Review of the National Curriculum under way
Lauren Higgs
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Children, Schools and Families Select Committee has started a review into the National Curriculum.
Organisations including Ofsted, The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), The National Union of Teachers (NUT), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and Unicef have all submitted written evidence to the committee.
Stakeholders were asked to consider whether or not there should be a National Curriculum, how the current National Curriculum should be improved and how the management of the National Curriculum should work.
ATL said it supported the principle of having a National Curriculum, but the current system was in need of urgent review and change. The union recommended the introduction of a more flexible system, to allow for adaptation to local needs.
The NAHT also called for more flexibility in its proposals, while the NUT referred to the current curriculum as “overloaded”.
Selected organisations will now be invited to take part in oral evidence sessions that will run until late October 2008, the first of which will take place on Wednesday 4 June.
Representatives from the think-tank Civitas and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority will be among the first to contribute their views.
