The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and primary schools throughout the province are hard at work preparing for the introduction of the Revised National Curriculum in Grades R to 3 from the start of next year.

Schools and education authorities countrywide will introduce the revised curriculum for Grades R to 9 in stages from 2004 to 2008, starting with the Foundation Phase (Grades R to 3) in 2004.

Grade R refers to the "reception" year, the final year of preprimary schooling before children enter primary school.

More than 250 000 learners in the Western Cape, in Grades R to 3, will join learners throughout the country in being the first to learn the revised curriculum.

Provincial education departments will start implementing the revised curriculum in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6) in 2005, followed by the Senior Phase, namely, Grade 7 in 2006, Grade 8 in 2007 and Grade 9 in 2008.

The national Department of Education published the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) in the Government Gazette on 31 May 2002 after a lengthy process of revising Curriculum 2005.

Key features of the RNCS include comprehensive outcomes and assessment standards, that define what children must know and be able to do in each grade and learning area, and how their progress should be assessed.

Preparation for the revised curriculum in the Foundation Phase in the Western Cape has included training 5 810 primary school teachers, and 959 principals and other school managers, during the July school holidays.

While attendance was not compulsory, we were greatly impressed by the turnout. Teachers and principals flocked to training workshops in all seven education districts of the Western Cape.

The workshops were not compulsory, because we were aware that teachers may have made other arrangements for the holidays. For this reason, we also arranged to hold workshops during the September holidays.

Holiday workshops such as these will become a regular occurrence over the next few years as the new curriculum rolls out and as teachers prepare themselves for effective implementation.

We are greatly encouraged by enthusiasm and commitment shown by those who attended. This reflects the professional approach of our educators, who are dedicated to ensuring that they are well prepared for the new year.

We also appreciate the efforts of our officials who have worked long hours for many months now, to prepare the ground for the revised curriculum, including the recent workshops.

Schools have also been hard at work preparing for next year. Ultimately, successful implementation will depend on micro-management in schools, and schools are already rising to this challenge.

Feedback from those who participated in the training workshops has been overwhelmingly positive. We believe that there are three main reasons for the success of the workshops:

• Our trainers were thoroughly prepared. The WCED trained 98 trainers who formed the Provincial Core Training Team (PCTT). Training involved policy and practical implementation issues, as well as facilitation skills.

• The course content was practical and designed specifically for the needs of teachers and school managers. The workshops ensured that participants fully understood the basics involved, and participated actively in the kinds of tasks they will have to perform when implementing the curriculum.

• We recognised the professionalism and expertise of those who attended. Teachers, principals and school managers developed operational frameworks to assist in their own planning for next year.

We encouraged teachers and principals to initiate and participate in cluster meetings in each district, to share experiences and to plan for January 2004.

Our Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs) in each district will facilitate this process.

Principals have a special role to play, by ensuring that school development teams support and guide teachers, by scheduling time for the entire staff to work through the implications of introducing the revised curriculum over the next few years.

Staff need to work together on lesson plans and assessment tasks, and critique each other’s work, and should form a moderating team to support the implementation of new tasks.

The WCED will support these efforts by providing professional support programmes and materials such as videos, CD-ROMs, and web-based, online support.

We understand that major change is not easy. Judging by the response of our teachers, principals and officials to these challenges, I am confident that the standard of education in the Western Cape will take a major leap forward when we start implementing the revised curriculum in 2004.

• Parents can access a quick reference guide to the revised curriculum on WCED Online ( http://wced.wcape.gov.za ), the department’s web site ( see "Quick Links" -- "National curriculum policy documents" ).