Primary Matters, issue 24: Australian Curriculum Review, June 2021

This edition of Primary Matters provides an update on the Australian Curriculum Review Consultation and how you can have your say about the proposed revisions in the primary years, Foundation to Year 6.

About the consultation period

Proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum for Foundation – Year 10 (F–10) were released for public comment on Thursday 29 April and will remain open until Thursday 8 July.

Aims of the review

The overall aim of the review is to improve the F–10 Australian Curriculum by refining, realigning and decluttering the content of the curriculum within its existing structure. In particular, the review aims to:

• Refine and reduce the amount of content to focus on core concepts
• Improve the quality of content descriptions and achievement standards
• Rationalise and improve content elaborations
• Improve the digital presentation of the Australian Curriculum.

The review of the Australian Curriculum gives particular attention to the Foundation to Year 6 curriculum to reduce overcrowding, and improve manageability and coherence across the learning areas in the primary years. Read more about the aims of the review in the Terms of Reference.

Information about what has changed and why in Foundation to Year 6, and primary scope and sequence documents can be accessed through the Primary curriculum view page on the website.

Your feedback is now invited on the proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum. Primary perspectives are vital for the consultation process. All primary-related feedback is submitted through learning area, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities surveys. To be supported in the process, it is important for primary teachers to view the learning area, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities pages to understand what has changed and why. Primary scope and sequence documents can be accessed through the Primary curriculum view link. These documents have been created to show the primary curriculum by levels rather than learning areas. There is one document for each year or band of the primary curriculum. A document explaining what has changed and why in Primary has also been created to support you to understand the proposed revisions.

Step 1 – Become familiar with the consultation curriculum documents

The following learning area curriculum documents are available to support you:

• ‘All elements’ is the only format that contains the introductory information, rationale, aims, organisational structure, key connections and key considerations. The year/band descriptions and content elaborations can only be found in this document.
• ‘Scope and sequence’ includes the proposed content descriptions and achievement standards and shows the progression between years/bands.
• ‘Comparative information’ provides the current and proposed content descriptions and achievement standards. This format shows where there are proposed deletions, changes for clarity and realignment to new strands or years/bands.

The proposed content descriptions and elaborations have codes. Use these codes when you want to refer to specific content descriptions or elaborations in the survey.

Step 2 – Become familiar with the survey format and questions

In order to be familiar with the questions before you begin, you can download a copy of the survey questions. All feedback is collected through the consultation surveys. If you want to give very detailed feedback or you are working as a group to prepare your responses, it would be best to download the survey questions document and record your responses in this document before cutting and pasting into the online survey. This approach would also allow you to keep a record of your responses.

The survey can be submitted as an individual or group response. This provides opportunities for individuals and groups to become familiar with the proposed changes and to provide well-considered feedback.

Step 3 – Complete the survey

A ‘How to have your say’ infographic can be downloaded from the consultation website.

Take the time to read the curriculum documents and complete the online survey. You can save and return to the survey at any time.

What is changing in Primary and why?

Information on the proposed revisions to the Foundation to Year 6 (F–6) Australian Curriculum can be found in the what has changed and why? document on the consultation website. Primary scope and sequence documents can also be found through the Primary curriculum view page.

Where can I find more information on completing the survey?

A consultation survey information sheet is accessible through the website. This will help you understand how you can start, stop and save your survey responses.

How can I submit feedback for a particular year level or band of years?

If you wish to submit responses specific to a year or band, select the learning area or learning areas you wish to provide feedback for and complete the survey. This ensures that primary-specific feedback is captured through learning areas. Section 3 of the survey allows you to provide feedback on a specific year or band level. Download a copy of the survey questions to find out more.

How can I provide detailed feedback?

If you want to give very detailed feedback or you are working as a group to prepare your responses, it would be best to download the survey questions document and record your responses in this document before cutting and pasting into the online survey. This approach would also allow you to keep a record of your responses.