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Latest Blog Posts
- What curriculum do young people need? July 23, 2020
- School reopening? top scientists say not yet May 25, 2020
- Sending England back to work and back to school? May 11, 2020
- Too early to reopen schools : look at Europe April 30, 2020
- Ofsted : unreliable, destructive, beyond repair December 5, 2019
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Category Archives: Curriculum
What curriculum do young people need?
For the last 30 years, the school curriculum in England has been imposed on teachers top-down. Teachers were not regarded as knowledgeable and were simply expected to “deliver” what politicians decided. The current version, launched by Michael Gove in … Continue reading
Posted in Curriculum, Teachers
Tagged Curriculum, National Curriculum, politicians, Teachers
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Creative arts – a class issue
Michael Gove’s destruction of the creative and performing arts is an indelible stain on this Government’s record. Rich experiences in art, music, drama and media should be the entitlement of all young people. Creative subjects and activities provide an emotional … Continue reading
SATs tests are still a shocking failure
Despite intensive test preparation and enormous stress for children and teachers, Key Stage 2 SATs tests for 2018 are a disaster once again. Figures published today show that only 64% of children passed Reading, Writing and Maths. That means 1 … Continue reading
Posted in Curriculum, Uncategorized
Tagged accountability pressures, disadvantage, testing
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Challenging the tyranny of the Phonics Check
It is hard to compete with Margaret Clark’s tenacity in challenging the deeply flawed Phonics Screening Check along with schools minister Nick Gibb’s dogmatic support of Synthetic Phonics. After editing two books in a single year, she has just completed a … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Curriculum, Uncategorized
Tagged phonics, phonics check, politicians
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Knowledge, skills and ‘dead white males’
Comment by Terry Wrigley, Northumbria University In a recent debate Mary Bousted, joint General Secretary of the NEU, has made a bold challenge to the assumptions behind the current National Curriculum. She argued against its backwardness, narrow nationalism, and neglect … Continue reading
Protecting children from primary school tests
The damage caused by primary school testing to children’s education and wellbeing is now very clear. Among other effects, it has helped to create a crisis in children’s mental health. As we know, large numbers of children are now suffering … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Curriculum, Uncategorized
Tagged assessment alternatives, politicians, testing
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Will anything but a boycott stop the tests?
The Reclaiming Schools network has played a significant role in exposing the damage caused by high-stakes testing, including our pamphlet ‘The Mismeasurement of Learning‘, widely circulated in the NUT and elsewhere, various series of blogposts carrying detailed analysis from specialist … Continue reading
A lesson from Sergeant Pepper
A comment on creativity and the curriculum by Dr Pam Jarvis, Reader in Childhood, Youth and Education, Leeds Trinity University A few nights ago whilst nodding on the sofa, I was abruptly awoken by the BBC documentary Sgt Pepper’s Musical … Continue reading
Posted in Curriculum
Tagged accountability pressures, creativity, Curriculum, National Curriculum
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The crisis in secondary schools: where is it leading?
All kinds of schools in England are facing damaging budget cuts. Large meetings are being held all over the country where parents and teachers together are showing their opposition to Government cuts. Every concerned teacher or parent should join the … Continue reading
Harold Rosen: an inspiration for teachers today
announcing an inspiring new book Harold Rosen: Writings on life, language and learning 1958-2008 Harold Rosen was one of the great reformers of English teaching. His work has just been republished, providing a challenge to the deadening practices of the National Curriculum – its obsession … Continue reading
Posted in Curriculum
Tagged comprehensive schools, disadvantage, English teaching, language, National Curriculum, spoken language
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