ABSTRACT
A CURRICULUM CAN MEAN a course of study at a school, but really the word covers everything that goes on in school. The formal part, the prescriptive part that is now written down, is what most people think of when they refer to a school curriculum. But children learn much more than this in school. Probably you remember things you learnt at school that neither the teachers nor your parents knew about – and maybe if they had, they would not have approved. You learnt about other pupils and teachers themselves, about how friendships work, and how to keep out of trouble. These are all part of what is learnt at school. These aspects were sometimes called the informal curriculum and the hidden curriculum. The informal curriculum covers what goes on between lessons: in the corridors or the playground, assembly or clubs; and the hidden curriculum covers the relationships and climate, the way you feel when you work or visit a place. Much more of what was considered obvious and instinctive and used not to be written down, is now overt and described in school policies, particularly, for example, in the area of behaviour management and personal and social education.
