Atom Learning logo
Back to blog

Using Atom School for the Curriculum for Excellence

By Atom | Feb 2, 2024, 12:06 PM

Contents

As we close out a record-breaking summer, schools across Scotland are preparing to head back to the classroom. Teachers welcome new classes of students, and a year full of exciting opportunities and unique challenges ahead.

With contact time in Scotland some of the highest internationally (22.5 hours), we understand your time is precious. Designed with teachers in mind, Atom School provides a unique toolkit to support teachers with the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

What is the Curriculum for Excellence?

If you haven’t taught in Scotland, you might not know the differences between the UK National Curriculum and the Curriculum for Excellence. Here’s a quick rundown.

First announced by the Scottish Government in 2009, the Curriculum for Excellence was launched in 2010. CfE takes a holistic approach to education and aims to provide young people with all the knowledge they need to flourish in the 21st century. The four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence should support children to become:

  • Successful learners

  • Confident individuals

  • Responsible citizens

  • Effective contributors

The new curriculum also brought new national qualifications. From the SNSAs through to Advanced Higher, CfE National Qualifications enable young people to select a wider range of courses and experience more broad learning experiences than previous national qualifications.

From the early years through to the senior phase, Scotland's curriculum focuses on helping children to gain broad general education alongside the skills and attributes needed to excel in real-life situations. The framework allows Scottish schools to design their curriculum, with only three mandatory subjects: health and wellbeing, numeracy, and literacy. Educators can then develop their own unique curriculum independently from eight further curriculum areas including science, modern languages, expressive arts, religious studies and more.

Improving outcomes with Atom School

Created by teachers, for teachers — Atom School takes the admin out of teaching. No one becomes a teacher for the paperwork. So we designed a platform that lets you focus on what you do best: teaching.

Empowered students, successful learners

Every class in every school will have learners with diverse abilities that demand varying levels of attention from their teachers. With primary school class sizes across Scotland averaging 23 pupils, managing mixed-ability classes is an ongoing challenge. Until now. Our smart technology helps young people gain confidence and skills through personal achievement. Children never get demotivated or lose interest because work is at precisely the right level for each child, never too hard or too easy. Goldilocks would love it.

Powerful data for deeper connections

Atom School gives you robust data to analyse year groups, classes and individuals. You can instantly see strengths, areas for development and opportunities for intervention for every student. You can gain valuable insights outside of SNSA (Scottish National Standard Assessments) years to guide your evaluations and steer your curriculum. This powerful data, when coupled with regular contact time, can also support the GIRFEC approach and enhance pastoral care.

More time for what matters

It’s time to ditch the red pen and unlock efficiency with Atom School. Use our teacher-created, drag and drop tool to build homework and lesson activities in seconds across numeracy, sciences, literacy and reasoning. Let our automatic marking help you gain instant insight into your student's progress. Create, customise and administer mock exams to prepare students for entrance exams.

Enhanced parental engagement

Atom School Parent Portal is an online dashboard that allows parents to track their child's development, learning and outcomes throughout the school year. This facilitates deeper engagement with their children's education, allowing parents to provide more relevant support at home.

Atom School at your school

From Stirling to Stornoway, Atom School is proud to support teachers and students to improve outcomes, develop skills and realise their potential.

If you’re interested in learning more about how Atom School can support your school, book a demo with our team today.

If you’re already using Atom School and you want further information about how our content maps to the Curriculum for Excellence, then email [email protected] today.

Book a demo

Contents

Atom Learning Ltd. is registered and incorporated in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 10867907 VAT number: 316903508 Copyright Atom Learning Ltd. All rights reserved.