Memorandum submitted by the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority (QCA)
INTRODUCTION
The national curriculum can be defined as the
body of knowledge, skills and understanding that a society wishes
to pass on to its children and young people together with attainment
targets and expectations of achievement for them. It is significant
that the acts and orders that create the national curriculum must
be approved by Parliament. This means that what the nation chooses
to lay before its young people is open to public debate and scrutiny.
It needs to be a flexible and ever-changing response to developments
in the society in which we live. It therefore needs continuous
evaluation and review to ensure that it remains relevant and engaging
to children and young people and reacts to the changing world
and future society.
CHAPTER 1
Principle and content of the national curriculum
and its fitness-for-purpose
1.1 Before the introduction of the national
curriculum in the 1980s, it was argued that the curriculum, which
could be decided by the teacher, should be opened up and brought
into the public domain. It was argued that all stakeholders, parents,
employers, educationalists and young people, as well as teachers,
should have a say in what happens in schools. A young person's
experience of education should not be based exclusively on the
choices of individual teachers or institutions but should be consistent
with that of other young people at a similar stage of their education.
There should be consistency of approach across the country so
that should a change of schools be necessary education remains
a continuous progression rather than a series of disconnected
experiences. Irrespective of social background, gender, race,
religion or belief, sexual orientation, differences in ability
and disabilities, the national curriculum entitles all pupils
to a number of areas of learning and in return places expectations
of achievement on them that are appropriate according to their
stage of education. The national curriculum provides a baseline
for education against which pupils' progress can be measured and
schools and teachers can be held accountable by society as a whole.
It must be able to respond to the changes and developments in
society. As the national curriculum is a balance of competing
interests change must be made only on the basis of evidence and
in consultation with stakeholders. Although changes to the curriculum
often make the headlines there is largely a great deal of consensus
about the content.
What the purpose of the national curriculum should
be (for example, whether it should set out broad principles or
detailed aims and objectives)
1.2 QCA regards the national curriculum
as essential in preparing young people for life in 21st century
society. The purpose of the national curriculum therefore should
be to provide broad parameters within which schools can determine
their local curriculum. These parameters will set out what children
should know, understand and be able to do at each stage of their
education, but the detail is not prescribed. This allows schools
to develop a curriculum that best meets the needs of their learners
and the wider community in which they operate, and enables the
delivery of a curriculum that has relevance and resonance for
the pupils. It allows teachers to use their professional skills,
creativity and specialisms to develop learning experiences that
stimulate and appropriately challenge pupils and allow them to
progress.
1.3 The national curriculum does not, however,
sit in a policy vacuum. It is part of a compact that society makes
with its children and young people and as such it needs to be
coherent and consistent with the other elements of this compact.
There are certain expectations that society has of young people
once they come to the end of their compulsory schooling: that
they behave appropriately, gain employment and function effectively
as a citizen. The national curriculum therefore should support
young people in their personal development so that they can meet
those expectations. In order to do this it needs to have aims
and currently the national curriculum has three statutory aims,
which are to create:
1.4 The curriculum is the entire, flexible,
planned learning experience, underpinned by a broad set of common
values and purposes. It will secure improved attainment, better
behaviour and attendance, civic participation, healthy lifestyle
choices and further involvement in education, employment or training.
The national curriculum has been designed to broaden the scope
of education beyond the traditional narrow focus on subjects and
to incorporate issues such as globalisation, creativity and sustainability
throughout. It allows links to be made between subjects, which
makes learning relevant to pupils and helps them to see how their
experiences are influenced by what goes on around them and how
they can influence those processes.
1.5 "The Big Picture of the Curriculum"
is a tool developed by QCA to help people understand the context
of the national curriculum.[2]
It demonstrates the complexity of the learning experience for
the learners and shows how experiences are interlinked and co-dependent.
QCA uses it as a working draft and it is continually reviewed
and amended so that it always reflects the current thinking and
policy with regard to education and children and young people.
It embeds the national curriculum within the broader policy framework
for children and young people.
1.6 "The Big Picture of the Curriculum"
can be used not only by teachers and those in formal educational
roles, but also by those involved with children and young people
in other ways such as parents, youth groups and others.
1.7 The delivery of the curriculum must
be strongly influenced by the social and emotional aspects of
learning. The curriculum must bring together the areas relating
to children's social and emotional development through the deep
structure of learning and the broader contexts in which children
learn and identify the components of learning, recognising that
learning does not only happen in school but takes place through
lessons, routines, events, extended hours, in a range of locations
and out of school. By age seven, gaps in social abilities have
emerged between socio-economic groups, as well as distinct differences
in academic achievement. This leads to a vicious circle—poor
achievement leads to low self-esteem, which leads to poor behaviour,
which reduces achievement. Schools are seen as pivotal in addressing
this issue, as they are a universal service. As such, interventions
designed to increase personal effectiveness, resilience and protective
factors that can be delivered through the curriculum are cost
effective, non-stigmatising and able to be built on throughout
the child's connection with the curriculum.
How does the national curriculum need to evolve
to deliver the Children's Plan goals for 2020?
1.8 The Children's Plan, announced on 11
December 2007, is a 10-year strategy to make England the best
place in the world for children and young people to grow up. The
plan is built on the fact that young people spend only one-fifth
of their childhood at school, and that they learn best when their
families support and encourage them and when they are experiencing
positive activities outside the school day. It sets out a series
of goals in all areas of children's lives to be achieved by 2020.
These are:
— every child ready for success in
school, with at least 90% developing well across all areas of
the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile by age five;
— every child ready for secondary school,
with at least 90% achieving at or above the expected level in
both English and mathematics by age 11;
— every young person having the skills
for adult life and further study, with at least 90% achieving
the equivalent of five higher level GCSEs by age 19 and at least
70% achieving the equivalent of two A levels by age 19;
— parents satisfied with the information
and support they receive;
— all young people participating in
positive activities to develop personal and social skills, promote
wellbeing and reduce behaviour that puts them at risk;
— employers satisfied with young people's
readiness for work;
— child health improved, with the proportion
of obese and overweight children reduced to 2000 levels;
— child poverty halved by 2010 and
eradicated by 2020; and
— significantly reduce by 2020 the
number of young offenders receiving a conviction, reprimand or
final warning for a recordable offence for the first time, with
a goal to be set in the Youth Crime Action Plan.
1.9 The national curriculum underpins every
single one of these goals by imparting the knowledge, skills and
understanding that children will acquire through their education.
QCA considers that the national curriculum should be fully integrated
with the Children's Plan as it can play a major role in helping
to deliver the goals for children and young people so that they
can live happy and fulfilled lives.
How best to balance central prescription and flexibility
at the classroom level
1.10 The revised secondary curriculum is
less prescriptive than its predecessor in terms of subject content
to enable teachers to be more creative about how and what they
teach, and to allow greater personalisation of teaching and learning
for the pupil. Instead of specifying content, the programmes of
study set out the importance of the subject, the key concepts
that pupils should be taught at each stage, the key processes
and skills pupils need to acquire at each stage, the range and
content of the subject and the curriculum opportunities. The programmes
of study also contain the attainment targets for each subject.
The curriculum needs to respond to developments in society and
sometimes it is necessary for ministers to instruct schools to
teach certain things in response to such developments. For example,
recent announcements include cooking, creativity, the cultural
offer and making modern foreign languages compulsory in primary
schools. It is also possible to adapt the curriculum in primary
schools. For example:
Case study—Hook Primary School
Break time starts and the children at Hook CE
Primary School play outside. Some year 6 pupils remain in their
classroom, concentrating on a science experiment as they try to
dissolve salt, sugar and sand in water, vinegar and lemonade.
They are inventing and then testing their own hypotheses. No member
of staff has asked them to stay, but they know they can carry
on with something they are enjoying. Playtime at Hook is flexible,
with individual teachers and children deciding when is the best
time to break. This freedom in learning has come about since Janet
Huscroft became headteacher at Hook in 1994. Feeling that the
children were not being challenged and motivated by the curriculum,
she abandoned the timetable and made learning more exciting. Initially
there were practical constraints to overcome. But today the timetable-free
school is running smoothly and highly effectively.
Hook has its own schemes of work, written by
teachers and based on the national curriculum. These schemes—which
constitute the school's long-term plan—are skills based
rather than specifying what knowledge children should have, and
they set out clearly what skills should be taught in each year.
The teachers use these as the starting point for developing medium-term
plans—a term's worth of work on a particular theme. Teachers
choose their own theme for the term depending on what will work
best for their class's objectives. Even when teachers return to
themes year on year, they adapt them to meet the particular needs
of each class. Short-term plans are done fortnightly and combine
explicit learning objectives with detailed descriptions of hands-on
activities planned for the next two weeks. Subject coordinators
collaborate over plans to make sure that there is proper subject
coverage, and class teachers keep in mind their aims of progression
and continuity, helped by the school's schemes of work.
The one term, one theme approach means that
children can stick with projects from start to finish instead
of having to end halfway through and start something new. The
curriculum is fully integrated into the theme: during a Viking
theme, year 5 and 6 children made collages of settlers and invaders,
baked Viking cakes (incorporating numeracy by costing the ingredients)
and wrote diary entries from the perspective of a Viking child.
The most successful literacy came after a visit to the Danelaw
village at the Yorkshire Farming Museum (the cost of the trip
was also worked out for numeracy), where the children dressed
up as Vikings and learned from experience what life was like.
Back in the classroom the children decorated tea lights and sat
in groups listening to Gregorian chants before writing imaginatively
about everyday life in Viking times. When children learn independently,
witnesses can be tempted to think that it's an easier ride for
the teachers. But Janet knows that this is not the case. "If
you come into school and look into the classrooms, everything
looks very relaxed and calm. But the only reason it can be that
way is because everything has been meticulously planned."
Reaping the rewards
Janet has noticed an improvement in the children's
work over the years. Children learn best when they're engaged,
and when they're allowed to reflect and question. Our latest Ofsted
report was very positive. According to the inspectors, children's
attainment levels are roughly average when they join the school
in reception, but have already improved by year 2 and then "progress
accelerates" as the children move through the years. By the
time they reach year 6, standards are significantly higher than
average. The report particularly mentions the children's artwork,
displayed all around the school, which is "of outstanding
quality". For Janet, this is a very visible manifestation
of why her approach is so successful. "In art, as with all
the subjects, we begin right from the beginning with a skills-based
arts programme. Reception children learn about different brush
sizes, how to colour mix and how to observe. From the start they
have particular skills, and this just progresses as they go to
school. We have a very talented teaching assistant who takes small
groups out of the class to work with them on particular techniques
and ideas." Hook achieves these results without setting formal
homework. Although the children take home books they can enjoy
reading with their parents, reading scheme books stay in school.
Other homework tends to focus on an investigation or gathering
of resources to enhance a school-based activity. Janet says the
school is "allergic to worksheets" and reception children
do not do any formal writing until the summer term. Janet's confidence
in her methods appears to be justified by the excellent key stage
2 results and the overall high standards in children's ability,
presentation and motivation.
A team effort
Hook Primary School is involved in advising
other schools now that word of its achievements and strong academic
reputation have become more widely known. Janet says that the
system can work anywhere and that there are no real problems with
introducing it, although she stresses the importance of underlying
rigour. "Everybody needs to be fully involved for this to
work. I couldn't do it if everyone on the staff wasn't keen, enthusiastic
and good at being part of a whole-school team. It only works if
everyone does it."
The development of the national curriculum
1.11 The statutory national curriculum was
introduced in 1988 by the Education Reform Act. Prior to that,
the only statutory requirement was for religious education to
be taught in schools. The curriculum was determined by individual
schools, the classroom teacher or by local curriculum schemes.
In 1987 the government consulted on the rationale for a national
curriculum. There were two key motivations: first, equality of
opportunity so that every child (regardless of sex, ethnic origin
or geographical location) would have access to the same standard
and content of teaching and learning; and second, a desire to
ensure that publicly funded bodies (that is, schools and local
educational authorities) were accountable.
1.12 The Education Reform Act 1988 set up
the framework for a national curriculum for 5- to 16-year-olds.
There were 10 subjects: English, mathematics, science, technology,
history, geography, modern foreign language, art, music and physical
education. At the same time as the curriculum was developed, its
formal assessment instruments were constructed for the production
of national curriculum tests in the core subjects for key stages
1, 2 and 3.
1.13 Problems were encountered, however.
Teachers claimed that the curriculum was too prescriptive; they
felt they could not teach creatively or use individual style/areas
of expertise. Also, they believed it was too full and assessment
was burdensome. This led to a review in 1993 led by Sir Ron Dearing.
He recommended considerable change and a new version of the national
curriculum was introduced in 1995. The main changes included a
reduction in content, more opportunities for children with special
educational needs and greater flexibility. Following four years
of further evaluation and review, the curriculum was again updated
in 2000. The aims and purposes of the national curriculum were
overtly stated, including that the curriculum provides opportunities
for all, and an entitlement was established.
1.14 The secondary curriculum was reviewed
in 2006-07 and it will be taught in schools from September 2008.
Schools have enthusiastically welcomed the new secondary curriculum,
largely because it adopts a holistic approach to the experience
of the child as a learner, rather than a vessel that receives
information. The Primary Curriculum Review is a further opportunity
to implement the `whole' child approach.
What do other countries do?
1.15 Most countries have a compulsory school
curriculum at primary and secondary level. This ensures a minimum
entitlement for learners and in most, but not all, countries it
accounts for a high proportion of school time. There has, however,
increasingly been a move away from a focus on inputs and detailed
prescription of content towards models that emphasise learner
outcomes and providing better for local interpretation and curriculum
development. Indeed, few countries in Europe, North America or
Australasia continue to favour strongly centralised systems of
prescription.
1.16 There is, in addition to knowledge,
a new emphasis on the skills, values and attitudes of learners
and this is broader and deeper than entailed by traditional subjects.
Countries are increasingly pushing their education systems to
raise standards of attainment, particularly literacy, numeracy,
the sciences, ICT and languages, and they are spurred on by international
assessments such as Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
Yet there is also a heightened concern that the curriculum should
prepare learners not just for economic participation but also
for active and constructive participation as individuals and citizens
in a changing and globalised society as lifelong learners.
What do they think of England's national curriculum?
1.17 Many countries, including England,
are seeking to learn from developments in the education systems
of other countries. QCA has played an important role in this work
in and beyond Europe. This continues to provide valuable evidence
for policy in England; for example by enriching our understanding
of differences identified in international assessments. It also
provides a clear indication that other countries undoubtedly have
a strong interest in education policy and practice in England.
This is expressed in regular requests for QCA's involvement in
high-status projects and networks across national boundaries.
Furthermore, QCA frequently hosts study visits to England by education
officials and ministers from overseas interested in a broad range
of issues including, for example, curriculum reform, assessment
for learning, citizenship education and inclusion.
Common perceptions of the national curriculum
1.18 The national curriculum has been described
as being too prescriptive but in the new secondary curriculum
there is less prescribed content. This allows sufficient flexibility
for schools to design their curriculum so that it matches the
needs of learners and the local context. Schools will be able
to show the value they place on learners' personal development
by making it a focus for learning experiences across the curriculum.
Increased flexibility will give greater time and freedom for teachers
to use their professional judgement to decide how to assess their
learners. They will be able to personalise assessment, ensuring
that it supports learning and enables all students to make progress
and achieve. They will also be able to help learners recognise
the progress they are making within, across and beyond subject
disciplines, broadening the measures of success.
1.19 Another perception has been that the
curriculum concentrates too heavily on subject knowledge. One
of the aims of the new secondary curriculum, and a key feature
of the new primary curriculum, is to give schools greater flexibility
to tailor learning to their learners' needs and to ensure less
prescribed subject content. Pupils will still be taught essential
subject knowledge but the new curriculum balances subject knowledge
with the key concepts and processes that underlie the discipline
of each subject. This common format contributes to greater coherence,
making it easier to see links between subjects. Several subjects
share key concepts and processes; curriculum opportunities highlight
the potential for links between subjects; and dimensions such
as enterprise, creativity, and cultural understanding and diversity
can be used to cut across the curriculum. The new framework maintains
the best of the past while offering increased opportunity to design
learning that develops the wider skills for life and learning
as well as making links to the major ideas and challenges that
face society and have significance for individuals. The curriculum
has also been accused of having a limited offer in terms of subjects
and content. The introduction of the new Diplomas will encourage
greater diversity and offer extra choice. They provide greater
opportunity for young people to discover a subject area that inspires
and motivates them. The new qualifications will also enable learning
in a range of widely applicable skills and knowledge and enable
students to gain understanding and hands-on experience of employment
sectors that interest them, while putting new skills into practice.
For example, as part of an engineering Diploma, learners will
have the opportunity to study physics and have direct involvement
with how physics is applied in the workplace perhaps through a
project in a local engineering company. The result will be more
engaged and enthusiastic learners who understand the purpose of
what they are learning, as they see their newly acquired knowledge
and skills in action. Diplomas will also extend the environments
in which young people study—schools and colleges will have
to collaborate to deliver the qualification and there will be
opportunities for learning in a real workplace.
CHAPTER 2
The impact of the current testing and assessment
regime on the delivery and scope of the national curriculum and
the likely impact of the single level tests currently being piloted
2.1 The national curriculum has always included
statements of national standards and expectations of pupils alongside
the curriculum entitlement, for all subjects. The single scale
from year 1 to year 9, established by the Task Group on Assessment
and Testing in 1988, has increased focus on progress, particularly
across transition points between schools. It is a significant
feature of the English system when compared internationally.
2.2 The standards in English and mathematics
are national measures of reading, writing and mathematics, and
from the beginning they have been an important contribution to
the general understanding of educational outputs.
2.3 The testing system that evolved to measure
the outputs has been more contested. The original design of teacher-administered
tasks with broad curriculum coverage was abandoned as unmanageable
in favour of short tests. Protests from teachers about workload
led to the external marking of these tests. This had the effect
of taking testing and assessing out of schools' hands and hence
externalising the assessment system. This is not, in itself, inappropriate,
as it gives a guarantee of standards. Appropriate testing supports
learning and the best preparation for taking tests is a broad,
rich and engaging curriculum.
2.4 The scales that are part of the statutory
curriculum do not include explicit focuses on attitudes and aptitudes
beyond subjects. The development of other components of the curriculum—including
personal and economic wellbeing; personal, learning and thinking
skills; and dimensions that cross cut subjects at secondary level—do
not have the same assessment measures attached to them. The focus
on subject scales as measures of educational output is now an
inadequate account of the education young people need for the
21st century as it provides only a partial account of their achievement.
Assessment now needs to be seen as integral to all teaching and
learning, using evidence to gain insights into successes and needs,
to encourage learners and improve attainment. In some cases the
focus on the subjects that are tested leads to a narrowing of
the curriculum offered to pupils.
2.5 Now is the right time to be developing
schools' capacity to use many aspects of assessment to raise standards.
This involves developing teachers' capacity in both informal and
formal assessments and investing in assessing as part of schools'
development plans. Single level tests (SLTs) are being developed
as a feature of the Making Good Progress pilot. Currently available
in English reading, English writing and mathematics, the tests
are available each December and June over the two-year pilot.
Unlike end of key stage tests, SLTs focus on particular levels
of attainment and pupil entries are on a "when ready"
basis determined by teacher assessment. Teachers are expected
to use criteria developed by QCA as part of the Assessing Pupils'
Progress (APP) materials as the basis for assessing their pupils'
progress and readiness for test entry. The tests are externally
set and marked and the SLTs should give teachers a better picture
of pupils' progress and aptitude.
2.6 This approach underlines the central
importance of accurate teacher assessment. It highlights the need
for investment in support and professional development in order
to ensure that assessment is used purposefully to track individual
pupil progress; to develop teaching and learning programmes geared
to pupils' needs; and to assess individual pupils' readiness for
external confirmatory testing. In the longer term, SLTs could
be extended to a true "when ready" testing system utilising
technology to deliver tests, to support the marking process and
to provide rich, timely feedback on pupil performance to teachers
and parents that can inform future provision. Greater understanding
of assessment will support improved teaching and learning, raise
the professional standing of teachers and present the opportunity
to use teacher assessment to assess elements of the curriculum
unsuited to externally set paper-based tests. The recognition
of teacher assessment as integral to the assessment regime of
SLTs will have the potential to improve the use and understanding
of assessment as an integral element of teaching and learning.
2.7 Given the concern over teaching to the
test, great care will need to be made to ensure that SLT testing
opportunities are used judiciously and do not become the focus
of teaching. However, the assessment of pupils as individuals,
rather than the current end of key stage census testing, should
strengthen the focus on progression through more personalised
teaching programmes developed within a key stage.
2.8 The introduction of SLTs represents
a significant change from the way testing is conceived at present.
Over the pilot phase, SLTs will need to develop to ensure that
important issues are addressed; for example, continuity of standards;
expectations about what constitutes progress on a year by year
basis; and the alignment of programmes of study in the light of
the new secondary curriculum and the outcomes of the recently
announced primary review.
CHAPTER 3
The likely impact of the current "root and
branch" review of the primary curriculum by Sir Jim Rose
3.1 The Children's Plan announced the Government's
intention to carry out a fundamental review of the primary curriculum.
This review is led by Sir Jim Rose with QCA having a lead responsibility
in providing the evidence for the review and managing the consultations.
The Secretary of State wrote to Sir Jim Rose in early January,
setting out his remit and the timescale for the review. The letter
states "... a strong coherent curriculum which has the flexibility
to personalise teaching and learning is crucial to driving up
standards further. It is central to the ambitions we have set
out in the Children's Plan and to delivering the outcomes of the
Every Child Matters Agenda."
3.2 The letter also states that the review
must "provide all pupils with a broad and balanced entitlement
to learning which encourages creativity and inspires in them a
commitment to learning that will last a lifetime".
3.3 It then goes on to outline specific
areas for the review to consider including the synergy between
the primary curriculum with both early years and the new secondary
curriculum. These statements closely reflect the QCA's Key Result
Area for the curriculum, which is "to develop a modern world-class
curriculum which will inspire and challenge all learners and prepare
them for the future".
3.4 QCA therefore views the review of the
primary curriculum as an opportunity to modernise and enhance
the curriculum for primary age pupils. It will raise standards
so that they will benefit from a solid grounding in the essential
skills of literacy, numeracy and science. It will provide an educational
experience that not only prepares them for secondary school, but
that enables them to take advantage of the opportunities offered
to them at this stage of their lives and introduces them to new
ideas and experiences.
3.5 Issues of coherence between the different
phases of education are, however, very real and some children
find the transition between phases daunting and problematical.
The separation of the curriculum into the three discrete phases
may lead to some discontinuity between these phases. Adopting
a suitably adapted big picture as the underlying rationale for
the primary curriculum may also help to smooth out the transition
between phases. The primary review will be examining these issues
and making recommendations.
CHAPTER 4
Balancing prescription and flexibility
The implications of personalised learning, including
the flexibilities introduced by the new secondary curriculum
4.1 The School Standards Personalised Learning
website sets out the following rationale for personalised learning:
For pupils:
— They will be treated as partners
in their learning, with joint responsibility for participating
in the design of their learning.
— They will have their individual needs
addressed, both in school and extending beyond the classroom and
into the family and community.
— If they start to fall behind in their
learning, they will be able to identify their weaknesses and how
to improve, and will be given additional support to help them
get back on track quickly.
— They will receive coordinated support
to enable them to succeed to the full, whatever their talent or
background.
— They will develop respect for others,
self-esteem and skills for collaboration through learning in a
mutually supportive environment.
For parents and carers:
— They will receive regular updates
that give clear understanding of what their child can currently
do, how they can progress and what help can be given at home.
— They will be involved in engaging
with their child's learning and in planning their future education.
— They will be confident that their
child is receiving a high quality education that is designed to
meet their learning needs and which will equip them with the skills
they need to thrive throughout their lives.
— They will have the opportunity to
play a more active role in school life and know that their contribution
is valued.
For teachers and support staff:
— They will have high expectations
of every learner, giving them confidence and skills to succeed.
— They will have access to and be able
to interpret data on each pupil to inform teaching and learning,
incorporating more fine-tuned assessment and lesson planning.
— They will be in a stronger position
to share and exchange information about best practice among their
colleagues in different schools and through external networks,
resulting in opportunities to develop a wide repertoire of teaching
strategies.
— They will participate in high quality
professional development, working with other teachers to develop
their skills in understanding the learning needs of their pupils
and how best to address those needs and engage them.
— They will be able to depend more
routinely on the support of non-teaching staff and other adults
from outside the school to provide a holistic, tailored educational
provision for all their pupils.
For schools:
— They will seek to configure their
design, resources, curriculum and organisation around the needs
of their learners, to reflect a professional ethos that accepts
and assumes every child comes to the classroom with a different
knowledge base and skill set, as well as varying aptitudes and
aspirations.
— They will demonstrate a determination
for every young person's needs to be assessed and their talents
developed through a variety of teaching strategies.
— They will have the confidence to
innovate and develop approaches to personalising learning that
meet the diverse needs of their pupils.
— They will put personalising learning
at the heart of their vision for transforming teaching and learning.
4.2 The increased flexibility in the curriculum
gives teachers more opportunities to develop personalised learning
for each pupil; to undertake assessment for learning, which will
provide pupils with better feedback; and to provide greater support
and increased challenge for those who need it. Good personal knowledge
of the learner is essential in setting challenging and realistic
goals for progress and achievement. This is vital in driving up
standards of achievement.
4.3 The best learning is supported by assessment
that also considers the psychological and emotional impact on
learners. This is achieved when teachers know their learners as
individuals and can build self-esteem alongside the next steps
in learning. The personal touch that provides appropriate feedback,
alongside the encouragement and inspiration to help learners persist
and succeed, is essential in enabling learners to become motivated,
engaged and committed to their learning.
4.4 By placing emphasis on personal, learning
and thinking skills the new curriculum will extend the range of
areas that learners see as important. It will help learners to
recognise the progress they are making within, across and beyond
subject disciplines, broadening the measures of success. This
will enable those involved in further and higher education, community
development and the world of work to have a clearer evidence of
the wider skills learners have developed that enable them to become
effective participants in society.
Case study—Gawthorpe Primary School
When the headteacher at Gawthorpe Primary School
near Wakefield decided to take an innovative look at the timetable,
she drew inspiration from close to home. In this small community
with high levels of deprivation, traditional Maypole Day celebrations
have drawn people together for over 130 years. Recognising the
significance of the maypole in the lives of children and their
families, Sue Vickerman decided to introduce the idea of themed
periods of non-core curriculum with a whole-school maypole fortnight.
The fortnight proved a resounding success. A May queen from over
50 years ago came in to talk to the children about the history
of Maypole Day. All the classes experimented with dyeing, weaving,
threading, art and dancing, culminating in a special maypole evening
for parents and grandparents.
Building on themes
The school has continued to build on the success
of the themed approach. During another themed week, children spent
time learning about disability, diversity and accessibility. They
worked with pupils from a special high school at the other end
of the village. They borrowed wheelchairs and, having experienced
both being in and pushing one, used their newfound knowledge to
design access plans for the school. To find out more about the
everyday reality of being blind, they designed an obstacle course
to complete blindfolded and found out about the work of guide
dogs. Future plans include an Every Child Matters fortnight, during
which each class will be given a budget and asked to make money
by managing their initial fund wisely. This theme was inspired
by the school's commitment to Investors in Pupils, which has made
a significant difference to the children's self-discipline.
Time for change
Another change that has made a major difference
to the quality of children's learning is moving the time of school
assembly. As Sue Vickerman explains: "Every day except Monday
we have moved it from first thing in the morning to 10.55am. First
thing in the morning, the children are energised and ready to
learn, and sitting through assembly at that time doesn't make
the most of that period." The Monday assembly introduces
an ethos statement for the week, on which individual class circle
times are based. With the changes to the timetable, teachers have
found that they have been able to cut circle time down from every
day to just once a week. She also implemented planning, preparation
and assessment (PPA) time a year before the September 2005 regulation.
She saw the benefits of staff having more time out of the classroom
and decided to give teachers one afternoon each week to work in
pairs on developing ideas. Classroom assistants and support staff
are left in charge, and use the time for activities such as cooking
(in groups of eight), gardening in the school allotment (organised
by the secretary), first aid, using ICT to produce a school newspaper
and making craft items to support classroom projects (for example
cross stitch samplers during a Victorian topic). The role of parents
in the timetable changes has also been important. One morning
a week parents come in to support ICT (this also gives them the
opportunity to develop and maintain their own computer skills).
Each class also has an annual "Inspire" morning, when
every child comes to school with an adult and they all work together
on a specific task, such as making an Egyptian model or producing
a maths game based on a nursery rhyme.
The impact of innovation
As a result of the changes to the timetable,
the school's relationship with parents has improved. This has
been reflected in a stronger home-school reading agreement and
a new family literacy group, where parents can find out how to
help their children read and choose interesting books. A numeracy
group is set to start this term. Overall children are happier
about coming to school since it has a firmer role in their lives
as a whole rather than being completely separate from home. The
changes have also had an impact on key stage 2 test results, with
Gawthorpe being among the hundred most improved schools for the
past two years. The school hopes that this rapid improvement will
continue as major innovation in the foundation and year 1 unit
begins to bear fruit higher up the school. The first cohort to
go through the new system is still only in year 3, although the
school is now in the process of implementing its innovative foundation
and year 1 style of learning across the whole school. As Gawthorpe
Primary School has shown, taking a critical and creative look
at the timetable as part of an overall vision for change can be
a powerful tool for improvement and innovation.
CHAPTER 5
How well the national curriculum supports transition
to and delivery of the 14-19 Diplomas
5.1 Diplomas are intended to be a new type of
qualification. They have been developed to transform teaching
and learning by appealing to different learning preferences and
by motivating young people to participate and achieve. Diplomas
must give young people the opportunity to learn through development
of skills, while at the same time providing a sufficiently broad
education to progress into further learning on a range of pathways.
They are employer-verified qualifications that have been designed
in partnership with employers and in response to their views.
5.2 Diplomas will:
— offer high-quality, credible, industry-related
learning;
— provide real opportunities for learners
to practise the skills they will need when they enter employment
or higher education; and
— promote diversity, opportunity and
inclusion for all learners.
5.3 Diplomas have:
— a consistent and explicit focus on
learning, encouraging young people to take increasing responsibility
for their own learning; and
— coherent and engaging learning activities
based on the experiential learning cycle.
5.4 They recognise the value of a young
person's own experience within and beyond their work for the qualification.
5.5 Diploma programmes include:
— theoretical and practical learning;
— applied learning, underlining the
importance of learning through experience related to the world
of work.
5.6 The Diplomas are intended to provide
the essential knowledge and skills for young people to operate
confidently, effectively and independently in life and work. Learners
will have the opportunity to demonstrate the quality of their
learning and skills in a project they will choose for themselves.
5.7 The place of the Diploma within the
overall 11-19 curriculum is critical. While the curriculum for
diplomas needs to be unique and applicable both to applied learning
and the particular needs of 14 to 19-year-olds, it must be consistent
with the reformed curriculum at key stages 3 and 4. Thus QCA has
presented the underpinning curriculum for Diplomas in a similar
format to the revised programmes of study of the secondary curriculum
review in order to demonstrate a holistic approach to the full
11-19 curriculum. The curriculum for each line of learning comprises
the curriculum aims, an importance statement, key concepts, key
processes, range and content and curriculum opportunities.
5.8 The following aspects of the revised
secondary curriculum specifically prepare students for the learning
required by Diplomas:
— the integration of personal, learning
and thinking skills into all programmes of study;
— the integration of functional English,
maths and ICT into the programmes of study for those subjects;
— the emphasis on the curriculum as
the whole planned learning experience;
— the introduction of programmes of
study for personal and economic well-being; and
— the movement from a content-based
to a process-based learning experience.
5.9 The greater flexibility of the key stage
3 curriculum enables schools to enhance the curriculum in ways
that best suit the needs of their learners. This will allow schools
to use some of the time released in key stage 3 to introduce some
students to sector-related and applied learning opportunities
while other students may benefit from the use of this time in
a different way.
5.10 Our aim for all 11-19 learners is a
holistic curriculum that can incorporate learning for the Diplomas,
the statutory curriculum, and other entitlements and options,
within the vision of QCA's "big picture" of a curriculum
for the 21st century.
CHAPTER 6
The role of the new style Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority in relation to the national curriculum
6.1 This is the subject of a separate consultation.
CHAPTER 7
The role of teachers in the future development
of the national curriculum
7.1 QCA believes strongly that the only
effective national curriculum is one that is co-developed with
stakeholders. In order to do this QCA has a programme of consultation
not only with teachers and other education professionals, but
also with pupils, parents, governors, employers, the Department
for Children, Schools and Families, ministers and the wider community.
This consultation is continuous but QCA also consults widely on
specific issues connected to the national curriculum.
7.2 During the review of the secondary curriculum
QCA held a series of consultation events specifically aimed at
teachers, headteachers and local authorities, seeking their views
on how the curriculum should be developed and what it should contain.
Teachers' views were also solicited through a range of other media,
such as websites, letters and articles in the press that invited
responses. The review of the primary curriculum will also seek
the views of teachers, although the method for doing so is not
yet decided. QCA believes that collaboration with the profession
is the best way to develop a curriculum that meets the nation's
needs in the 21st century.
7.3 QCA also believes that the views of
pupils, parents, governors and employers are critical in developing
the curriculum.
7.4 Research commissioned by QCA into what
pupils think of the curriculum showed that pupils want active
and collaborative learning as well as appropriate challenge. They
want vocational learning for all as well as some choice. They
also indicated that they want more help in accurately gauging
how well they are doing. The study also showed that pupils' views
were individual and that there is a right balance for each learner
(which emphasises the need for greater personalisation, assessment
for learning, and personal and social development) In key stages
2 and 3 pupils want breadth across the curriculum but by key stage
4 they want choice.
7.5 In QCA's work with parents, a number
of proposals for improving parents' influence on the curriculum
emerged, including improving the communication between parents
and schools; creating times for family learning, placing value
on learning wherever it occurs; developing a shared understanding
of values between the school, its pupils and their parents—including
the use of people within the community as sources of expertise;
and creating a means of two-way working between the school and
its community. QCA is planning further work to develop these ideas.
7.6 Governors see the new secondary curriculum
and the Children's Plan as presenting opportunities to get into
dialogue with a range of professionals and increase their voice
in curriculum design and development.
7.7 QCA also consulted employers on the
new secondary curriculum. There was positive support for the aims
of the new secondary curriculum as it was felt that the development
of these would ensure that young people were better prepared than
adult life. There was some concern, however, that schools would
still predominantly focus on developing these aims through personal,
social and health education (PSHE), which, as long as it did not
contribute towards league tables, would still not have equal status
with other subjects and may therefore have less time devoted to
it.
March 2008
Working draft: assessment amends (Feb 08) A
big picture of the curriculum[3]
2 See Ev 13 Back
3
See www.qca.org.uk/qca_5856.aspx Back
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