National Curriculum Values Aims and Purposes

interior(a) course Values Aims and PurposesThe touchstone of an excellent program is that it instils in children a love of accomplishment for its cognition pastimeIndependent Review of the Primary Curriculum, Sir Jim Rose (2009)The field of study Curriculum (NC) was introduced into the United Kingdom by the Conservative government as an integrated framework for cultivationi( matter Curriculum Primary handbook, 2010, p8) through the Education Reform Act of 1988. A statutory nationwide course of instruction for either state and maintained primary and substitute(prenominal) instills and organises schoolingings into four Key Stages (KS) and cave ining to all children and young volume among the ages of 5 and 16, it sees itself as lying at the heart of policies to raise standards.iiThe NCs objective is to ensure that these schools learn a common com arrogateer programme which specifies the issues taught for children through come in their school career (the core subjects b eing Literature, Numeracy and Science) and to standardise the content taught at schools across the UK, with the ejection of Academies, which are publicly-funded and put up a signifi disregardt degree of autonomy. Independent Schools may set their own Curriculum. The curriculum also sets out the knowledge, skills and chthonianstanding required in each subject and sets standard or raiseion targets for each subject, enabling coners to plan for individual childrens larn needinesss.In the catching I allow for explore the determine and principles which stand the National Curriculum and the opportunities it offers, drawing on other relevant catalogueation, for example, The Foundation Stage Curriculum, Every Child Matters, The Rose Report, The Cambridge Report and the recent Government gaberdine Paper The Importance of Learning, whilst offering how they will impact on my own didactics and my person-to-person views of their success in affecting their objectives.Values and Pr incilpesEducation influences and reflects the values of societyiii(The Primary National Curriculum, 1999, p10).There are four main purposes and two principal aims set out in the National Curriculum-1. To relieve oneself an entitlement for every child to develop and apply the skills and understanding necessary to ensure self-fulfilment through motivation and engagement. Teachers should aim to give every student the opportunity to pay off success in learning and to master as high a standard as possible (The National Curriculum Primary Handbook, 2010, p9). Whilst teachers are dance by a mandatory curriculum, the statement method of knowledge, through inclusion, skills and understanding moldiness be taught in a flexible way which suits an individuals needs, drawing on a childs previous knowledge and with a clear agenda for the route forward to obtain maximum pupil progress.If a child falls significantly behind, a teacher may use the curriculums programmes of learning to different iate to a greater degree and plan according to exponent.For high pass onrs, suitably challenging work can be found again within the curriculums programmes of work and differentiation met through planning a greater fullness and in depth study of the subject.To shew publicly accessible national standards of childrens academic performances enabling a framework for targets and improvement, and also a regulated assessment of achievement in the form of judging through Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), introduced into the UK in 1991, and initially addressn at the end of Years 2,6 and 9. Arguably neer a popular addition to the school calendar, Year 9 SATs were subsequently abolished in 2008 and replaced by continual student assessment through Assessing Pupil Progress (APP). The SATs results lead to a compilation of print compact tables, freehand parent and carers not only unfermentedfangledfound access to achievement statistics for each school and measuring the ability of indiv idual schools to successfully teach the National Curriculum, but also a free choice in the school they wish their children to attend.To promote continuity and coherence of taught subject matter in order to allow ease of transition amidst key microscope stages and establishments, while providing the support for lifelonglearning.4. To promote public understanding, allowing the general public to understand and be assured of the achievements and worthiness of compulsory education, to instill confidence in the general public and promote an understanding of the achievements and values of compulsory education.Aim 1 The school curriculum should aim to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and to achieve. .The implementation of equal opportunities and inclusion for all pupils to achieve including pupils with special educational needs, pupils with English as a second language, pupils from all cultural and brotherly backgrounds, pupils from different ethnic groups including travelle rs, refugees, and asylum seekers, boys and girls saw the barriers of discrimination and stereo-typing challenged and dispelled. Children and young throng are enabled to achieve at all levels of their personal and professional lives, producing a fair and healthy society and a productive economy with sustainable employment.When planning, teachers should set high expectations and provide opportunities for all pupils to achieve (The National Curriculum Primary Handbook, 2010, p9).Teachers need to be aware that the diverse mixture of children in their care should all turn in access to the same opportunities to achieve and their learning will be influenced by their inherent different experiences, interests and strengths. Through the integrated framework of statutory subjects, the National Curriculums objective is to provide a breadth and balance as well as securing the fundamentals of literacy, numeracy and ICT (The National Curriculum Primary Handbook, 2010, p8) and through rigorous pl anning allowing flexibility to adapt to individual childs learning styles and needs and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.The promotion and implementation of a thorough and high standard of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology curriculum, essential to in force(p) education, will enable children and young people to ultimately gain access to a more fulfilled rising and have more choice in its direction. Aim 2 The school curriculum should aim to promote pupils spiritual, moral, complaisant and cultural development and prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.Every Child Matters (?) acknowledges the link between pupil well-being and foundive pupil performance and drawing on the outcome, Making a positive contribution, a non-statutory PHSE programme fancyed to develop the social and emotional skills of all pupils through complementing, consolidating and st rengthening good practice inivthe school was soon rolled out nationally to address this challenging single-valued function. With the intro of Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) (primary) and Citizen( thirdhand) programmes, using a whole-school approach, the tools to help children reinforce links between emotional wellbeing and effective learning now has a firm place in every day school life. Children and young people are given the confidence to manage risk, adversity and change and boost to take up opportunities. An effective school should contribute to the pupils sense of identity through developing their knowledge and understanding of themselves and their wider environment, celebrating the achievement and aspirations of what they see around them, whilst impart to widening their outlook and raise their own aspirations about advance education and work opportunities. Schools today continue to celebrate cultural and religious diversity and along with the implementati on of PHSE, offer a broad range of subjects and experiences, enabling children and young people to obtain valuable knowledge and skills which will allow them to think creatively and critically, draw out their ability to be innovative leaders and know how to lead safe andvhealthy lives. These skills will in turn allow the children to train into responsible adults and as parents they will instil these values in their own children which in turn will benefit society as a whole. alter children and young people to value themselves, their family, their close and wider relationships, the diverse range of people, cultures and heritages in todays British Society and environment in which they live. Through nurturing a child as a valued individual, promoting self-esteem, self worth and emotional well-being, the school curriculum should enable them to form worthwhile and meaningful relationships whilst learning the fundamental difference between right and wrong. An appreciation, engagement and respect for others will direct them into becoming responsible partners, parents and citizens with a constructive, responsible and valued role to play in society, whilst preparation for further education, fostering and employment, will ensure they become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens (The National Curriculum Primary Handbook,2010, p5).Children and young people are expected to use to the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty whilst them to cope with the pressures of a rapidly changing and technically challenging global environment, and in particular communications technology, giving them the tools to succeed as individuals, parents and workers.Education only flourishes if it successfully adapts to the demands and needs of time (The Primary National Curriculum, 1999, p11)Let battle commence Following the introduction of the National Curriculum the criticism, reforms and attempts at reform have come in abundance Tim Oats, H ead of Assessment, Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment argues that a well-defined and intensify national curriculum based on concepts, principles and key knowledge can lead to a greater focus on deeper learning, with fewer topics being chased to greater depth.(2010)Read more about School curriculum needs reform on ESLwatch.infoExcellence and Enjoyment 2003In 2003 Excellence and Enjoyment, the strategy document for teaching children with English as a Foreign Language (EAL) in Primary Schools was published. Built on National Literacy Strategy (1998), and the National Numeracy Strategy (1999), in the executive summary, the document was bold enough to state it wished to, Take ownership of the curriculum, shaping it and making it their own. Teachers have much more freedom than they often learn to design the timetable and decide what and how they teach. (Excellenceand Enjoyment, 2003, p3)In his forward, Charles Clarke, the then Education Secretary states Children learn bett er when they are excited and engaged (Ibis, p2), Different schools go about this in different ways. There will be different sparks that make learning vivid and real for different children. I want every primary school to be able to build on their own strengths to serve the needs of their own children (Ibis, p2).The debate for the relaxing of the stronghold of the curriculum expectations was well and truly under way.Revised Secondary Curriculum 2007A revised Progamme of Study for secondary schools was introduced in 2007. Claiming the revised curriculum offered greater Flexibility and Coherence (The new secondary curriculum. What has changed and why?, 2007,p4) it offers to give schools the flexibility to personalise learning and design a curriculum that tolerates the specific needs of their learnersTo give schools greater flexibility to tailor learning to their learners needs, there is less prescribed subject content in the new programmes of study. Instead, the curriculum focuses on t he key concepts and processes that underlie each subject. (Ibis, p4). In relationship to the descent for a more cross curricular approach, it statesThe 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 cross-curricular links (Ibis, p4).Early Years Foundation Stage 2008In 2006 the Childcare Act provided a legal framework for the creation of the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and was introduced in phratry 2008, giving a new framework for learning, development and welfare for children in all registered earlier years settings (including child minding provision), maintained and independent schools. This covers children from birth to the August after their fifth birthday.Cambridge Report 2009In 2008, Ed Balls, the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, outfit Sir JimRose to carry out an independent review of the primary curriculum in England. Before the report wasdelivered, The Cambridge Primary Review, an independent enquiry into the condition and future ofprimary education in England and which had been launched in October 2006 was published, led by Professor Robin Alexander.Whist acknowledging a need for some kind of national curriculum and that the EYFS areas of learning provide a good basis, the Cambridge Review sees the current curriculum as over-crowded and unmanageable( Alexander, (2009)) with too little value put on creativity and imagination. With 900 pieces of data being collected from both official and independent sources including academics, children and teachers the in-depth report accuses the National Curriculum of implementing a scheme that values facts more than understanding and enquiry, and suggests a stop over-haul of the curriculum with the introduction of 12 new underlying aims and 8 subject domains. It proposes only 70% of teaching beattached to the National Cu rriculum with the be 30% being attached to a newly proposed Community Curriculum.Alexander argues that the current curriculum places an over emphasis on the importance of children gaining high standards in the basics ( indication, writing and arithmetic) at the expense of the peripheral subjects and, as such, are undervaluing the importance of creativity and imagination, leading to problems occurring in their progression through school and beyond.He also argues that an obsession with curriculum testing of the core subjects is jeopardising childrens right to a full and broad education.Rose Report 2009Sir Jim Roses remit was to propose a curriculum which would inspire life-long learning while reducing prescription and giving teachers greater flexibility.In particular he was asked to consider at how primary schools could develop childrens personal skills and proposes a new curriculum based on six areas of learning (English, communication and languages, mathematics, the arts, historica l, geographical and social, physical development, health and wellbeing, scientific and technological) which would help them achieve academically as well enable them to have a smooth transition between early years and primary school, and into secondary school.Proposing that summer-born children should start reception severalise in the September after they turnfour years of age, acknowledging that children with birthdays in August who start school in the September after they turn five, do less well at school, and are also slightly less alike(p)ly to go to university.Sir Jim, a former Ofsted chief, in recognition of the changing locution of the world around us, calls for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to be make a core skill of the new curriculum (making provisions for additional training for teachers) ,alongside literacy and numeracy, and although he insisted this would not mean other subjects such as science traditionally seen as a core subject would become less alpha In no way does that suggest we are stepping back from recognising the importance of science and technology (Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum, Sir Jim Rose (2009)) and although imperative that we should allow for a digital generation of children who are being brought up using technology in their recreation to make the link between this technology and learning, again the parti pris of curriculum is shifting away from reasoning and creativity.Also recommended is a more theme based cross-curricular approach to teaching subjects, which will provide children with ample opportunities to apply and use their knowledge and skills in cross-curricularstudies, allowing them to deepen their understanding and think creatively. There will be an emphasis on personal development and on social and emotional learning and finally, a focus on spoken communication, making particular use of the performing and visual arts, especially role play and drama.The imaginative CurriculumGovernm ent White Paper- The Importance of Teaching 2010As it warned it would, the new government abandoned the Rose framework for the primary curriculum and recently launched its own review in the form of the Government White Paper, The Importance of Teaching. It is also abolished the curriculum and assessment watchdog, the QCDA. However, in the interim, the version of the national curriculum introduced in September 2000 will continue in force until 2012, at least.Michael Gove the Secretary of State for Education having accused Labour of squeezing the fun and enjoyment (GMT interview 24 Nov 2010) out of school, unveiled the approximately radical programme of education reforms for a generation overhauling the national curriculum, a far more rigorous covering of would-be(prenominal) teachers will be enforced and staff given more power to discipline pupils. All schools (including primary schools for the first time) will be forced to meet tough new targets. Proposals to toughen up exams as a result of the supposed dumming down of education, as pupils are accused of taking soft options in order for the school to achieve well in the League Tables, yet leaving school with subjects which prospective employees simply do not value.A reading test for six-year-olds to check if they can recognise simple words like cat and street will be brought in and in the most underlying reform of the education system for a generation. Mr Gove reveals the national curriculum as a straitjacket which stifles the creativity of our best teachers (Ibis) and intends give teachers more freedom to pioneer and inspire (Ibis) and prior to the release of the White Paper, Mr Gove said on BBC Radio Fours Today programme, I want to slim the National Curriculum down,The original figure behind the National Curriculum was that it shouldnt cover everything in the school day and our Coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, have made the case very powerfully that what schools should follow is a minimum curriculum entitlement that takes up perhaps 50 per cent of school time. .Reading through the proposals, I am unable to find some(prenominal) real commitment to a slimming down of the curriculum and only real radical objective appears to be for a far more rigorous screening of teacher training applicants, including tests of character and emotional intelligence and the encouragement of ex-forces applicants no doubt to bark orders at their pupils.Disappointingly, in the light of the Cambridge Review, very little has been knowing and very little has been implemented to create a less prescriptive curriculum and once again, it is the teachers who take the brunt of the blame for the purported failure of the education system when in my opinion it is surely due to lack of investment. With the budget of an independent school, surely every state school (even with their commitment to inclusion-unlike the private system) could begin to address class-sizes and never want for resources again. W ith a proposed 359m programme of education cuts, the present government seems to me to be looking for a quick fix agenda. If the government would finally put their money where their mouth is and, dare I suggest, give prospective teachers the wage structure they surely deserve, given the responsibility they have towards educating the next generation, maybe finally teachers would be seen in the light of respect they deserve. Trainee teachers will spend more time in the classroomEnsure support available to every school for the teaching of systematic celluloid phonicsFor existing teachers, schools will be given more freedom to pay the best staff higher salaries and greater powers to sack the wipe up performers.No-one is helped when poor performance anticipates unaddressed, said the report. Underperforming teachers place additional pressures on their colleagues and let down the children in their care.The White Paper said current regulations surround teacher competence procedures were too complex, lengthy and fragmented meaning heads were reluctant to fire staff not fit for the classroom. They will be shortened and modify under Coalition plans, although full details are yet to emerge.Mr Gove said The countries that come out top of international studies into educational performance recognise that the most crucial factor in determining how well children do at school is the quality of their teachers.The best education systems draw their teachers from among the top graduates and train them rigorously, think on classroom practice. They recognise that it is teachers knowledge, intellectual depth and love of their subject which stimulates the imagination of children and allows them to flourish and succeed.But for too long in our country, teachers and heads have been hamstrung by bureaucracy and left without real support.The initial promise of entitlement to a broad, balanced and rich curriculum has been sacrificed in pursuit of a narrowly-conceived standards agenda. By Martin Beckford, Social affairs Correspondent 601AM GMT 20 Feb 2009 TelegraphThe most conspicuous casualties are the arts, the humanities and those kinds of learning in all subjects which require time for talking, problem- solvent and the extended exploration of ideas, By Richard Garner, Education EditorFriday, 20 February 2009 the I ndependentFor each National Curriculum subject, there is a programme of study. The programmes of study describe the subject knowledge, skills and understanding pupils are expected to develop during each key stage.Within the framework of the National Curriculum, schools are free to plan and organise teaching and learning in the way that best meets the needs of their pupils.Many schools use the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) Schemes of Work to plan their curriculum. These help to translate the National Curriculums objectives into teaching and learning activitiesThe prime duty of the school, I believe, is to instil a positive co mmitment to, and love of education, in order to allow each pupil to reach their full potential in life as outlined by Mick Waters, the then Director of Curriculum, QCA (2007) when he said, Most of all, young people should relish the opportunity for discovery and achievement that the curriculum offers. Without motivation and a thirst for knowledge, a child will neither benefit from their school years nor aspire to let education be the door-opening to a better future. Through encouragement of their interests, inherent strengths and experiences, children will develop a confidence in their ability to learn as independent individuals or collaboratively with their peers, whilst developing a creative, inquisitive and rational mind in the process.I firmly intend to use my role as a teacher, working within a collaborative framework, to use my gained knowledge and skills, creativity and adaptability, to capture and enhance the learning capabilities of the children within my remit.Teacher asse ssmentTeacher assessment is an essential part of the national curriculum and is carried out as part of the teaching and learning process.It spans the programmes of study, and takes into account evidence of attainment in many contexts, including discussion and observation.The national curriculum tests provide a snapshot of attainment in English and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. Schools have a statutory responsibility to report teacher assessment levels in core subjects of English, mathematics and science for each eligible pupil to QCDA. Schools must also report teacher assessment level judgements to parents, carers and guardians for both core and non-core subjectsPrimary curriculumWhat will the new primary curriculum look like?The new government has made it clear that it intends to restore the National Curriculum to its original purpose a minimum national entitlement for all our young people organised around subject disciplines.An announcement outlining next steps is expect ed shortly.What happens in the meantime?The existing subject-based National Curriculum requirement will remain in force for primary schools. The current framework, introduced in 2000, provides flexibility for schools to adapt the curriculum to their needs. Details are available from the Key stages 1 2 atom of this site.Will primary schools still be getting an additional training day in 2010/11?Yes. Primary schools teaching Key Stages 1 and 2 will still receive an extra non-contact day in 2010/11 to help them prepare adequately for the next school year and consider new approaches.Why have you sent out handbooks?That decision was taken by the previous Government. They proposed to introduce a new primary curriculum from September 2011 and put in place a programme of support and guidance for schools from January this year. The new Government has decided not to go ahead with this policy for the reasons set out in the Ministers statement to Parliament.Will schools get a refund for prima ry curriculum textiles that they have purchased.Yes. A full refund will be made automatically to those who placed orders on account. (The account will be credited rather than a refund made.) Those who purchased by credit card will need to call our orderline on 0300 303 3015. All customers have been contacted directly by QCDA with information about the refund policy.Can I still access the Curriculum design tool from the primary curriculum website?Following the Secretary of State for Educations decision not to take forward the last Governments proposals for a new primary curriculum, associated material which had been published on the National Curriculum website has been removed.This means that the curriculum design tool will no longer be available. Registered users have been contacted and asked if they would like to have any stored information returned to them.Can I still access pages from the new primary curriculum website?Following the Secretary of State for Educations decision not to take forward the last Governments proposals for a new primary curriculum, material which had been published on the National Curriculum website has been removed.Material on the statutory requirements that schools must meet in relation to the National Curriculum, is available from theKey stages 1 2 section of this site.The programmes of study also map out a scale of attainment within the subject. In most Key Stage 1, 2, and 3 subjects, these attainment targets are split into eight levels, plus a description of exceptional performance. The exception is Citizenship, which has separate attainment targets for the end of Key Stages 3 and 4.Children develop at different rates, but National Curriculum levels can give you an idea of how your childs progress compares to what is typical for their age. For example, by the end of Key Stage 1, most children will have reached level 2, and by the end of Key Stage 2, most will be at level 4.edit Failure and adverse effects of the free market obj ectiveAlthough the primary purpose for the National Curriculum was to enable league tables and inform parental choice, many parents or guardians still fail to get the school of their choice14 and there is concern that the league tables have a detrimental effect on pupilsfocus on league tables had resulted in pupils being pressured to attain high grades and so opt for subjects that are seen as easier to get good mark in such as art, drama and history. The result has been for the more difficult mathematics in subjects such as chemistry and physics being droppedGillard D (2010) Hobsons Choice education policies in the 2010 general election www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/29election.html How, I wonder, does Gove reconcile his many statements about freeing schools from central control with his imposition of systematic synthetic phonics for teaching reading? Every education report from Hadow onwards has urged teachers to use a variety of methods and warned against relying on one. Al most every expert on the teaching of reading opposes this policy, so what is it doing in the Coalitions programme? Another generation of children is to be used as guinea pigs to satisfy some ignorant advisor or to make money for a textbook publisher.The National Curriculum, we are told, is to be reformed (yet again). In primary schools it will be subject-based and in a phrase that tells us everything we need to know about Goves lack of understanding of education it will be based on evidence about what knowledge can be mastered by children at different ages.To make matters worse, Gove has invited Niall Ferguson, the British historian most closely associated with a rightwing, Eurocentric vision of western sandwich ascendancy (Charlotte Higgins The Guardian 30 May 2010) to help rewrite the history syllabus. Freedom for schools? I dont think so.The study of most subjects under the National Curriculum would usually culminate in the sitting of a GCSE at the end of Key Stage 4. Although the GCSE scrutinys replaced the earlier, separate GCE O-level and CSE examinations, the syllabi were still initially devised entirely by the examination boards, whereas since the implementation of the National Curriculum the syllabus outline is determined by law. Thus much of the attention surrounding the claimed dumbing down of GCSEs9 is, indirectly, a criticism of the National Curriculum.Public schools are free to choose their own curriculum and examinations and many have opted for the more demanding1011 IGCSEs which are not tied to the National Curriculum. It is claimed that this is creating a two-tier system with state school pupils losing out. From time to time ministers have suggested that state schools may be given funding to enter pupils for IGCSE examinations12 but a study was undertaken by QCA13, which concluded that IGCSEs do not follow the programmes of study required by the Key Stage 4 of the National Curriculum and therefore could not be offered as a state-funded alte rnative.Gillard D (2010) Hobsons Choice education policies in the 2010 general election www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/29election.html The report, however, does find that the national curriculum has been effective in raising standards, alter pup