What is the National Curriculum?
The National Curriculum is statutory and sets out the most important knowledge and skills that every child has a right to learn. It is a framework given to teachers by government, so that all school children are taught in a way that is balanced and manageable, but hard enough to challenge them. The Curriculum sets out standards that can be used to measure how well children are doing in each subject - so teachers can plan to help them do better. This is also the first National Curriculum in England to include citizenship for secondary aged pupils, from September 2002.
Why do we need a National Curriculum?
The main purposes of the National Curriculum are:
- To establish standards
The National Curriculum gives clear expectations for learning and attainment explicit to pupils, parents, teachers, governors, employers and the public. It establishes national standards for the performance of all pupils in all National Curriculum subjects. - To promote continuity and coherence
The National Curriculum promotes continuity and progression, and is sufficiently flexible to enable all schools to design a curriculum to reflect the needs of the pupils and the community it serves. It facilitates the transition of pupils between schools and phases of education and provides a foundation for lifelong learning. - To promote public understanding
The National Curriculum increases public understanding of, and confidence in, the work of schools and provides a common basis for discussion of educational issues among pupils, parents, teachers, governors and employers.
How does the National Curriculum Work?
The National Curriculum applies to children in state funded pre-school education (introduced in the 2002 Education Act) and pupils of compulsory school age. It states when things must be taught by describing broad stages of education. There is a foundation stage for 3-5 year-olds, and four key stages, 5-7 year olds; 7-11 year olds; 11-14 year olds; and 14-16 year olds.
Schools are free to organise teaching within this time, as they think best. They create their own plans, term by term and year by year.
The foundation stage curriculum covers six broad areas of learning linked to early learning goals:
For each key stage and for each subject, the National Curriculum is made up of two areas:
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attainment targets; and
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level descriptions
What subjects aretaught in the National Curriculum?
The six areas of learning in the foundation stage are:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication, language and literacy
- Mathematical development
- Knowledge and understanding of the world
- Physical development
- Creative development.
There are 12 subjects in the national curriculum for 5-16 year-olds:
Details of each National Curriculum subject can be found atNational Curriculum online.
How are pupils assessed in National Curriculum subjects?
When children are 7, 11 and 14, they take tests in English and mathematics (and science at 11 and 14), that measure what all children can do when they are asked the same questions. The tests help teachers learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of what a child understands about these subjects.
A formal teacher assessment is used in addition to the national tests in English, mathematics and science at 7,11 and 14, and in all subjects at 14, so that a child’s progress can be measured. Teacher assessments judge children’s performance in a subject over a longer period of time. Details of assessment and reporting arrangements can be found at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Examples of children’s work at these standards can be found at National Curriculum in Action website.
What is Citizenship and why is it being taught in schools?
Citizenship education is now part of the Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship framework in primary schools and will be a compulsory subject from September 2002 in secondary schools. Citizenship gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in society. It helps them to become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens, aware of duties and rights.
Citizenship Education has three strands:
- social and moral responsibility
social and moral responsibility: pupils learn, from the beginning, self-confidence and socially and morally responsible behaviour, both in and beyond the classroom, towards those in authority and each other - community involvement
community involvement: pupils learn how to become helpfully involved in the life and concerns of their neighbourhood and communities, including learning through community involvement and service - political literacy
political literacy: pupils learn about the institutions, issues, problems and practices of our democracy and how citizens can make themselves effective in public life, locally, regionally, and nationally, through skills as well as knowledge.
How is the National Curriculum being made accessible to parents and children?
- The Government’s "Learning Journey" project aims to make the National Curriculum more accessible to teachers, parents and children.
- In September 2000, the Government encouraged parents to learn more about the National Curriculum by publishing a series of Learning Journey parents’ guides to the curriculum. More information about the Learning Journey parents’ guide, plus the Discover guides, which look at topics taught at KS1 and 2, can be foundon the DfES website.
- A new children’s’ web site called Digger and the Gang was launched in August 2001. The site is designed for children aged 5 to 11 and allows them to follow the adventures of a gang of children and their dog Digger, while giving them experience of different subjects and levels of learning across the National Curriculum.
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