The national curriculum in primary schools education essay

The purpose of this assignment is to discourse the tendencies policy that took topographic point in primary instruction from 1988 and 1997. The assignment will get down with analyzing the principle behind the alterations introduced in those old ages. Then it will look at the alterations themselves. The last subdivision will speak about the advantages and disadvantages of those alterations. It should be mentioned from the beginning that I will non be adverting reforms related to secondary and higher instruction, even though they came at the same clip as the Primary schools.

The term educational proviso refers to the usage of the equipment or tools with the purpose of supplying cognition and accomplishments, and includes things such as such as, schoolroom, text edition, chairs, pens/pencils and many more for pupils. Educationis about the procedure of larning where cognition, accomplishments and information is transmitted. Yero ( 2002 ) believes that instruction is a process of bettering the pupils or students ‘ cognition, accomplishments and character. So instruction can assist to cut down inequality in society.

In the United Kingdom, this construct of extinguishing inequality was at the base of alterations in instruction policy. Prior to 1988, instruction in the United Kingdom was wholly different. The determination of the course of study contents was in the custodies of schools, with spiritual instruction being the lone topic which was compulsory. This means that students had different attainment degrees due to following different programmes. Education was ruled by the 1944 Education Act which handed the disposal of schools and the preparation ofschool policiesto local governments ; the lone exclusion being Section 1 where control and way of instruction were given to the Secretary of State. In fact, in the 1944 Education Act, the function of the Department of Education andSciencewas merely promotional and non one of giving way, which means they could non oversee local governments policies. This Act besides fixed the age of go forthing school at 15 and instituted free secondary instruction for all students.

However it was noticed that the criterion attained in basic accomplishments by the UK population was low and hapless compared to other European states, and this could non fulfill the state national economic demands ( Department of Education, 2011 ) . To work out the job raised by the falling criterion, the Conservative Government came with the 1988 Education Act, sometimes referred to as the Kennet Baker reform which instituted a standardization of all school programmes, and brought four chief alterations with a position to conveying back the degree ( Young, 2008 ) .

The first alteration was the debut of the National Curriculum, which defines four Key Stages, traveling from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4. In primary schools, two Key Stages, 1 and 2 were identified: Cardinal Stage 1 for Year 1 and 2 up to age 7 ; Key Stage 2 for Old ages 3 to 6, intending age 7 to age 11. Subsequently on, a Foundation Stage which concerns kids aged 3 up to reception twelvemonth was introduced.

The National Curriculum came with a new nomenclature related to two types of school topics, nucleus topics and Foundation topics. In Primary schools, that is Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, the course of study consists of the undermentioned topics: English, Maths, scientific discipline, information and communicating engineering ( ICT ) , history, geographics, art and design, music, design and engineering ( D & A ; T ) and Physical Education. This was supplemented by the literacy and numeracy reforms in the 1990s taught everyday to better kids standard in those accomplishments. Another alteration in the course of study was the debut foreign linguistic communications for kids aged 7. This course of study was subsequently reconsidered for betterment.

One advantage of National Curriculum is that all kids in England and Wales have the same instruction programmes, and this makes comparing of degrees easier and the transportation of kids from one school to another is made easy. Actually the national Curriculum contains all the subjects to be taught, in footings of cognition, accomplishments and outlooks at the terminal of each cardinal phase ; it besides determines how appraisal has to continue.

The 2nd alteration had to make with appraisal of students. Here national criterion trials such as SATs at age 11 ( Standard Assessment undertakings, and subsequently Standard Attainment Tasks ) were put in topographic point, non merely to measure whether they are up to the national criterion expected, but besides to set schemes in topographic point to guarantee betterment in those kids larning. This led to the National Curriculum Council ( NCC ) as an consultative service to the secretary of State in affairs related to the course of study, and the School Examinations and Assessment Council ( SEAC ) in charge of appraisals.

The 3rd alteration affected the disposal of schools. As mentioned above, prior to 1988, Education disposal was handled by local governments. In London, for illustration it was in the custodies of the Inner London Education Authority ( ILEA ) , which was created in 1965, while outer London schools were directed by county councils and borough councils. The Education Reform Act of 1988 gave power to schools to choose out of local authorization control and be funded by cardinal authorities, so that schools could pull off their ain fundss. The Local direction of Schools meant that the function of caput instructors included budget direction every bit good ( Powell and Edwards, 2003 ) . This was the beginning of Grant maintained schools, which were subsequently replaced by foundation schools. This led to the abolishment of the Local Education Authority.

The forth alteration concerned the creative activity of a conference tabular array where people could travel and compare the public presentation of different schools. It was hoped that such a tabular array would force schools to vie, and hence supply better instruction to kids.

InA 1993, another instruction actA came into topographic point. It aimed at increasing the figure of Grant Maintained Schools ; it replaced the NCC and SEAC with School Curriculum and Assessment Authority so that the course of study content could be controlled by the authorities ; more power was given to headteacher in their exclusion determinations of boisterous students ; alterations were introduced for students with particular educational demands ; and the constitution of referral units. An review organic structure called Ofsted came into being to inspect schools in LEAS. Finally the SCAA and NCVQ formed the QCA.

In 1997, the Labour Government introduced another reform. The Government introduced specialist schools such as Business, Sport schools so as to diversify instruction and the types of schools. So making parents could hold a assortment of picks to do for their kids. Failing schools were reopened under academies administered by churches or concerns. In disadvantaged countries, the Government created Education Action zone in order to assist better instruction criterion in those countries. Parents were given power and a voice to make up one’s mind on the pick of schools for their kids ; they were given power to be represented in the school regulating organic structure. Further, a system of exam conference tabular array was introduced where parents could easy descry schools that are making good, and those falling buttocks. Be it as it may, parents had theresponsibilityto guarantee that their kids attend schools. School support was linked to the figure of students a school had in its axial rotation. The deduction was that schools had to vie to better their public presentation so as to pull parents and their kids, and therefore good support every bit good. This is termed the market reform introduced by Conservative authoritiess in the 1980 ‘s and 1990s, where schools were seen as a service and the parents and kids as the clients. As a affair fact, instruction should supply “ valued signifiers of cognition ” and fit kids for life ( James and Pollard, 2012 )

In the 1997 White Paper, Excellence in Schools, the rights of parents to information were extended including directing them the kid advancement one-year study, their portion in the review procedure, one-year meeting, leting them to hold entree to the kid ‘s school record. Schools were farther obliged to print an one-year study about their direction and a prospectus. Teachers were besides given power to keep students

By so, making the authorities, say the Department of Education gained new power, because they are in charge of the school course of study, non the local governments any more, the types of trials to administrate to pupils, the types of makings to be awarded, the support to give to schools, the nomination of members of the National Curriculum Council to be after the course of study. The blessing of schools that want to choose out, the alteration of school position is given by the State Secretary, even though the engagement of parents should be sought for. He has the disposal of grants. The function of caput instructors besides changed as they became budget directors every bit good.

The inquiry 1 might inquire at this point is to cognize whether those reforms were successful. Two positions can be expressed here. On the one manus, the debut of the national Curriculum should be appreciated, because it helps to hold kids expected to hold the same cognition and accomplishments. The trials would assist schools to work hard to better their consequences, and research has revealed that more people are now traveling to university. The conference tabular array gives a better position to parents as to which school is making better, so do an informed pick of schools for their kids. On the other manus, it would look that proving is non good plenty to measure the public presentation of schools, and larning should non be limited to go throughing trials. With the conference tabular array, instruction has turned into fixing students to go through tests, and non a readying for life. The conference tabular array has besides been criticised as it ignores some countries such as Art and athletics. Further, the conference tabular arraies make some schools more popular than others, and this raises troubles for some parents to acquire a school of their pick for their kids.

Ball ( 2006 ) examined the constructs of markets in the context of instruction merely to happen that more demands to be discussed, and that such constructs as “ competition, supply and demand, manufacturer and consumer behavior, denationalization and commodification, values and moralss and distributional results ” should be references as there is a dearth of research in this field.

In Primary schools, instructors complained of the increased work load imposed by the National Curriculum, particularly at the terminal of Key Stage 2 with the readying of SATs, and this lead to Dearing Report which brought the burden down by 20 % ( Alexander, 2012 ) . The system of review besides came into fire by assorted instructors brotherhoods who find the Ofsted as a job, non a solution. Another job concerned the debut of foreign linguisticcommunicationlearning at age 7. This raised jobs in a state such as the United land where secondary schools teach assorted linguistic communications, French, German, Spanish. So a kid could larn one linguistic communication in primary school and have a different linguistic communication in secondary schools. This means there will be no continuity as noted by the Guardian ( 2012 ) . The construction of Key Stage 2 has besides been criticized as it takes four old ages which the Model for the National Curriculum found excessively long ( DE, 2011 ) .

To reason, it can be said that there have been one chief Education reform Act, the 1988, and many instruction Acts of the Apostless from 1988 to 1997. The alterations in educational policies in those reforms can be regrouped in three classs: alterations to make with centralization, as instruction moved from local governments to the authorities with the debut of the National Curriculum ; appraisal by results with the usage of national appraisal and the constitution of league-tables to compare the public presentation of different schools, and the quasi-market reform where schools are the makers and kids and their parents as consumers who have picks to do between different schools.

In primary schools, the reforms could be noticed with the debut of Key Stages 1 and 2, the national Curriculum with Maths, English and scientific discipline as nucleus topics, while others were considered as foundations and spiritual survey as statutory, the debut of SATs and the literacy and numeracy schemes.