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���ϳԹ�n public school students will receive a new, innovative curriculum with the first four subjects of the ���ϳԹ�n Curriculum for Public Education now released.

The ���ϳԹ�n Curriculum for Public Education will be an adapted version of the Australian Curriculum to respond to local feedback from students, teachers and employers, and deliver the best graduates for a changing world.

The new curriculum is being developed for every subject, with English and Mathematics a key focus, along with Arts and Languages.

The key changes of the curriculum include:

• A bigger focus on reading in English – inspiring students to read more and use their literacy skills on a daily basis.
• Teaching students the important life skills they need for everyday life through a strong focus on financial literacy in Mathematics.
• Decluttering the curriculum to give teachers the time they need to teach topics in depth.
• Adding important qualities such as resilience and empathy into each subject area for the first time – qualities employers are increasingly demanding of graduates.
• A stronger focus on the process of art creation in the arts curriculum to strengthen students’ techniques and skills.

It comes as grants worth more than $12 million are being provided by the State Government to two leading ���ϳԹ�n arts organisations, Carclew and Patch Theatre, to help continue educating tens of thousands of ���ϳԹ�n students each year.

Both organisations support schools by delivering arts education, opportunities and experiences to students which, today, included a ceramics workshop provided to students at Kilkenny Primary School through the Carclew in Schools program.

Kilkenny Primary School Principal Alex Narcys said, the Arts provides a platform for students to express themselves, to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings, to be imaginative, to play and to be creative and to engage their hands, bodies, hearts and minds as they learn.

“Kilkenny Primary School and Preschool is committed to providing all learners with a vibrant and engaging arts curriculum and opportunities to experience the joy of the arts”, Alex said.

This comes as the first iteration of key components of the new curriculum for public education (including the arts learning area) is being shared with teachers across the state for their feedback.

For the first time since the Australian Curriculum was developed and released in 2010, the latest version is being comprehensively adapted by the Department for Education to ensure it best meets the needs of ���ϳԹ�n students and fits within the ���ϳԹ�n context.

Department for Education Chief Executive Professor Martin Westwell said, the release of Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum, in tandem with the department’s new strategy for public education, has provided a timely opportunity to adapt the curriculum for ���ϳԹ�n public schools.

“This is a significant step and means we can focus on what is most important for our children and young people to learn, enhancing student agency, and enabling them to apply their learning to real-world situations”.

“Subject learning remains crucial, but the emphasis needs to shift from the passive reproduction of processes and facts to capabilities, both general and subject-specific, conceptual understanding, deep thinking and the ability to apply knowledge across various situations”.

“We have been working with teachers and leaders to understand what is important to them, and have also engaged with Educators SA, the ���ϳԹ�n Primary Principals Association and the ���ϳԹ�n Secondary Principals Association on our consultation process", Professor Westwell said.

The first four subject areas will be made available through a newly developed website that will be a hub for teachers, allowing them to provide feedback and support pilot work.

The adapted curriculum, developed for Reception to Year 10 in eight learning areas, will be introduced and refined in a phased approach, expected to be completed in 2027.

Read more about the Curriculum in ���ϳԹ� from early years to year 12.