| |
Home
News Centre
Popular
Questions
Publications
FoI
Publications Scheme
Research
Consultations
Our
Strategy
Speeches
Statistics
Inside
the Department
Cymraeg/Welsh
Links
Contact Us
Help
User guide
|
|
SCHOOLS MUST MAKE MOST OF COMPUTER KNOW-HOW OF PRIMARY YOUNGSTERS, ROSE CURRICULUM REPORT SAYS
08 December 2008- Summer-born babies benefit from starting early - - Play a crucial part of primary learning -- Smoother transition between primary and secondary needed -- Learning should combine subjects with cross-curricular study -Techno-savvy youngsters are developing their computer skills faster today, providing untapped potential to boost learning in primary schools.Schools need to move with the times and teach much secondary school Information Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge earlier at primary, said Sir Jim Rose in a major report published today.The report also says that summer-born children should start primary school the September after their fourth birthday and some children should start part-time.Children’s Secretary Ed Balls today welcomed these and other findings in the interim report of Sir Jim’s root and branch independent review of the primary curriculum. Sir Jim unveiled plans for a new curriculum that would mean a smoother transition between early years and primary and offer more opportunities for play and child-based activities, easing parents’ concerns about an abrupt change from play in early years to formal teaching in primaries. Mr Balls asked Sir Jim to lead the review so the Government could build on the last decade’s successes and create fresh momentum in raising standards. Sir Jim says schools should continue to make literacy and numeracy priorities but also develop speaking and listening skills and put greater focus on personal development. Provisional recommendations are made to smooth the transition between primary and secondary schools, reduce prescription and give teachers more flexibility within a richer curriculum. Provisional recommendations and findings include:The curriculum should include the best of subject-teaching and cross-curricular studies in six new areas of learning. This would dovetail with the new Early Years Foundation Stage framework and enable strong links to be forged with the new secondary curriculum; Children should get more opportunities to use and apply knowledge and skills across the curriculum, e.g. in mathematics, science and technology; Pupils’ progress from early years to primary to secondary should be maintained, including a better record of a child’s achievement when they begin secondary school;
Children should acquire a range of personal, social and emotional qualities essential to their health, well-being and life as a responsible citizen in the 21st century – getting the right skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes;
The value of play to children’s learning and development should be made explicit in any revisions to the primary curriculum; and
Building on Lord Dearing’s report recommending foreign languages be taught in primaries, schools should focus on teaching only one or two foreign languages at primary school and, where possible, the same language should be taught at secondary school. However there should still be opportunities for pupils to study the likes of Mandarin and Urdu.Sir Jim said: “The demands of society on primary schools have risen and continue to rise but if we are to establish a ‘world class’ high quality curriculum, we must face the reality of prescribing less so that teachers can better teach and children can better learn.“What some regard as the piggy-in-the-middle position of the primary years from age 5 to 11 presents a considerable challenge for curriculum design and choice of content. While primary education must build upon the EYFS and prepare children for education post-11, it is far more than either a post-script to the early years, or a prelude to secondary education.“Good primary teaching deepens and widens children’s understanding by firing their imagination and interest in learning. One highly promising route to meeting the demand for in-depth teaching and learning is undoubtedly emerging through ICT.“The primary curriculum needs to be forward-looking. Advances in technology and the internet revolution are driving a pace of change which we could not have imagined when the National Curriculum was introduced twenty years ago.“By definition, this interim report is work in progress. It identifies and seeks to clarify issues, examine options and set out directions for fulfilling the remit of the Review. The report takes into account what we know about how learning and standards are advanced in our leading edge schools through high quality teaching.”Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:“Despite a decade of improvement, record results and much good practise in schools, I want to create fresh momentum in our primary schools that will ensure that all children reach their potential, whatever their background. “Parents need a greater stake in children’s education and I want them to get the information they need to make informed choices, for example when deciding when their summer-born child starts school. “Sir Jim’s interim report gives us an insight into what changes we can make to improve the curriculum and move with the times. Parents of our generation probably don’t realise, for example, how fast children are picking up computer skills today. We need 21st century schools which make the most of the opportunities technology offers our computer-savvy youngsters.” Schools Minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said:“If children are to be well prepared for the challenges of life in a fast-changing world, the curriculum needs to be flexible, high quality and fit for purpose. We need to ensure noone is allowed to slip between the cracks. “Space needs to be created in the curriculum for children to learn the basics while schools are given the flexibility to provide them with the full bedrock of skills they need to progress in life. “Sir Jim is a highly respected expert in this field and his report is based on what he has seen works and doesn’t work and is full of good sense.”The Interim Report of The Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum found overwhelming support for the National Curriculum and much good practice in schools. The report recommends the curriculum should be reviewed periodically so it maintains its dynamism and fitness for purpose. However these reviews should be clearly sign-posted in advance so heads and teachers can have the stability to plan ahead and concentrate on teaching.
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1. The six new areas of learning proposed by Sir Jim Rose in his interim report are: Understanding English, communication and languages; Mathematical understanding; Scientific and technological understanding; Human, social and environmental understanding; Understanding physical health and well-being; Understanding the arts and design; 2. The final report of the Review is due in spring 2009. A statutory consultation on its recommendations then has to be undertaken by the QCA, followed by revised programmes of study and guidance. Implementation of a revised primary curriculum will begin from September 2011; 3. In drawing up his report, Sir Jim visited a number of schools and consulted a wide range of stakeholders, including teacher unions, professional bodies, specially convened groups of head teachers and teachers, inspectors and advisers, teacher trainers, researchers and subject specialists. He has also taken into account the view of parents and carers. 4. The wide-ranging report covers: curriculum design and content; reading, writing, numeracy and information communication technology (ICT); personal development; transition and progression (including issues around summer-born children); and introducing languages at Key Stage 2. 5. Evidence shows that children who start school aged four with their older peers do better than those who start later. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded there is “an education penalty” for August-born children who enter school the September after they turn five, as they tend to do less well than their autumn-born peers and are slightly less likely to go to university. Sir Jim recommends parents be given better information on the pros and cons of their child starting early so they can make an informed choice, including the option of starting early part-time.6. The interim report also recommends that the QCA should strengthen the personal development element of the curriculum by building a framework for the personal skills and attitudes that all children should develop throughout their schooling. This would come under the area of learning called “Understanding physical health and well-being” and make essential elements of PSHE (personal, social and health education) statutory. Ministers announced in October an independent review by Sir Alasdair Macdonald to investigate how to make PSHE statutory. Find out more about the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum and comment on the interim report through its website – http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/primarycurriculumreview/
Download a copy of the report from the Teachernet website - http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=BLNK-01010-2008&
Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2008/0277
|
|
|
|
