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English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) – information for school leaders

Learn about the English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) – what has changed and where to get further support.

The English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) replaces content in the English Life Skills Stage 6 Syllabus (2017). Planning and preparation will commence from 2025 with implementation in 2026.

The English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) recognises the critical importance of students developing their skills in English to enhance their participation in post-school life and develop expressive language skills to respond to and compose a variety of texts.

What you need to know

  • The English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) will be taught in all NSW high schools from 2026.
  • This syllabus is a live document available via NESA’s digital platform.
    • NESA will continue to add teaching advice and support materials throughout the implementation process.
  • The English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) aligns with the English Standard 11–12 Syllabus (2024) and English Studies 11–12 Syllabus (2024) to provide opportunities for integrated delivery.
  • Formal assessments, mandatory projects and external examinations are not required for Years 11–12 English Life Skills and evidence of achievement can be based on
    • formative assessment opportunities
    • summative assessment opportunities.
  • There are no prescribed texts for English Life Skills.
    • Teaching and learning opportunities should draw from a diverse range of texts to assist students to broaden and develop their own language skills.
  • Students will continue to be assessed on outcomes as ‘achieved’ or ‘achieved with support’.
    • Teachers will continue to select outcomes 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.
  • The NSW Department of Education will be providing materials to schools to assist and guide the implementation process on Planning, programming and assessing English 11–12.

The English Life Skills 11–12 syllabus includes:

The English Life Skills focus areas appear in boxes in a row at the top of the diagram, surrounded by a line. The focus areas are Communicating, Engaging with texts, Understanding and responding to texts, and Expressing ideas and composing texts. The remaining focus areas are split into English Studies aligned focus areas and English Standard aligned focus areas. These aligned focus areas are surrounded by a line. The English Studies aligned focus areas are Reading to write, Aligned to English Studies, Narrative and human experiences, Writing for purpose, and Elective focus areas. The English Standard aligned focus are, Reading to write Aligned to English Standard, Contemporary possibilities, Close study of literature, Texts and human experiences, Language identity and culture, and The craft of writing. The lines surrounding the English Life Skills and aligned focus areas cross through a box in the centre of the diagram, which is titled Understanding and responding to texts. The English Life Skills focus areas appear in boxes in a row at the top of the diagram, surrounded by a line. The focus areas are Communicating, Engaging with texts, Understanding and responding to texts, and Expressing ideas and composing texts. The remaining focus areas are split into English Studies aligned focus areas and English Standard aligned focus areas. These aligned focus areas are surrounded by a line. The English Studies aligned focus areas are Reading to write, Aligned to English Studies, Narrative and human experiences, Writing for purpose, and Elective focus areas. The English Standard aligned focus are, Reading to write Aligned to English Standard, Contemporary possibilities, Close study of literature, Texts and human experiences, Language identity and culture, and The craft of writing. The lines surrounding the English Life Skills and aligned focus areas cross through a box in the centre of the diagram, which is titled Understanding and responding to texts.
Image: Figure 1 – the organisation of English Life Skills 11–12

The organisation of English Life Skills 11–12 content is from the English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024) © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024.

Prior to implementing the English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus (2024), leaders will need to consider the following:

  • planning and decisions about curriculum options for a student with intellectual disability should be made through the collaborative curriculum planning process 
  • complexities of workload for staff and faculties preparing to teach multiple new Year 11–12 syllabuses including
    • the alignment of the course with English Studies 11–12 or English Standard 11–12
  • collaboration with staff, learning support teams and specialist staff to ensure appropriate curriculum planning
  • building teacher understanding of new content and links to the Life Skills outcomes and content in the English K–10 Syllabus (2022)
  • supporting teachers’ understanding of ways to adapt the sample materials provided by the department and curriculum materials developed in school to support consistency of syllabus enactment between mainstream and special education settings
  • resource and budget implications including
    • assessing available resources to address text options for integration with English Studies 11–12 or English Standard 11–12
    • acquiring accessible versions of texts or assistive technology to enhance inclusive practices
    • providing time for staff to engage with syllabus expectations and build their skills and understanding to effectively integrate English Life Skills 11–12 with either English Studies 11–12 or English Standard 11–12 to implement in 2026
    • purchasing texts for teacher professional learning
    • determining which resources will enable students to demonstrate outcomes, including those related to multimodal and digital texts
    • equipment that enhances learning and supports all students to access the curriculum such as assistive technology, adaptive furniture, and digital tools designed to promote inclusive education and cater to the diverse needs of students.
  • determining whether a student should access English Life Skills outcomes and content, based on prior consideration of other ways of helping the student to engage with regular course outcomes.
    • This may include a range of adjustments to teaching, learning and assessment activities.
    • If the adjustments do not provide the student with sufficient access to some or all outcomes in Stages 4–6, a decision to access English Life Skills outcomes and content in one or more courses might be appropriate. 

The English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus is based on evidence summarised in the bibliography published by NESA in the Teaching and learning support. This evidence highlights that:

  • exploring and creating written texts facilitates learning as it encourages and supports reflection and fosters personal engagement which is important for students developing expressive language skills in order to participate in contemporary language experiences
  • to build students’ ability as writers, they must become familiar with the common characteristics, processes and strategies of successful writing
  • the continual process of reflection informs improved processes of engagement, understanding and composition
  • students learn English through explicit teaching of language and literacy, and through their engagement with a diverse range of purposeful and varied textual experiences.

English Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus 2024 © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024.

  • To what extent do staff understand the syllabus and the evidence underpinning the new syllabus?
    • How has this been fostered and understanding evaluated?
  • How will the new syllabus affect classroom practice?
    • What is in place to support and evaluate this practice?
  • What school practices and systems are in place to support teacher professional learning?
    • How are these evaluated to maximise support for teachers?
  • Which communities of practice does the school collaborate with to enhance teacher curriculum knowledge and pedagogy?
  • What evidence is there that staff have understood syllabus changes and familiarised themselves with the new syllabus?
  • How has staff understanding of the literacy and numeracy requirements of the syllabus been fostered?
    • What implications for classroom practice have been identified?

Further support

Syllabus information for school leaders

An overview of the pedagogical changes and whole school considerations to support school leaders’ understanding of what has changed for each new syllabus.

Leading curriculum K–12

Advice and resources supporting leaders to facilitate effective curriculum implementation in schools.

Category:

  • Teaching and learning

Business Unit:

  • Curriculum and Reform
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