THE Department of Education and Children has launched a new school curriculum for the Island's 12,000 school pupils.
Essentials for Learning has been introduced to all 40 schools in the Island with one clear aim – to inspire learners to flourish in life.
It is the first major revision of how pupils learn since 2006 when the department published its Curriculum for Learning and Achievement.
The new curriculum started life a year ago when a working group of representatives from the department, headteachers and teachers began meeting to consider, research and examine ideas from other jurisdictions and to discuss how best to support schools.
Geoff Moorcroft, the school improvement adviser, headed up the working group. He said: "Essentials for Learning was created after extensive consultation with teachers and headteachers.
"The Island benefits from massive freedoms when compared to the UK and these give schools the chance to teach in innovative ways.
"Schools told us they wanted less prescription of the specific content of their curriculum but needed support and clarity about the principles that should underpin it."
As a result there are now 10 agreed principles upon which the curriculum is based. These include that the curriculum is personalised, meaningful, connected, and inclusive. The 6Rs – the dispositions pupils need to succeed both in school and in later life – also remain central to the curriculum.
Geoff continued: "The resulting framework incorporates much of this new thinking while retaining many traditional elements including a clear commitment to reflecting Manx history and culture.
"The curriculum will provide the most up to date materials to teachers who will be able to create inspiring, memorable learning opportunities for pupils."
The Essentials for Learning curriculum has been created as a wiki and is accessible to all teaching and support staff and parents. The wiki is interactive and also contains extra reading material, links to other websites and audit tools.
Graeme Corrin the deputy headteacher at Ramsey Grammar School is also on the working group. He said: "Essentials for Learning integrates guidance and references so that teachers are supported yet encouraged to be innovative, creative and inspiring within their specific school context. All the principles that we believe to be important and to which we remain committed are drawn together and pupils will benefit from learning experiences that are based on these shared beliefs."
Parents can visit the Essentials for Learning wiki at https://www2.sch.im/e4l/.
