The Foundation year is one of the most important years of schooling and the revisions in the updated Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0, following the recent Review, have made clear what is the essential learning in this important first year of school.
The Australian Curriculum sets the expectations for what all young Australians should be taught, regardless of where they live or their background. It’s central to the Australian education system and an important element in helping to set up our young people for their future.
One of the critical pieces of work ACARA did as part of the recent review of the Foundation to Year 10 curriculum was the improvements to the Foundation year.
A child’s learning journey doesn’t start when a child begins school; rather, it continues as they enter the crucial first year of schooling.
The Foundation year represents one of the most significant transitions young children face in their early lives as they settle into new environments and develop new relationships and routines. This is the year on which future learning is built.
We want to support all these firsts. Throughout the review, ACARA worked with teachers and curriculum experts to identify and be clear on what was essential learning in the Foundation year. We set up a primary teacher reference group to give specific advice about curriculum for primary schools, looking across all the learning areas.
As outlined in the review terms of reference, the updated Australian Curriculum builds on the key learning outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework – that children have a strong sense of identity, are connected with and contribute to their world, have a strong sense of wellbeing, are confident and involved learners, and are effective communicators.
The improvements to the Foundation year Australian Curriculum included identifying what specific content is to be taught and the achievement standards expected for the Foundation year in all 8 learning areas. Changes were identified in the Technologies, The Arts and Languages learning areas as they currently have a 3-year learning band from Foundation to Year 2.
All learning areas in the Foundation year curriculum have been refined.
This makes the curriculum more manageable for teachers, giving them more time for their students.
We were also asked to reduce the amount of curriculum content, and this task of decluttering was critical to the primary years of schooling. Overall content has been reduced, and duplication of content across learning areas removed.
Finally, we asked primary teachers and schools to test the revised curriculum to make sure it could effectively support teaching and learning and come to life in the classroom through our expert teachers.
This F–6 intensive engagement project involved nearly 50 schools across all 3 school sectors. Foundation teachers told us that they found the revised Australian Curriculum more manageable in the early years with stronger links to the Early Years Learning Framework. The separation of Foundation year also meant they could clearly see what is essential to teach and for students to learn as the building block for future learning.
The Foundation year is an exciting one for students, and we hope the new Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 makes this important year even more rewarding for teachers, students and parents/carers.
The Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 will be implemented by schools according to the timelines set by education authorities in states and territories. Teachers will be directed and supported in implementation transition planning by education authorities in their jurisdictions.
A version of this story was originally published in Education Matters, Primary edition.