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NSW Curriculum
NSW Education Standards Authority

11–12Drama Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2025)

Implementation from 2027
Expand for detailed implementation advice

Overview

Syllabus overview

Some students with intellectual disability may find Years 11–12 Life Skills outcomes and content the most appropriate option to follow in Stage 6. Before deciding that a student should undertake a course based on Life Skills outcomes and content, consideration should be given to other ways of assisting the student to engage with the outcomes of the equivalent Stage 6 course. Students with disability can access syllabus outcomes and content in a range of ways, including through a range of adjustments to teaching, learning and assessment activities. Decisions regarding curriculum options should be made in the context of collaborative curriculum planning.

Life Skills outcomes cannot be taught in combination with other outcomes from the equivalent Stage 6 course. Teachers select specific Life Skills outcomes to teach based on the needs, strengths, goals, interests and prior learning of each student. Students are required to demonstrate achievement of one or more Life Skills outcomes. Students may access or demonstrate learning in a range of ways, including using aspects of their home languages and dialects, or using their preferred communication form(s).

The Drama Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus aligns with the Drama 11–12 Syllabus to provide opportunities for integrated delivery.

Organisation of Drama Life Skills 11–12

The Drama Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus is structured around the interrelated practices of making, performing and critically reflecting. The focus areas and content provide an opportunity for students to build and extend knowledge, understanding and skills of dramatic contexts, dramatic processes and dramatic elements.

Figure 1 shows the organisation of Drama Life Skills 11–12.

The focus areas and content groups of Drama Life Skills 11–12.
Figure 1: The organisation of Drama Life Skills 11–12

Image long description: The focus areas are listed in 6 boxes: Forms and styles; Improvising and devising; Scripts in practice; Australian drama and theatre; Approaches to drama and theatre; and Drama project. The boxes are encircled by a line labelled with the 3 content groups: Making; Performing; and Critically reflecting.

Protocols for collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities and engaging with Cultural works

NESA is committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal Communities and supporting teachers, schools and schooling sectors to improve educational outcomes for young people.

It is important to respect appropriate ways of interacting with Aboriginal Communities and Cultural material when teachers plan, program and implement learning experiences that focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Priorities.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protocols need to be followed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ICIP protocols include Cultural Knowledges, Cultural Expression and Cultural Property and documentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ identities and lived experiences. It is important to recognise the diversity and complexity of different Cultural groups in NSW, as protocols may differ between local Aboriginal Communities.

Teachers should work in partnership with Elders, parents, Community members, Cultural Knowledge Holders, or a local, regional or state Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. It is important to respect Elders and the roles of men and women. Local Aboriginal Peoples should be invited to share their Cultural Knowledges with students and staff when engaging with Aboriginal histories and Cultural Practices.