Summary: These Orders bring into
effect a revised set of programmes of study and Attainment Targets
for each National Curriculum subject at key stage 3 and, where
applicable, key stage 4. These changes will be implemented alongside
other reforms which schools are taking forward, notably changes
to A-Levels, piloting functional skills, and the introduction
of diplomas. This is clearly a challenging agenda for schools.
These Orders are drawn to the special attention
of the House on the ground that they give rise to issues of public
policy likely to be of interest to the House.
1. The Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) have laid these 12 Orders under sections 87(3)(a) and (b)
and (5) and 210(7) of the Education Act 2002. An Explanatory Memorandum
(EM) and Impact Assessment (IA) common to all 12 Orders have been
provided.
2. The Orders bring into effect a revised set
of programmes of study and Attainment Targets for each subject
of the National Curriculum in England at key stage 3 and, where
applicable, key stage 4. These are the "core" subjects
of English, mathematics and science; and the "foundation"
subjects of design and technology, Information and Communication
Technology, history, geography, modern foreign languages, art
and design, music, physical education and citizenship.
3. DCSF have said that, in March 2005, the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority (QCA) was asked to undertake a review
of the key stage 3 curriculum "to give schools the flexibility
to meet students' individual needs and strengths more effectively".
The revisions now being made follow the completion of that review:
"there is now less prescribed content in the programmes of
study for each curriculum subject. A sharpened approach to subject
study has been introduced, with the emphasis on teaching the essential
concepts and skills underpinning curriculum subjects, rather than
coverage of detailed lists of content."
4. QCA ran a national consultation on draft programmes
of study for all subjects in the new secondary curriculum from
February to April 2007, principally by means of an online survey.
DCSF have explained that, in the first four weeks of the consultation,
approximately 2,000 people participated by posting their comments
online. In addition, in-depth interviews were held with subject
specialists and school / curriculum managers; regional events
for parents and local authorities were organised; and QCA wrote
to schools, local education authorities, governing body organisations,
organisations representing school teachers and others to give
them notice of the consultation.
5. DCSF have said that consultation revealed
widespread support for the principle of greater curriculum flexibility;
and that head teachers and subject leaders were particularly supportive
of the changes. Given that the Orders relate to attainment targets,
and that in the Impact Assessment the Department point to the
need to enhance pupil performance in tests and examinations as
an important element in the case for reviewing the National Curriculum,
we would have found it helpful if the EM had set out more extensively
the way in which the changes made by the Orders are expected to
enhance performance. In particular, we would have welcomed more
information about consultees' views on the link between greater
curriculum flexibility and better performance against attainment
targets. This is an issue which the House may look to the Government
to explain more fully.
6. The Department acknowledge that the main issue
raised during consultation was whether, given the scale of other
reforms scheduled to impact on schools from 2008, implementation
might be delayed until 2009, but say that Ministers agreed that
implementation of the revised secondary curriculum should continue
as planned from September 2008.
7. In the EM, DCSF give details of the programme
of related training and support for the school workforce which
began in September 2007 and will continue until at least June
2009. In this regard, the IA contains the calculation that the
total cost of staff time to plan and prepare for the new curriculum
will be in the order of £36,794,000, based on the assumption
that a school will require 50 days for curriculum planners and
3 days for head teachers in extra planning time. DCSF stress that
this is not a direct cash cost to Government, but that there is
an opportunity cost of using teacher's time for curriculum planning
rather than undertaking other activities (such as teaching).
8. We believe that the House will be interested
to see that the Department have now laid these Orders to give
effect to a wide-ranging overhaul of the programmes of study for
the National Curriculum subjects. It seems clear that the Department,
and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, have made considerable
efforts to involve interested parties in the work of revision
which was initiated more than three years ago, in March 2005.
9. We note that the consultation process highlighted
concern about implementing these changes in September 2008, alongside
other reforms which schools are taking forward at the same time.
The Department have explained that those other reforms include
the following:
- changes to A-Levels, which DCSF say will "reduce
the assessment burden and introduce greater stretch and challenge
for our brightest students". These changes were announced
in the 14-19 White Paper in 2004; the awarding bodies have been
providing training on the new examinations since 2007;
- piloting functional skills in English, mathematics
and ICT. DCSF have told us that a pilot began in September 2007
with 12 awarding bodies and about 1,000 centres (including schools,
colleges, adult community training, work-based learning and the
justice system) volunteering to participate in the pilot; and
that the pilot will double in size from September 2008 to include
a broader range of centres and learners; and
- the introduction of Diplomas, which DCSF have
described as a new set of qualifications for learners at Key Stage
4 (and across the 14-19 phase), to mix theoretical and applied
learning. From September 2008, five Diplomas will be offered in
100 local authority areas (covering Construction and the Built
Environment; Information Technology; Society, Health and Development;
Engineering; and Creative and Media).
10. This is clearly a challenging agenda for
schools. We are sure that there is a wide consensus, in schools
themselves, in local authorities and in Government, on the need
to adapt and improve the education offered to students, and the
reforms are all directed to this end. The changes made by the
Orders to programmes of study for National Curriculum subjects
fit in with this aim, and schools will no doubt make the necessary
efforts to implement them in parallel with the other reforms.
11. As a Committee, we are concerned with the
policy delivered through secondary legislation. We have previously
expressed concern about the cumulative effect of a number of statutory
instruments made in short order on the sector which they seek
to regulate, for the volume might prevent the policy objectives
from being achieved effectively. The laying of these Orders, as
well as of other recent instruments applicable to schools, seems
to illustrate our concern. In the autumn, we intend to pursue
by conducting an inquiry into the cumulative impact of statutory
instruments, using schools as a case study.
