NATIONAL CURRICULUM STATEMENT Grades R-12

Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS)

14 June 2011

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Public Concerns Regarding NCS Implementation• The Minister of Basic Education received many complaints and

comments regarding the implementation of the NCS

• The NCS was criticised for overburdening teachers with administrative tasks that led to teacher overload

• There were different interpretations of the curriculum requirements across the country and in different schools

• The levels of learner underperformance of a majority of learners in literacy and numeracy international and local assessments were becoming evident and widespread

Investigation of Challenges of the NCS• In July 2009, the Minister of Basic Education appointed a panel of

curriculum experts external to the Department to investigate the curriculum implementation challenges

• The panel conducted public hearings with teachers and met and further received written comments from the public via electronic communication (Thutong portal and email)

• The Terms of Reference of the Task Team included the following:– Identify challenges and pressure points in the implementation of the NCS Grades R-12

– Investigate how challenges could be addressed

– Develop a set of practical interventions to respond to the noted challenges

Recommendations

• Rationalise the current NCS documents into a single set of of simple and Coherent Curriculum documents per subject per phase from Grades R-12

• Conduct regular external annual assessment of Mathematics, Home Language and English FAL in Grades 3, 6 and 9

• Introduce the teaching of English as a subject, parallel to Home Language, from Grade 1 for learners who will use English as a language of learning and teaching from Grade 4

• Reduce the overload in the intermediate phase by reducing the number of subjects in the Intermediate Phase to six subjects

• Ensure that teacher training is strengthened and in-service training is provided where it is needed most

• Reassert the role of textbooks, develop a national catalogue of textbooks and plan for provision of textbooks for all learners for every subject

Development of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements

(CAPS)

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Appointment of Writers for CAPS• A total of 180 Writers were nominated to develop,

version and translate CAPS Gr. R – 12. • Writers commenced duties on 15 April 2010• Criteria for Writers

(a) Experience in teaching the subject;(b) Ability to write critically;(c) Ability to meet time constraints;(d) Level of knowledge of the subject/deep and broad knowledge of the subject.

Public Comment Process on CAPS• The Minister of Basic Education invited stakeholder bodies and

members of the public to comment on the newly developed Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements by means of Government Notice No. 784 in Government Gazette No. 33528 of 3 September 2010.

• The original closing date for the receipt of comments, excluding Foundation Phase, was set for 21 days after publication of the signed Government Notices in the Government Gazette, which was 24 September 2010. The closing date for Foundation phase was set for 11 October 2010.

• The closing date for comments was been extended to 18 October 2010 to provide for additional opportunity for comment.

• The consultation process was rigorous and included discussion with reference group to assess the comments received.

Addressing Public Comments on CAPS• 1844 submissions were received from the public comment process• All public comments received were evaluated, considered and

accommodated where deemed necessary by the MPC and the writing teams.

• Given the nature of the Curriculum development process, it is evident that not all views could be accommodated in the final CAPS

• The revised CAPS which incorporated the public comments were submitted to Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM) and subsequently to the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) on 2 June 2011 for the Minister to declare them as policy

Status on Development of CAPS• CAPS for all phases have been developed and submitted to

publishers for textbook development

• CAPS have been edited and ready for design and layout

• The finalised CAPS will be made immediately available on the DBE website and PDE websites following Ministerial approval

• The DBE will also be printing CAPS for teachers. Districts will be required to assist the coordination of distribution to schools to ensure that all teachers have copies of CAPS

Quality Assurance by UMALUSI• UMALUSI has indicated that it would use different methods for the

quality control and benchmarking of CAPS.• Umalusi will set an expected standard for each subject during each

phase of learning.• Umalusi will carry quality assurance as follows:• Foundation Phase: April 2011 to March 2012• Intermediate Phase: January 2012 to March 2013• Senior Phase: January 2012 to March 2013• FET Phase: April 2013 to March 2014

• Further development in this regard will be communicated in due course

Training on CAPS• DBE has developed a toolkit for training of Foundation Phase teachers on CAPS.

The toolkit supports the following:– Implementation of CAPS in the classroom– Implementation of English FAL– Role and use of literacy and numeracy workbooks in Grades 1-3– Use of Grade R Resource kit– Annual National Assessments in Grades 2 and 3

• 336 FP subject advisors and 2390 FET subject advisors in 9 provinces attended orientation workshops on CAPS between April and May 2011

• The training toolkits for FP and Grade 10 have been revised based on the feedback from training sessions and will be used across the system for training purposes

• The PDES and Districts are to ensure that teachers are trained and provided with support in the implementation of the CAPS in the classroom from 2012

NCS (CAPS) POLICY • The National Curriculum Statement Grades R to 12, comprises the

following documents:– Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements for all approved subjects listed

in this document;– The Policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and

promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R – 12

– National Protocol on Assessment

• The policy document on promotion requirements was published for public comment on 24 January 2011 and was approved by CEM on 2 May 2011

• The draft national protocol on assessment is included will be published for public comment as soon as signed by the Minister.

Pre-Implementation Workshop of CAPS• The “do-ability” exercise of CAPS by teachers took place on 23 and

24 May 2011• Each of the teacher unions was supplied with CDs of CAPS for all

subject 3 weeks ahead of the workshop• The objectives of the workshop were set as follows:– Ensure that teachers can advice on solutions for implementation

of CAPS in the classroom in respect of the following:• Strengthening teacher training on CAPS • Ensuring that a mechanism is developed to help teachers set

detailed work schedules • Strengthening textbook development• The “do-ability” exercise of CAPS focused only on a limited

number of subject CAPS based on teacher comments.

Subject CAPS Evaluated at the Pre-Implementation Workshop

• There is overall support of the CAPS in terms of their design and support for teachers.

• The subjects that were discussed in detail at the workshop included the following:– Mathematics– Physical Sciences– Accounting– Languages– Natural Science and Technology– Geography

• CAPS for the other subjects were deemed to be acceptable and manageable for implementation

Outcome of the Pre-Implementation Workshop

• CAPS are supported by the teachers to provide clarity of what is to be taught

• However, there are subjects where there is still overload• There is a view that the CAPS should allow teacher

flexibility • Assessment needs to be strengthened as the

implementation of the CAPS unfolds. There is also a view that assessment should not be too prescriptive

• Orientation and training of teachers and managers is fundamental for the effective implementation of CAPS

IMPLEMENTATION OF CAPS• 2011 Prepare the system for introduction of the

National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements– workshops for officials, principals and districts;– implementation and use of workbooks Grades 1 – 6;– teacher orientation and training; and– textbook preparation and procurement

• 2012 Implementation in Grades R – 3 and Grade 10

• 2013 Implementation in Grades 4 – 9 and Grade 11

• 2014 Implementation in Grade 12.

THANK YOU

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