The National Curriculum For Primary Education

It was in 1996 that the first UK curriculum was introduced which was called ‘Desirable Outcomes’. Within the document were learning outcomes to be achieved by all children by the age of five and being a centralised system, an inspection scheme was also introduced. In this article Soler and Miller (2010) highlight how these changes were perceived to be shaping the early childhood curriculum from the outside rather than from within the early childhood community.

This assignment is based upon my understanding of child development and children’s learning, considering the curriculum for the Early Years and the curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage One. I propose to outline a rationale for effectively continuing children’s learning, from the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage into Year One and include strategies to support transitions, effective curriculum delivery and links between the EYFS and the National Curriculum. Throughout the assignment I will refer not only in general but also to how my research has help me as a practitioner help my setting to effectively continue children’s learning.

State schools in England must teach a range of subjects according to targets set by the National Curriculum. This was established in 1989 to ensure the same standards of teaching and learning across the country.

Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum in England differs greatly in structure and content to the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand; this therefore makes for an interesting comparison. The EYFS was introduced in England, in 2008, by the DfE as a framework that ‘sets the standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five’ (DfE, 2012). Alternatively, Te Whariki was founded in New Zealand, in 1996, based on the aspirations for children ‘to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society’ (Ministry of Education, 1996). Throughout this essay, the EYFS

The Common Core Standards were developed in order to create a clear and consistent message of what students are expected to learn and know at the end of each grade level so educators and parents will know what they need to do in order to help them prepare to be career and/or college ready.

The government’s expectation for teachers to achieve outstanding has been slowly increasing and has been placing educators under more stress for their pupils to succeed. The delivering of the curriculum should be the most important aspect of a child’s school vocation as this provides them with the foundation of knowledge they will need to gain employment in the future. The expectation from the government on schools within the United Kingdom is to consistently be providing respectable exam results annually and this is how they are being judged by such departments as Ofsted. Should the teachers be continuing to stay within the guidelines of the curriculum? Or should more emphasis be put out there to question whither effective primary teaching is all about just delivering the curriculum to children or based on annual exam results that are collected each year to critic the educational setting. This essay will critically discuss what effective primary teaching is and cover if teaching and learning is really all about results rather than nurturing the child to be prepared for life.

Every child matters agenda and the childcare act 2006, it become an entitlement of all 3-4 year olds in England to receive a free part time early years education of up to 12.5 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. Early year’s provision in school is about supporting very young children it is distinct from key stage 1 in each country within the UK and is best on the concept of learning through play rather than more formal education Play has been show to be an important part for children learning. In Scotland the curriculum is focused around the document curriculum for excellent. This document concerns the curriculum for 3-4 years

In 2008 the new curriculum for the foundation stage in wales began its roll out. Its aim was to bring consistency and continuity to children’s education, thus transforming early year’s education in Wales. The principles on which the curriculum is based are that children should be provided with a good basis for future learning and the ability to apply their learning to everyday situations. Leighton Andrews, the former education minister, said in an article on the Welsh Government website that the curriculum was designed “to allow all children to flourish whatever their stage of development or learning ability” (Andrews, 2010). The Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7 Year olds in Wales (here forth known as ‘The Framework’) outlines 7 key areas of learning. These are ‘Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity’, ‘Language, literacy and communication skills’, ‘Mathematical development’, ‘Welsh language development’, ‘Knowledge and understanding of the world’, ‘Physical development’ and ‘Creative development’. The curriculum focuses on holistic learning, meaning that whilst there are 7 separate areas of learning, they are to be taught in a way which entwines them together allowing for children to develop skills such as everyday problem solving by understanding that mathematics is not merely a school subject but a skill which is used in everyday life.

The Curriculum for Excellence, introduced in 2014, aims to transform education in Scotland for ages 3-18. It intends to progress the standards of education and learning in the country by moving away from more traditional methods of teaching. This strategy, developed by the Scottish Government, recognises that learning is a lifelong process, beginning at birth, and therefore it is important to employ methods which prepare children from a young age for a life of work. In order to do so, the curriculum is based on seven key principles which are designed to provide young people with the knowledge and skills for life in the 21st century. This knowledge and skill is learnt through experiences and opportunities which are carefully planned for each age group, encouraging space for learning out with the standard school subject boundaries. The programme has four main outcomes prompting children to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. Once an individual has completed the education programme, reflections of the curriculum’s purpose can be assessed in the child or young person to see if they have met the proposed outcomes and therefore determining the overall success.

It is essential that educators create safe, welcoming environments that promote learning for all students in a classroom and to do this they must acknowledge issues of diversity and difference and know how to approach these issues. There are two key documents that guide educators in their planning and implementation of curriculum; The Australian Curriculum and The Early Years Learning Framework. Using these two documents to create learning programs, educators must enact an inclusive curriculum that empowers all students, regardless of differences. For educators to understand and address issues of diversity and differences such as socio-economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, language barriers and stereotypes around gender and sexuality, they must look at their own philosophy, values and beliefs around these issues.

The foundation subjects in the national curriculum comprise of history, geography, modern foreign languages, physical education (PE), religious education, art and design, citizenship, computing, design and technology and music (DFE 2013, p7).

The National Quality Standard includes standard 1.1 states that ‘An approved framework informs the development of a curriculum that enhances each child’s learning and development’. This is where the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is introduced. This framework is included in the National Quality Standard to help ensure the consistency in the delivery of learning programs within Australia. Within the EYLF is the Early Childhood curriculum framework which guides early childhood educators to develop quality early childhood education programs. This framework describes the principles, practice and learning outcomes which support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years old, and then their transition to school.

The Act was introduced with the purpose to handle education aspect in Britain (Parliament, No Date). The Parliament (No Date) further added on by stating the act permitted ‘voluntary schools to carry on unchanged, but established a system of ‘school boards’ to build and manage schools in areas where they were needed’. The Act contains three parts and five schedules that deal with organizational issues.

The workforce has developed rapidly over the years in relation to policy and statutory frameworks, with an emphasis upon the national curriculum in relation to literacy. The frameworks is influenced by political aspects by theoretical and political aspects. This has been reflected within practice as policy brings change and implications for practitioners and managers. Research has gone a long way to implement the revised national curriculum which was due to the concerns raised due to the fact as a country we are falling behind on the national league tables as we are in position 23 (DfEE, 2013), which is quite disappointing as English is our first language within Britain, and we have made no improvements within the last three years (DfEE, 2013).