Teach Primary 18.8

www.teachwire.net | 13 Sunday league? Inevitably, a few years later, another Conservative education secretary, Shepherd (Gillian, not Cybill) fancied getting in on the act and asked Ron Dearing to slim down the original voluminous iteration. He sounds like he should be a manager of a second division football club, but Sir Ron was a shrewd chap who duly had a go at herding the subject specialist cats. The KS2 curriculum in its entirety could now be successfully taught just before the Year 6 children celebrated their 21st birthdays. Nice one, Ron! Some three years later, Labour minister David Blunkett disapplied the statutory Programmes of Study for foundation subjects to focus more on English, mathematics and science. National Curriculum 3 – Judgement Day did poorly at the staff room box office though. A lengthy seven years after that, Ed Balls was education secretary – a role he B race yourselves! The national curriculum is being reviewed. Again. Since its introduction in 1988, there have been many reviews of the national curriculum as governments came and went and sought to put their own stamp on things. Or, as I prefer to put it, meddle. The original was introduced by Baker (Kenneth not Ted, though Ted might have made a better fist of it). Each primary teacher in England was presented with nearly a dozen ring files, taking up about a metre of shelf space in every classroom, and containing specifications for every subject they had to teach. Requirements for each subject were devised by a committee of specialists in that field. Which was great, but they didn’t really talk to all the other subject specialists; and also didn’t take account of the absurd restriction of only twenty-four hours in a day in which to teach this stuff. took in preparation for his memorable salsa to Gangnam Style on Strictly. Balls tasked Jim Rose, a delightful chap I had the pleasure of welcoming to my school, with another review. Rose recommended replacing single subjects with broader (and more primary friendly) ‘areas of learning’. At the same time, Professor Robin Alexander launched his own independent Cambridge Review. Yes – two reviews at once! This was a sort of ‘Yah! Boo! Sucks!’ from one academic to another. I took part in some information gathering for the Cambridge Review and felt both Alexander and Rose were aiming to take primary education in a promising direction. Doorstops Alas, a little global banking crisis intervened. Balls and Labour were turfed out and Rose’s proposed reforms were ditched by incoming Education Secretary, Michael Gove. He asked Oates (Tim, not Porridge) to have a stab at a review. I was at university with Tim – a clever chap, but his review was a bit meh; at the launch of it he seemed most fixated with children having exercise books that were thick and full. (Gove also liked thick books, which was why he sent every school a massive, fake-leather-bound King James Bible, which weighed more than the average reception child and came in handy for illegally holding open fire doors to aid ventilation during Covid.) Round again This current review, led by Professor Francis, aims to revive music, art, sport and drama, as well as including environmental education, global history, critical thinking and ethical issues, while also retaining the primacy of STEM subjects. So that’s the morning teaching taken care of. Perhaps, and this is just a shot in the dark, primary teachers are regularly given an impossible task? Literacy, numeracy, science, computing, creativity and some sport is plenty. Or maybe even allow schools local autonomy to modify the curriculum according to the actual needs of their children. This review will come and go like all the others, but whatever happens, I’m sure we’ll all enjoy Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s tango to Abba’s Voulez Vous on Strictly in the near future. TP Kevin Harcombe is former headteacher of Redlands Primary, Fareham. Kevin Harcombe thinks he’s seenmore than his fair share of these curriculum revisions Kevin Harcombe Oh look! It’s another review... VO I C E S