

	Statutory requirements at key stage 4
	Statutory entitlement areas at key stage 4
	Entitlement courses
	Careers education and guidance
	Citizenship at key stage 4

	Print this page

The rationale for the mandatory areas is that they should:

provide an essential basis for progression across all areas of learning and for keeping young people’s options open, and/or
be essential for personal development, contributing to young people’s spiritual, cultural, social and moral development.

Statutory requirements at key stage 4


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

Documents to download

Changes to the key stage 4 curriculum: Guidance for implementation from September 2004
>

The publication 14-19: opportunity and excellence confirms ministers’ intentions to make enabling changes to the key stage 4 statutory requirements to increase curriculum flexibility and the potential for individualised learning programmes.

From 2004 the key stage 4 statutory requirement will be:

a small core of compulsory subjects: English, ICT, mathematics, science, citizenship, physical education and religious education
compulsory areas of learning: careers education, sex education and work-related learning
entitlement areas: the arts, design and technology, the humanities, and modern foreign languages

The major changes will be:

the creation of entitlement areas that schools must provide if students wish to take courses in them
work-related learning as a new requirement for all
a smaller, updated programme of study for science
physical education with a greater focus on physical fitness, health and well-being.

The purposes for disapplication changed in 2003 to reflect the forthcoming changes. Disapplication regulations related to design and technology and modern foreign languages will be withdrawn from 2004. When the new science programme of study is implemented in 2006, disapplication will no longer be available.

Guidance

Extensive guidance is available to support schools in implementing the new requirements. Schools have received two copies of the publications Changes to the Key Stage 4 Curriculum: Guidance for Implementation from September 2004 and Work-related Learning for all at Key Stage 4: Guidance for Implementation from September 2004. These publications are also available to download below.
Statutory Entitlement Areas at Key Stage 4: this section contains specific guidance on implementing the entitlement requirements.
The key stage 4 curriculum case studies have already generated interest. New case studies illustrate how entitlement and differentiated pace and progression are provided by different types of schools.
Further subject-based case studies illustrate a range of approaches to the entitlement areas.
Support for work-related learning, including case studies, can be accessed below.
Related guidance includes:

pace and progression (on this website)
coordinating the ‘personal development’ areas (this will be available on the website in the new year)
health and well-being in PE (available on the PE and school sport website, PESS).

In this section

Statutory entitlement areas at key stage 4
Entitlement courses
Careers education and guidance
Citizenship at key stage 4

Also see

Documents to download

> Changes to the key stage 4 curriculum: Guidance for implementation from September 2004
> Work-related learning for all at key stage 4: Guidance for implementing the statutory requirement from 2004