The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and schools are working hard to consolidate progress made this year on implementing the national curriculum for Grades 10 to 12.

Provincial departments across the country are implementing the Further Education and Training (FET) curriculum for Grades 10 to 12 in schools over three years, starting with Grade 10 in 2006.

Schools and the WCED have been preparing for the introduction of the new curriculum for the past four years. We are now fine-tuning what we have prepared for over this time.

Our experience for other grades has shown that it takes a while to bed down any new approach. This will apply in Grade 10, and we are confident that it will not take long to get up to speed.

The WCED has visited schools to monitor the challenges we face, and is developing appropriate plans to meet specific requirements.

We are pleased to note that most of our high schools are working hard to prepare Grade 10 learners for the end of the year, and ultimately, for the first matric exams based on the national curriculum in 2008.

The department has distributed sets of examples of Grade 10 examination papers, supplied nationally. Schools may not use these papers for the November 2006 examinations, but must use the papers as models to ensure common standards.

The WCED will monitor and moderate these examinations to assure quality and to identify issues that schools and the department must address in 2007.

In addition, 10 schools will write common national papers in selected subjects, as part of a national pilot study. The national Department of Education will moderate and report on these findings to inform planning for the 2007 Grade 11 examinations.

The WCED organised orientation workshops in June and July to consolidate subject content knowledge and teaching and assessment practices for Grades 10 to 12 teachers. Teachers developed appropriate sample lessons during the workshops.

The WCED has prepared subject resource packs for teachers in collaboration with the four local universities to build content knowledge and teaching skills of non-qualified and under-qualified teachers.

The resource packs are pitched at first-year university level and will provide teachers with the conceptual knowledge and understanding they need to teach new curriculum content required in Grades 10 to 12.

The WCED has provided a guide to all Grade 10 learners to provide advice on how to study. Life Orientation teachers can use this guide to support learners as they to prepare for assessment.

The WCED has distributed teaching and learning support videos, developed by the SABC, for Mathematical Literacy, English First Additional Language, Physical Sciences and Life Orientation to all schools as a teaching and learning aid.

The WCED is developing a guide for teachers on how to set examinations that effectively meet the requirements of the curriculum’s assessment standards.