CAPS Document for Intermediate Phase — Grades 4–6 Subject Files

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The Intermediate Phase covers Grades 4, 5 and 6. When Intermediate Phase teachers say “the CAPS document”, they usually mean the subject file for the phase and subject they teach — not one booklet for every Intermediate Phase subject.

CAPS stands for Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) publishes a CAPS document for each approved subject, grouped by phase. This CAPS123 page helps you find the right Intermediate Phase files and use them with the year’s teaching sequence. It is not an official DBE publication.

For the short definition of CAPS across all phases, see What is CAPS?. For the fuller overview of how CAPS, NCS, ATP and lesson plans fit, see the CAPS ultimate guide.

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Intermediate Phase grades (and Grade 7)

  • Intermediate Phase: Grades 4–6
  • Grade 7 is the first year of the Senior Phase. It is still often taught in primary school, but you plan from Senior Phase CAPS files for Grade 7 — not Intermediate Phase files.

Which CAPS files exist for Intermediate Phase?

There is not one “Intermediate Phase CAPS document” that covers every subject. Open the official Intermediate Phase list, then the subject you teach.

Compulsory Intermediate Phase subjects (each has its own CAPS file, or language files by language and level) include:

  • Home Language (official languages offered at Home Language level)
  • First Additional Language (official languages offered at FAL level)
  • Mathematics
  • Natural Sciences and Technology
  • Social Sciences (History and Geography in one subject policy)
  • Life Skills (study areas include Personal and Social Well-being, Physical Education and Creative Arts)

Schools may also offer an optional Second Additional Language where policy allows. South African Sign Language (SASL) has Intermediate Phase CAPS files on the DBE CAPS index. Always use the live official CAPS index for the current PDF for your subject and language.

What sits in Sections 1–4 (briefly)

A typical Intermediate Phase subject CAPS file has four parts:

  1. Section 1 — introduces the NCS and the aims and principles of the curriculum, including phase time allocation.
  2. Section 2 — explains the subject: organisation, skills and how teaching time is used in Intermediate Phase.
  3. Section 3 — sets out content or topics by grade and term for Grades 4–6.
  4. Section 4 — sets out assessment for that subject, including the formal programme.

Exact tasks, weightings and the number of formal pieces differ by subject. Use the Section 4 table in the Intermediate Phase file you are teaching from. Do not copy another subject’s programme of assessment.

CAPS and the ATP in Intermediate Phase

CAPS is the subject policy. The Annual Teaching Plan (ATP) is the year’s teaching sequence for a subject and grade — not a second CAPS document.

For Intermediate Phase planning this week:

  1. Open the official CAPS file for your Intermediate Phase subject (and language level, where relevant).
  2. Check Section 3 for the topic and Section 4 for the formal assessment that sits in this term.
  3. Use the current ATP for the week-by-week sequence. The official ATP index still sits under the 2023/24 plans. Circular S19 of 2025 retains those ATPs with exclusions — check the current official file for your subject.
  4. Write the lesson plan for your class. CAPS and the ATP do not replace local school policy, language choices or learner support.

Pair policy with approved LTSM and, where useful, DBE workbooks.

Assessment (Intermediate Phase, high level)

CAPS assessment includes informal or daily assessment (to see how learning is going) and formal assessment (recorded for progression). Informal daily results are not used for promotion and certification. Section 4 of your subject CAPS sets the formal programme. Recording and reporting rules sit alongside CAPS in the National Protocol for Assessment Grades R–12.

Official DBE documents

Related CAPS123 pages

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

15 thoughts on “CAPS Document for Intermediate Phase — Grades 4–6 Subject Files”

  3. Thank you, would the introduction of the eight column journals , General ledge and 3 column journals have anything to do with the move in order to prepare learners better for accounting.

  4. What is the notional teaching time for siswati in the intermediate phase classes and please brake them down

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