The evolution of the school curriculum

The history of the National Curriculum (NC) in England

The statutory place of the NC

© Edge Hill University 2013

TS3 – Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledgePart Two – Personal and Professional Conduct

Elementary schools pre-1900s

• Aimed to ‘produce a skilled workforce who could at least read’

• Very restrictive curriculum

1904 Board of Education Curriculum

Boys subjects• English• Mathematics• Science• History• Geography• Foreign

Language• Drawing• Physical Exercise• Music• Manual Work

Girls subjects• English• Mathematics• Science• History• Geography• Foreign

Language• Drawing• Physical Exercise• Music• Housewifery

• School attendance would be compulsory from age 5 to 14

• Compulsory attendance for a fixed time – 320 hours a year

• Fines would be issued for non attendance

• This Act encouraged some authorities to revise their arrangements for children below the age of 12

• From 1919 several authorities began to create junior school departments

Education Act 1918

1926• Recommended that there should be a

change of department for children at the age of 11 as well as at age 7

• This lead to creation of primary schools for children aged 5 to 11 years

1931 & 1933• Made suggestions about the style of education

to be provided in these schools• 'the curriculum of the primary school is to be

thought of in terms of activity and experience rather than knowledge to be acquired and facts to be stored' (Hadow 1931:93).

The Hadow reports

• Established three distinct strands of education – primary, secondary and further

• Established Ministry of Education and appointed first Minister of Education, Ellen Wilkinson

• Control of school curriculum was given to governors and head teachers, but no guidance was given on the content of this curriculum

Education Act 1944

1951: Winston Churchill (Conservative) became Prime Minister

1964: Ministry of Education reorganised as the Department of Education and Science (DES)

1964: Harold Wilson (Labour) becamePrime Minister

1967: Children and their Primary Schools (The Plowden Report) was published

• First thorough review of primary curriculum since Haddow (1931)

• Published at a time of great change in education

• Promoted the idea that children should be at the centre of learning and teaching should take this into account

• ‘At the heart of the educational process lies the child’ (Plowden, 1967:I25)

1967 Plowden Report

1970: Ted Heath (Conservative) became Prime Minister

1975: Sex Discrimination Act passed

1979: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) became Prime Minister; LEA Arrangements for the School Curriculum published

1981: Keith Joseph appointed as education secretaryMarch’81: The School Curriculum publishedOctober’81: Circular 6/81 issued by DES

• The curriculum should be thought of in terms of ‘areas of learning and experience’

• Curriculum should include formal programme of lessons and also ‘informal’ aspects such as extra curricular activities

The Curriculum from 5 to 16 (1985 – guidance document )

• Curriculum should also include those features which produce a school’s ethos

• Most important education act since 1944• Took away power from LEAs and gave

them to the secretary of state • Provided a ‘basic curriculum’ to be taught

in all maintained schools – RE and the ‘National Curriculum’

Education Reform Act 1988

• Also established curriculum and assessment councils (NCC and SEAC)

• Defined key stages – KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4

• Three core (maths, English and science) and six foundation (history, geography, technology, music, art and PE)

• ‘Attainment Targets’ – knowledge, skills and understanding that children were expected to have by the end of each key stage

• ‘Programmes of study’ – content to be taught at each key stage

• Assessment arrangements set out for the end of each key stage

The National Curriculum 1989

1990: John Major (Conservative) became Prime Minister; Kenneth Clarke became new education secretary

1992: Education (Schools) Act – establishment of Ofsted. Chris Woodhead appointed to lead

1992: ‘Three Wise Men’ Report published

1994: The National Curriculum and its Assessment: Final Report’ published – first major review of the NC

May 1997: Tony Blair (Labour) became Prime Minister.

July’97: Excellence in Schools (white paper) published setting out new government’s policies

1999: ‘Improving literacy and numeracy: A fresh start’ report published, setting out the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies that were to be implemented into primary schools

2000: renewed framework of the National Curriculum was published

2001: ‘Schools- achieving success’ published setting out proposals for greater control for schools

2003: Excellence and Enjoyment – A strategy for primary schools published

2005: Ruth Kelly announced primary schools would be forced to teach reading by ‘synthetic phonics’

2007: The Children’s Plan published. Radical reform of curriculum and testing regimes were planned resulting in major reviews of the curriculum during this time:

2008/09: Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum (The Rose Review)2009: House of Commons committee report on the NC2009/10: Cambridge Primary Review

A new primary curriculum was proposed by Sir Jim Rose and due for implementation in September 2011

• Coalition government in power lead by Conservative leader David Cameron

• Renaming of education department to Department for Education (DfE) as it was in ‘92-’95

• Use of synthetic phonics to teach reading continued

• Proposed new curriculum (due Sept 2011) was abandoned

• The Importance of Teaching published

2010 and beyond

• To be taught in all maintained primary and secondary schools from Sept 2014

• Subjects to be taught: Core: English, mathematics, science Foundation: art and design, computing, design and technology, geography, history, languages (key stage 2 only), music, physical education

• Programmes of study set out expectations at the end of each Key Stage

• Schools will be ‘free to develop a curriculum relevant to their pupils that teaches this content’

National Curriculum 2014

What next?