1. During the 2005 June-July and September school holidays teachers were orientated in the Further Education and Training (FET) National Curriculum Statement (NCS) in subject contexts.
2. This orientation will continue in 2006 for Grades 10 , 11 and 12 teachers. The orientation workshops will take place during the June-July 2006 school holidays from 26 June to 7 July 2006. No orientation workshops will take place in September 2006.
3. The NCS orientation for teachers of Grades 10 to 12 will be presented in a new format in 2006, based on a fit-the-need approach. A modular programme of workshops will be presented. This programme, focusing on new content, assessment methodology and use of reference materials, especially for Grade 11, will provide teachers with the opportunity to select, according to their qualifications and experience, those modules they wish to attend.
4. A lesson plan will be developed for each module, indicating how to deliver the new content using appropriate teaching, learning and assessment strategies, as well as suitable learning support material.
5. All teachers will be expected to attend a selection of workshops, both to learn from the workshops and to add value to them by contributing their own knowledge and experience for the benefit of colleagues. These workshops will focus on an integration of theory and practice, but the nature of each workshop will differ from subject to subject. Each subject will be dealt with in a programme stretching over five days, either in the week beginning 26 June 2006 or in the week beginning 3 July 2006.
6. All small subjects (Music, Dance Studies, Visual Art, Design, Dramatic Arts, Agriculture, Mechanical Technology, Electrical Technology, Engineering: Graphics and Design, and Tourism) will be presented in centralised venues, while all other subjects will be presented in EMDC district venues.
7. The same programme for each subject will be presented in all EMDC districts.
8. Principals and teachers should note that these June-July 2006 workshops will not be repeated.
9. In addition to the above-mentioned subject content orientation, orientation in subject assessment for Grades 10 to 12 teachers will also take place. The subject assessment guidelines will be distributed directly to schools from the national Department of Education. These 2-hour workshops will take place in cluster contexts in the EMDC districts.
10. The programme and information on registration procedures will be distributed to schools in February 2006.
11. Principals are urgently requested to provide a copy of this circular to all teachers of Grades 10 to 12, or to ensure that these teachers are provided with the full details of these 2006 workshops.


SIGNED: JP RAULT-SMITH
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2005:10:31