Summary of the revised English curriculum for England, 2006
Primary
In September 2006, reforms of the way children are taught the three Rs in primary school came into force. There was a renewed emphasis on improving children's listening and speaking skills. Teachers were also expected to return to a back-to-basics method of teaching children to read, using synthetic phonics. The decision to focus the teaching of reading on synthetic phonics came after recommendations from Jim Rose.
The measures were produced in response to ministerial concerns that primary pupils' attainment in maths and English, having increased steadily since the introduction of the literacy hour in 1998 and a numeracy framework in 1999, had hit a plateau, still leaving more than 20% of children trailing.
The curriculum said that children should be able to write their name by the age of five, compose simple sentences using capital letters and full stops by six, and write compound sentences and use question marks and commas to separate items on a list by seven. By eight they should be able to use commas to mark clauses and use the possessive apostrophe.
Primary teachers will be expected to plan fewer lessons in advance and respond to pupils' progress instead, under the updated primary framework launched in October 2006. Teachers will map out topics to cover several weeks, but prepare only two lessons in advance. Once these are complete, teachers will be expected to review pupils' progress and plan the next two lessons in response to their understanding of the areas covered. The 1,600-page framework also recommends that elements of the curriculum are taught earlier. The measures, which were distributed to schools in October 2006, were accompanied by an investment of £230 million of professional support for primary headteachers and subject heads in schools.
Secondary
A government test in functional skills, aimed at proving school-leavers’ worth to future employers, for pupils when they start secondary school, was piloted from September 2007. The certificate shows employers that individuals have achieved the basic standards in literacy, numeracy and information technology in their first year at secondary school.
The functional skills test will sit alongside GCSEs. Ministers have said that no child should be able to progress towards an A* to C grade pass in maths and English without achieving basic functional skills. There will be a full national roll-out of the English and ICT tests in September 2009 and maths from 2010.
A review of the 11 – 14 curriculum was promised for 2007 (for more information visit http://www.qca.org.uk/). Jim Knight, the schools minister, said the government would take strong steps to ensure standards rose. Measures include providing almost £1bn extra for personalised learning to stretch the brightest, and help the less able, making phonics the prime approach to boosting reading at primary school, and improving the key stage three curriculum.
