This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/education-12227491

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Gove stresses 'facts' in school curriculum revamp Michael Gove stresses 'facts' in curriculum revamp
(about 2 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.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.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.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'. Labour and teaching unions accused him of trying to foist a vision of 1950s-style education onto schools.
Under the review, launched on Thursday, a panel of experts will examine what is taught in England's schools.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. Mr Gove has told them that English, maths, science and PE must remain compulsory for children of all ages - the current list also includes ICT.
The panel will then decide on whether other subjects should also be required study. The panel will then decide on whether other subjects should also be required study for different age groups.
There are currently five compulsory subjects at primary level, 13 for pupils aged 11-14 and seven for 14-16 year-olds. Currently schools must teach 13 compulsory subjects to children aged 5-7, rising to 14 for pupils aged 7-14 and then dropping to eight for 14-16 year-olds.
This includes Religious Education, which is a statutory requirement, although parents can choose to stop their children from attending classes.
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's 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.Speaking on the BBC's 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 prescriptive lists, I just think there should be facts," he said."I'm not going to be coming up with any prescriptive 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." "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."
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. In a statement, Mr Gove said the new national curriculum should "embody for all children in England their cultural and scientific inheritance, enhance their understanding of the world around them and introduce them to the best that has been thought and written".
He said it should be informed by the best international practice.
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. He said children were given a "cursory run" through Henry VIII and Hitler" at secondary school, and many gave up the subject at 14, without grasping a connected narrative.
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 The review panel has been named as:
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."
  • Tim Oates (chair) - director of assessment research and development at Cambridge Assessment
    •
  • Bernice McCabe - head of North London Collegiate and co-director of the Princes' Teaching Institute
    •
  • John McIntosh - retired head of the London Oratory School
    •
  • Sir Michael Wilshaw - head of Mossbourne Community Academy, Hackney, and director of education at ARK
    •
  • Professor Dylan Wiliam - formerly a deputy director at the Institute of Education and professor of educational assessment
    •
The teaching union the NASUWT said teachers "want another curriculum review like a hole in the head". The new curriculum in the core subjects of maths, English, science and PE will be introduced from September 2013, Mr Gove said, with other subjects brought in the following year.
"This is a pointless review when ministers have already determined that children should have a 1950s-style curriculum," said general secretary Chris Keates. RE teaching will remain a statutory requirement, and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education will be reviewed by the government separately.
"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. '1950s-style curriculum'
Head teachers are keen to have less laid down in the national curriculum. The NASUWT teaching union said teachers "want another curriculum review like a hole in the head".
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." General Secretary Chris Keates said the review was "pointless" as ministers had "already determined that children should have a 1950s-style curriculum".
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. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said heads were "hoping for a significant reduction in the depth and breadth of prescription".
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. He said they wanted a curriculum "that covers the basics while leaving room for creativity, culture and excitement".
"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." Brian Lightman, 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.
Andy Burnham MP, Labour's shadow education secretary, said Mr Gove was "stuck in the past, foisting his 1950s vision of education onto today's schools and students".
He said that alongside solid academic study, young people needed technical and social skills to succeed in the workplace and in life.
"Michael Gove is trying to tell us today that he is consulting with parents and teachers on what should be taught in schools. But with the English Baccalaureate and the likely downgrading of ICT and citizenship, schools know that he has already made up his mind," he said.