Curriculum, subjects, number of hours

For 4-year general secondary schools – which operate within the new, post-reform, school system –  outline timetables are laid down in the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 3 April 2019 on the outline timetables for public schools (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 3 kwietnia 2019 r. w sprawie ramowych planów nauczania dla publicznych szkół).

Based on the national legislation, the head of a school approves the timetable after consultation with the school council (composed of teachers, parents and pupils) and the teaching council (composed of the head and all teachers).

Outline timetables for 4-year general secondary schools (education stage III)

Minimum number of teaching / class hours for compulsory classes and lessons with the class tutor:

a)    Subjects taught at the basic level:

¹⁾ Additional hours for a modern foreign language which is the second language of tuition in a bilingual general secondary school or a bilingual class of a general secondary school.

²⁾ The head of a general secondary school selects one subject to be taught in Grade I from among Philosophy, Visual Arts, Music, and Latin and Ancient Culture. 

³⁾ The subject is taught in Grade IV not longer than until the end of January, with the number of hours to be taught as specified for this grade. 

⁴⁾ The head of a general secondary school sets the number of hours for the grades in which the subject will be taught, while observing the number of hours allocated to the subject at the basic level within the 4-year education cycle. The subject may be taught only in Grade I, only in Grade II or in Grades I and II. 

⁵⁾ For Business and Management classes:

1) In Grade I only: the subjects at the basic level and the classes with the class tutor should be allocated a total of 29 hours in Grade I and 28 hours in Grade II. 

2) In Grade II only: the subjects at the basic level and the classes with the class tutor should be allocated a total of 27 hours in Grade I and 30 hours in Grade II. 

3) In Grades I and II: the subjects at the basic level and the classes with the class tutor should be allocated a total of 28 hours in Grade I and 29 hours in Grade II. 

b)     Subjects taught at the advanced level:

The school head selects a set of subjects to be taught at the advanced level after consultation with the school council (or the teaching council, the parents’ council and the pupil self-government if the school council has not been established) and taking into consideration pupils’ interests and the school’s organisational, human resources and financial resources available. Each pupil chooses 2 or 3 subjects from among those selected by the head.

The subjects taught at the advanced level that are included in the core curriculum for general education should be allocated the following number of teaching / class hours (in addition to the hours taught at the basic level) in the 4-year education cycle:

1. Polish language, Civic Education, History of Music, History of Art, Latin and Ancient Culture, and Philosophy: 8 hours per week for each;
2. Modern foreign language, History, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science: 6 hours per week for each.

Subjects at the advanced level are taught in Grades I to IV. The exceptions are the subjects History of Music, History of Art, Latin and Ancient Culture, Philosophy, and Business and Management, which can be taught at the advanced level starting in Grade I, II or III.

The total number of compulsory classes, including the subjects taught at the advanced level, in the 4-year education cycle is 121 (plus 11 hours for a modern foreign language which is the second language of tuition in a bilingual general secondary school or a bilingual class of a general secondary school).

Pupils with a disability can attend rehabilitation and compensatory classes / activities. The minimum weekly number of teaching / class hours for such classes / activities in each school year is:

• in a special class: 12 hours per class;

• in a mainstream or integration class: 2 hours per pupil.

After consultation with the pupils of a class (a class-based, inter-class or inter-school group) where the weekly number of hours for subjects taught at the advanced level is lower than 22, the school head may:

• increase the number of hours allocated to the subjects taught at the advanced level; or

• allocate hours to additional / supplementary subjects which are not covered by the core curriculum but are included in the school set of curricula. The minimum weekly number of hours for an additional subject is 2 in the 4-year education cycle. Additional subjects are selected by the school head after consultation with the pupils of a given class (a class-based, inter-class or inter-school group).

General secondary schools also offer subjects / courses which may be chosen as electives by pupils and parents and / or other classes which are aimed at, for example, maintaining the national or ethnic identity of pupils. In particular, these include:

1. Religion or Ethics: 2 hours per week in accordance with Article 12, section 2 of the School Education Act (ustawa z dnia 7 września 1991 r. o systemie oświaty);
2. Family Education: the number of hours is set by the regulations based on Article 4, section 3 of the Act of 7 January 1993 on Family Planning, Human Embryo Protection and Conditions of Permissibility of Abortion (ustawa z dnia 7 stycznia 1993 r. o planowaniu rodziny, ochronie płodu rodziny i warunkach dopuszczalności przerywania ciąży);
3. National minority language, Ethnic minority language, Regional language and Minority history and culture: the number of hours is set by the regulations based on Article 13, section 3 of the School Education Act;
4. Geography of the state with which a national minority identifies itself: the number of hours is set by the regulations based on Article 13, section 3 of the School Education Act; classes are conducted in case the school administering body allocates hours to such classes.

The outline timetable also includes sport classes / activities in sports classes and schools and sports championship classes and schools, and counselling and guidance (so-called psychological and educational support) classes.

Where the school administering body has allocated hours, a school offers additional educational activities and sign language classes.

Furthermore, post-primary schools run career guidance classes in accordance with the regulations based on Article 26a, section 3 of the Law on School Education (ustawa z dnia 14 grudnia 2016 r. – Prawo oświatowe). The minimum number of hours for such classes is 10 in the 4-year education cycle.

Outline timetables for introductory / preparatory units in bilingual post-primary schools and classes

Pursuant to the Law on School Education, bilingual general secondary schools and bilingual classes may establish introductory units or grades preparing pupils to continue education in a bilingual system. The outline timetable for such grades is as follows:

The minimum weekly number of hours for rehabilitation and compensatory classes for pupils with a disability is 2 per pupil.

Teaching methods and materials

Subject teachers are free to choose teaching methods and approaches, although this is partly determined by the number of pupils per class and teaching and learning facilities and resources available in the school (for example, the number of computers or other teaching aids). Classes should be divided into smaller groups for some subjects (for example, Foreign language, Technology or Computer science / Information technology).

The curriculum can be:

• developed by the teacher individually or jointly with other teachers;

• chosen from among the set of curricula developed by (an)other author(s); for example, from among those available on the market;

• developed by (an)other author(s) and modified by the teacher.

The curriculum proposed by the teacher should be adapted to the needs and abilities of the pupils. The head approves curricula for the use at school at the request of the teacher or the team of teachers concerned and after consultation with the school's teaching council (composed of the head and all teachers).

Teachers may choose textbooks from among those approved for the use at school by the minister responsible for school education. The school head publishes a list of textbooks to be used at a given school from the beginning of the next school year. The legislation also allows teachers to implement curricula using educational resources / materials which are not considered textbooks in legal or practical terms. Costs of textbooks are, in general, covered by pupils and their parents (legal guardians).

Schools are required to install special Internet safety software on computers used for teaching and learning. The software should protect pupils, in particular, against pornography, brutal and aggressive contents, contents breaking social norms and promoting hatred and discrimination.