Managing Time
Time Allocations and Entitlements

Who is responsible for developing the Australian curriculum for the arts?

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is the independent authority responsible for developing an online curriculum for all Australian students from Foundation to Year 12. For each learning area, the Australian Curriculum emphasises the knowledge, understanding and skills that form the entitlement of a learning area, including the arts.

ACARA works with state and territory curriculum and school authorities to support their ongoing implementation in learning areas. ACARA's position is that schools and teachers are best able to deliver curriculum and make pedagogical decisions that will maximise the engagement and learning in the arts to meet the needs of their school community.

How does ACARA define the time allocations for learning areas, including the arts?

ACARA maintains that content for any learning area should be teachable, with time percentages given as broad guidelines for curriculum writers. These indicative times represent a minimum time that each learning area requires. School sectors and individual schools will allocate time for the arts and may choose to add more teaching time to learning areas. ACARA indicates that the entire Australian Curriculum will take no more than 80% of the available teaching time in schools. The remaining discretionary or unallocated time could be used to further other arts activities, such as school musicals, instrumental programs, choir practice, clubs or excursions and camps.

The Australian Curriculum: The Arts Foundation to Year 10 Draft for Consultation (2012) states that all young Australians will be provided with opportunities to study all five arts subjects. The document indicates that:

• All students will study Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts from The first year of schooling. to Year 6.
• From the beginning of secondary school (Year 7 or 8), students will continue to learn in one or more of the arts subjects (schools may continue to offer all arts subjects).
• In Years 9 and 10, students will have the opportunity to specialise in one or more arts subjects as part of their overall curriculum package (p.4).

(Based on Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) materials.)

What is the time allocation for the arts curriculum?

While the time allocation for the arts will be decided by individual schools, curriculum writers were guided by the following notional hours for each band of schooling:

• 120 hours (Foundation–Year 2)
• 100 hours (Years 3–4)
• 100 hours (Years 5–6)
• 160 hours (Years 7–8)
• 160 hours (Years 9–10).

State and territory curriculum and school authorities may provide advice on time allocations. For example, the Queensland Studies Authority provides a document entitled Time Allocations and Entitlement: Implementing the Australian Curriculum F(P)–10 that outlines the time allocations for all learning areas, including the arts.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority responsible for the development of the Australian curriculum from Foundation to Year 12.