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Gove stresses 'facts' in school curriculum revamp | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Education Secretary Michael Gove has said he wants more "facts" in England's national curriculum, as he launches a review of what children are taught. | |
Mr Gove told the BBC there was currently too much focus on teaching methods and not enough on content. | |
The review may opt for fewer compulsory subjects, with ministers specifying only four that must be studied. | |
One union said teachers needed another curriculum review 'like a hole in the head'. | |
Under the review, launched on Thursday, a panel of experts will examine what is taught in England's schools. | |
Mr Gove has told them that English, maths, science and PE must remain compulsory for children of all ages. | |
The panel will then decide on whether other subjects should also be required study. | |
There are currently five compulsory subjects at primary level, 13 for pupils aged 11-14 and seven for 14-16 year-olds. | |
Mr Gove also wants to set out the "essential knowledge" children should have - including a "connected narrative" of British history. | Mr Gove also wants to set out the "essential knowledge" children should have - including a "connected narrative" of British history. |
'Tragedy' | 'Tragedy' |
The new government believes the current national curriculum is over-prescriptive, includes material that is not essential, and specifies teaching methods rather than content. | The new government believes the current national curriculum is over-prescriptive, includes material that is not essential, and specifies teaching methods rather than content. |
It says there should be more emphasis on what facts are taught, arguing that there should be a core knowledge that pupils should have to take their place as "educated members of society". | It says there should be more emphasis on what facts are taught, arguing that there should be a core knowledge that pupils should have to take their place as "educated members of society". |
Speaking on the BBC Today programme, Mr Gove said it would be for the panel leading the review to determine what content should be specified in the new curriculum. | |
"I'm not going to be coming up with any presciptive lists, I just think there should be facts," he said. | |
"One of the problems that we have at the moment is that in the history curriculum we only have two names [of historical figures], in the geography curriculum the only country we mention is the UK - we don't mention a single other country, continent, river or city - we do mention the EU, however." | |
The government will give more details about the shake-up of the curriculum later when Mr Gove visits a school in west London with members the panel, which includes head teachers. | |
At the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Gove said it was a "tragedy of our time" that children were growing up ignorant of the history of the United Kingdom. | At the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Gove said it was a "tragedy of our time" that children were growing up ignorant of the history of the United Kingdom. |
"Children are given a mix of topics at primary, a cursory run through Henry VIII and Hitler at secondary and many give up the subject at 14, without knowing how the vivid episodes of our past became a connected narrative," he said. | "Children are given a mix of topics at primary, a cursory run through Henry VIII and Hitler at secondary and many give up the subject at 14, without knowing how the vivid episodes of our past became a connected narrative," he said. |
Mr Gove has already asked the historian Simon Schama to advise on how British history could be "put at the heart of a revised national curriculum". | Mr Gove has already asked the historian Simon Schama to advise on how British history could be "put at the heart of a revised national curriculum". |
He hopes top British authors and poets will contribute to the debate about which books and poetry should be studied. | He hopes top British authors and poets will contribute to the debate about which books and poetry should be studied. |
Public school curriculum | Public school curriculum |
Mr Gove is expected to say: "The coalition will restore academic rigour to the curriculum to ensure that our pupils can compete with the world's best." | Mr Gove is expected to say: "The coalition will restore academic rigour to the curriculum to ensure that our pupils can compete with the world's best." |
The teaching union the NASUWT said teachers "want another curriculum review like a hole in the head". | |
"This is a pointless review when ministers have already determined that children should have a 1950s-style curriculum," said general secretary Chris Keates. | |
"Last week the coalition government dismissed a whole raft of current core subjects as unimportant. A review is unlikely to change this prejudiced and elitist view," she said. | |
Head teachers are keen to have less laid down in the national curriculum. | Head teachers are keen to have less laid down in the national curriculum. |
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (which represents most primary school heads), said: "Heads are hoping for a significant reduction in the depth and breadth of prescription: a curriculum that covers the basics while leaving room for creativity, culture and excitement, enabling each school to design an offer that suits their children." | Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (which represents most primary school heads), said: "Heads are hoping for a significant reduction in the depth and breadth of prescription: a curriculum that covers the basics while leaving room for creativity, culture and excitement, enabling each school to design an offer that suits their children." |
Brian Lightman, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was important that the government looked at the whole curriculum in a "holistic way" and recognised that it was not just about the transfer of knowledge but about the skills and range of experiences children received in school. | Brian Lightman, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was important that the government looked at the whole curriculum in a "holistic way" and recognised that it was not just about the transfer of knowledge but about the skills and range of experiences children received in school. |
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "Ministers' desire to return to the public school curriculum they were taught over 25 years ago is not in the best interests of today's young people. | Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "Ministers' desire to return to the public school curriculum they were taught over 25 years ago is not in the best interests of today's young people. |
"Teachers should be allowed to decide the specifics of what is taught, in partnership with employers and the local community, within a broad and balanced centrally agreed framework curriculum." | "Teachers should be allowed to decide the specifics of what is taught, in partnership with employers and the local community, within a broad and balanced centrally agreed framework curriculum." |