?
Aligning curriculum and assessment
How can we ensure our approaches to assessment align to the curriculum?
Planning for multi-age classes
How can we plan and sequence the curriculum effectively in multi-age settings?
Engaging with community
How can we communicate and collaborate with our school community about our approaches to curriculum implementation?
Evaluating resources
How can we review and evaluate the resources we use for teaching, learning and assessment?