Progression Are Noted by Braund (2008) to

¶ … progression are noted by Braund (2008) to be important cornerstones of our education system since they are essential in the understanding of the construction of the concept of schooling in many countries. Progression is a concept that describes the students' journey through the education system and the ways in which the student acquire, sharpen, apply as well as develop their knowledge and skills in the understanding of increasingly challenging scenarios.

Continuity on the other hand is concerned with the various ways in which our educational system effectively structures and presents enough challenges as well as progress for the students in a landscape of a recognizable curriculum. The introduction of the National Curriculum of the United Kingdom into the Bahraini education system provided an opportunity for a spiral structure of highly agerelated programmes of study that provides an assumed degree of continuity and progression via a consistent and yet recognized areas of experience (referred to as 'attainment targets').

It is quite unfortunate that the students' personal journeys in the educational system are usually discontinues and disjointed. This therefore calls for the need for an elaborate continuity and progression formula. In this paper, I present my view on how continuity and progression promoted in Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form stages at Naseem International School in Bahrain. Continuity and progression The work of Galton et al.

(2003) on transfer and transition indicated the need for academic institutions to dedicate more work on their curriculum continuity while also paying a lot of attention to issues of academic transfer as well as to the numerous specific educational strategies that would help students sustain progress in their education.

The principle of continuity and progression in student learning and teaching is noted by several authors to apply to all educational settings but the manner in which they are put into actual practice is what normally varies with the stage of development of a child as well as the local circumstances such as culture and politics. According to the wok of Bennetts (2002,p.83), the concepts of continuity and progression are popularly knows as the most desirable qualities to have within a given curriculum.

The continuity and progression principles are important to the process of curriculum design, its planning, teaching as well as assessment. This is important because as students in Key Stage 4 at Naseem International School in Bahrain grow intellectually, the curriculum that they study should also take into consideration their development. The work of Owen and Ryan (2001,p.51) indicated that continuity and progression are usually discussed in the same breath when in reality they possess different feature in their planning.

At Naseem International School in Bahrain Art class, a curriculum continuity refers to; knowing the topics and the texts that have already been covered, knowing the skills as well as understanding a that have effectively been well established, knowing the pace as well as styles of the previous Art lessons in the given subject, using the gained knowledge to launch the students' Sixth Form secondary education in a manner that is reassures as well as challenges the students to move forward with their education more rapidly.

The idea of progression is noted by Bennetts (2002,p.83) focuses on how the students' learning advances. It should therefore applied to curriculum design process and in particular to the structure of the curriculum content as well as the sequence of the learning activities The gradual but steady gains in skills, knowledge, understanding as well as competencies that the students achieve must also be guided by the idea of student progression.

How continuity and progression is promoted in the Art lessons of Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form stages at Naseem International School in Bahrain Several techniques are available for ensuring continuity and progression in the Art lessons of Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form stages at Naseem International School in Bahrain.The most dominant ones however is the use of transition/bridging materials and teacher exchanges.

The use of transition/bridging materials The use of transition or bridge units involves the use of a set of educational materials that are started in the last coupe of weeks in the Key Stage 4 and the continued after the transfer to Sixth Form stage of secondary school. This method is continually being used in supporting curriculum continuity and pedagogy.The effectiveness of the bridging materials is however being questioned. For instance, according to the work of Galton et al. (2003 ), these materials support curriculum continuity but to a limited extent.

The benefits for students in using bridging units are increased at our institution by engaging Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form stage teachers in joint planning of the affected units. This processes leads to having students who are more enthusiastic and confident about their move to Sixth Form.The students are also most likely to show their new instructor their work from key Stage 4.They are also likely to go back to their Key Stage 4 work in order to see the kind of progress that they are making.

The promotion of professional dialogue between the Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form stage colleagues on various issues of assessment and pedagogy is one of the main advantages for instructors employing bridging materials. However, one of the issues that I have noticed to be necessary is how my colleagues and I plan postinduction programmes that are aimed at building on as well as sustaining the development of students as professional learners. Very few teachers in Sixth Form stage seems to employ units for purely diagnostic purposes so as to gain a.