The purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities - to enable each child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor.

The curriculum aims to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they will need if they are to flourish in life, learning and work, now and in the future, and to appreciate their place in the world. The attributes and capabilities of the four capacities are outlined below:

Developing the four capacities

The experiences and outcomes are a set of statements which describe the expectations for learning and progression for each of the eight curriculum areas.

The title ‘experiences and outcomes’ recognises the importance of the quality and nature of the learning experience in developing attributes and capabilities and in achieving active engagement, motivation and depth of learning. An outcome represents what is to be achieved.

The experiences and outcomes for each curriculum area build in all the attributes and capabilities and so develop the four capacities.