Expressive arts – Early level (Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland): What to Teach (Scotland)
Your Teacher Information Pack for Expressive arts – Early level (Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland) in Scotland: the curriculum structure, our short summaries with links to the official wording, and key dates.
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- Country
- Scotland
- Level
- Early level
- Ages
- 3–5/6
- Source
- Curriculum for Excellence – experiences and outcomes (broad general education)
- Last checked
- 2026-10-20
Usually Early learning and childcare (from age 3) and P1 (a guide, not a fixed year group). Roughly US Pre-K–Kindergarten (approximate).
Plan the whole year: open this course in the Year Planner – every lesson dated around your term dates, with a coverage check. Free.
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What to teach
Below are the experiences and outcomes with their official codes, in our own short summaries. Each code links to the official document.
Participation in performances and presentations
- EXA 0-01a Enjoying performing for audiences and watching others perform.
Art and design
- EXA 0-02a Freely choosing materials to make images and objects.
- EXA 0-04a Recording observations from curriculum experiences into visual material.
- EXA 0-05a Expressing ideas and feelings through art, inspired by varied stimuli.
- EXA 0-06a Using curiosity and imagination to solve design problems alone or together.
- EXA 0-07a Discussing art responses and giving and accepting constructive feedback.
Dance
- EXA 0-08a Choosing and exploring rhythmic, expressive, playful movement freely.
- EXA 0-09a Expressing ideas and feelings through creative dance work inspired by stimuli.
- EXA 0-10a Enjoying taking part in dance experiences.
- EXA 0-11a Discussing dance experiences and giving and accepting constructive comment.
Drama
Music
- EXA 0-16a Enjoying singing and playing along with music of varied styles.
- EXA 0-17a Exploring sound and rhythm with voice, instruments, and technology.
- EXA 0-18a Expressing ideas through music, alone or with others, inspired by stimuli.
- EXA 0-19a Describing thoughts and feelings about music, one's own and others'.
Assessments and key dates
Qualifications Scotland exams 2027: Mon, 26 April 2027 to Thu, 3 June 2027 (timetable). There are no national tests of curriculum levels; teachers judge progress using the Benchmarks.
Official documents
- education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf
- education.gov.scot/curriculum-for-excellence/curriculum-for-excellence-documents/experiences-and-outcomes
Trusted free resources
- Education Scotland – the official curriculum site.
- BBC Bitesize – videos and quizzes by nation and stage.
Links only: we don't copy their content and we aren't connected to these organisations.
More packs
Expressive arts – First level · Expressive arts – Second level · Expressive arts – Third level · Expressive arts – Fourth level · P1 Expressive arts · P2 Expressive arts · P3 Expressive arts · P4 Expressive arts · All Scotland packs · Find another TIP
Codes and structure from Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes and Benchmarks, Education Scotland (Crown copyright). Summaries are Classfern's own words – always read the official wording via the link.
No official wording is reproduced: codes and structure are facts, and the short descriptions are our own summaries. Always read the official wording via the links. Checked on 2026-10-20.
Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by Education Scotland, Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA) or the Scottish Government.