Foundation Phase Life Skills: Study Areas, CAPS PDFs and ATPs

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Foundation Phase Life Skills covers Grades R to 3. In CAPS it is organised into four study areas: Beginning Knowledge, Personal and Social Well-being, Creative Arts and Physical Education. Beginning Knowledge and Personal and Social Well-being are integrated through topics in the Life Skills CAPS.

This page is a practical subject hub for Foundation Phase teachers and HODs: what the subject covers at a high level, where to get the official CAPS PDF, and how ATPs fit next to planning. For the full phase subject map, use the Foundation Phase CAPS guide. For assessment planning and recording, use the Foundation Phase assessment page. CAPS123 is not an official DBE site. Always prefer the live file on education.gov.za.

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What Life Skills covers (high level)

Life Skills supports the social, personal, intellectual, emotional and physical growth of learners, and how these are integrated. It is a cross-cutting subject that should support Languages and Mathematics in the Foundation Phase.

Work from Section 2 and Section 3 of the official Life Skills CAPS for detail. This hub names the study areas only. It does not replace the topic tables in the CAPS.

Beginning Knowledge

Beginning Knowledge draws content and concepts from Social Sciences (History and Geography), Natural Sciences and Technology. At Foundation Phase level it builds early enquiry and technological process skills as set out in the Life Skills CAPS. Beginning Knowledge is planned through topics together with Personal and Social Well-being.

Personal and Social Well-being

Personal and Social Well-being helps young learners look after themselves and keep healthy. It includes social health, emotional health, and relationships with other people and the environment, including values and attitudes. The study area addresses nutrition, diseases (including HIV/AIDS), safety, violence, abuse and environmental health, as set out in the Life Skills CAPS.

Creative Arts

Creative Arts exposes learners to four art forms: dance, drama, music and the visual arts. In the CAPS, Creative Arts is organised in two complementary streams: Visual Art and Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music). The focus is on enjoyable, experiential skill development rather than polished end products every term.

Physical Education

Physical Education develops gross and fine motor skills and perceptual development. It contributes to social, personal and emotional development through play, movement, games and early sport-related activity, as set out in the Life Skills CAPS.

Time allocation (Life Skills)

Life Skills weekly time in the Foundation Phase CAPS is:

Study area Grades R-2 Grade 3
Beginning Knowledge 1 hour 2 hours
Creative Arts 2 hours 2 hours
Physical Education 2 hours 2 hours
Personal and Social Well-being 1 hour 1 hour
Life Skills total 6 hours 7 hours

Use the official CAPS table if your school timetable notes differ. Routine activities and free play are built into Life Skills planning in the CAPS; they are not an optional add-on.

Official CAPS PDF path

  1. Open CAPS for Foundation Phase.
  2. Scroll to the Life Skills block.
  3. Download the language version you teach.
  4. File the PDF name and date for your HOD or district if required.

Parent hub (all phases): Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS).

How ATPs fit next to Life Skills CAPS

  • CAPS sets the study areas, topics, time and Section 4 assessment requirements.
  • ATPs give the year’s teaching sequence and week markers for Life Skills by grade. They do not replace the CAPS document.
  • For planning this year, DBE still points to the 2023/24 ATPs, retained with exclusions under Circular S19 of 2025. Confirm the live file and any exclusions on the official pages.

Official starting points:

CAPS123 grade hubs (indexes to DBE files):

Assessment (keep it light)

Formal assessment detail lives in Section 4 of the Life Skills CAPS and in your school’s recording practice. For Foundation Phase programme-of-assessment rules (including one Formal Assessment Task per subject per term in Grades 1 to 3), use the Foundation Phase CAPS assessment page and the official amendments PDF linked there. Stay with the Section 4 programme of assessment for Life Skills. Study-area minimums, where listed, are in the official CAPS and amendments PDF.

Classroom resources on this site

Related CAPS123 pages

Check the live official page for the current file or circular. This page does not replace the Life Skills CAPS document, ATP or promotion policy.

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