NSW Department of Education and Communities:
NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

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Welcome to Secondary education

In NSW, teaching and learning, as well as assessing and reporting student achievement, should be directly related to the learning outcomes and curriculum content specified in Board of Studies syllabuses. Syllabuses themselves are grouped into key learning areas (KLAs). The eight KLAs of the secondary curriculum are:

• Creative Arts
• English
• Human Society and Its Environment
• Languages
• Mathematics
• Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
• Science
• Technology

In addition to the syllabuses themselves, the NSW Department of Education and Training has a number of specific requirements for the teaching in these KLAs that apply in government secondary schools. These therefore also need to be familiar with and take into account a range of curriculum-related policies.

Teachers design learning experiences to help students achieve the syllabus outcomes, which are described in stages that relate to years of secondary schooling:

Stage 4 – Years 7 and 8
Stage 5 – Years 9 and 10
Stage 6 – Years 11 and 12

Within this framework of KLAs, syllabuses, policies and stages, teachers aim to meet the needs of individual students to ensure that they achieve their potential.

The intention of this part of our website is to provide up-to-date and relevant curriculum support for NSW government schools to assist teachers in this complex but critical professional task.

Information on this site concerning secondary curriculum support is available in each of these KLAs. The information can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate menu item on the left-hand side of this page.

Curriculum support for specific key learning areas (KLAs) is accessed by clicking on the menu items on the left-hand side of this page. These include contact details for a curriculum adviser in each area.

For general enquiries about curriculum contact Chris Dorbis

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