What is the basic education curriculum?

The South African curriculum is a series of guidelines and educational aims that teachers follow in order to teach children from when they start school in Grade R, right through to the FET (Further Education and Training) stage. South Africa’s constitution states that it’s compulsory for children to attend school and receive an education.

The Department for Basic Education (DBE) is the organization that is responsible for schooling from Grade R and the Foundation Phase right through to Grade 9 at the end of the Senior Phase. While children are in the Foundation, Intermediate or Senior Phase, they will learn according to a series of set subjects. You can find out more about how Twinkl can support you while planning South African curriculum lessons in our Membership Guide.

What is the general aim of the South African curriculum?

Policy statements say that the first general aim of the South African CAPS curriculum is to ensure that children can apply knowledge and skills in ways that are meaningful to their own lives. The curriculum aims to provide knowledge in local contexts, while still bearing in mind global imperatives. Knowledge, skills, and values are all worked on as part of the curriculum. To help you plan lessons, we have a vast range of resources that have been created especially with the South African curriculum in mind.

What subjects are taught as part of the South African curriculum?

Subjects taught at schools in South Africa will vary slightly according to each phase. Here is a list of all the subjects taught at each phase throughout the Foundation, Intermediate, and Senior Phase. We’ve linked each subject up to our site categories, which are packed with resources to help you teach each of these subjects: