CONSULTATION
RESPONSE
Department for Education
Comments on the proposals by the Expert Panel for the
National Curriculum review in the report, The Framework for
the National Curriculum.
March 2012
GENERAL COMMENTS
1. The NASUWT welcomes the opportunity to submit views to the
Department for Education (DfE) on the proposals made by the Expert
Panel for the National Curriculum review in their report The Framework for
the National Curriculum.
2. This response reflects the views and experiences of NASUWT teacher
and school leader members. The views were gathered through a variety of
means, including consultation and focus group meetings to consider the
reforms and through discussions with members of NASUWT Advisory
groups. The response also sets out established NASUWT policy positions.
3. Teachers and school leaders are concerned that the review of the National
Curriculum is not being conducted in an open and transparent way. In part,
this appears to be caused by the very short timescale for both undertaking
the review and implementing the reforms. Reforms to the Programmes of
Study should not have started until the National Curriculum aims,
purposes and goals had been agreed. Also, whilst a number of teachers,
school leaders and other stakeholders have been invited to comment on
the proposals made by the Expert Panel, they are only being asked to
comment on specific aspects of the proposals. Most significantly, they are
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being invited to make comments on proposals for future reform of the
National Curriculum without having sight of work that has already been
undertaken to develop Programmes of Study and Attainment Targets.
Teachers and school leaders are especially concerned that the drafts of
Programmes of Study and Attainment Targets are not being shared. If the
review is to lead to the creation of a National Curriculum that is relevant to
all schools and that genuinely serves as a high-quality benchmark, then
the timescale for undertaking the review needs to be extended and
teachers and school leaders need to be more actively engaged in the
consultation process.
SPECIFIC COMMENTS
Aims and purposes of the curriculum
4. The National Curriculum must build from a clear set of aims and values,
and the purpose of the National Curriculum should be clear. Therefore, the
NASUWT welcomes the Expert Panel’s recommendation that curriculum
aims should be expressed as system wide educational aspirations for
school curricula, as more particular purposes for schools and their
curricula, and as goals in Programmes of Study.
5. Teachers, school leaders, children and young people, parents/carers,
employers, higher education providers and other key stakeholders should
be engaged in discussions about the aims and purpose of education
before the system wide aspirations for school curricula are finalised.
6. The NASUWT agrees with the Expert Panel’s recommendation that the
overarching aim for the school curriculum should reflect existing
legislation. The legislation says that the curriculum should be broad and
balanced and that this means that the curriculum should promote the
spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the
school and of society. It also says that the curriculum should prepare
pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
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7. The National Curriculum should set goals and purposes for school
curricula, but it should also be clear that schools need to respond to their
different contexts. Therefore, the NASUWT welcomes the Expert Panel’s
recommendation that schools should adopt specific interpretations of
these aims to reflect the age range of their pupils and the communities that
they serve.
8. The goals and purposes for school curricula are necessary because they
provide a framework for schools to make decisions about how they teach.
Importantly, they highlight the need to develop the whole child and serve
as a reminder that the school curriculum needs to prepare children for life
beyond school. They also provide a means for evaluating how effectively a
school’s curriculum is doing these things.
9. The NASUWT agrees that schools should develop pupils’ knowledge,
understanding, skills and attitudes to satisfy economic, cultural, social,
personal and environmental goals and welcomes the framework
recommended by the Expert Panel. However, the wording of some of the
aims associated with the five goals needs amending.
10. Firstly, whilst the fifth aim makes reference to the global aspects of
sustainability, the global dimension should be a feature of all five aims. For
example, focusing on the economic aim, globalisation means that many
employers operate across the world and employees may work closely with
colleagues in different countries and/or be appointed to positions
overseas. Pupils will need to develop the personal skills, knowledge and
understanding to both respect and work with people from different
backgrounds and cultures. They will also need to be flexible and able to
adapt to different social, cultural and working environments.
11. The wording of the second aim needs to be amended so that it is clear that
the curriculum should provide opportunities and experiences that enable
pupils to understand and value their own culture, traditions and values and
those of others within the UK and globally. The aim also needs to make it
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clear that the curriculum should provide opportunities and experiences that
equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding to challenge
discrimination and injustice, and act in ways that promote equality and
help to build peaceful, cooperative and socially cohesive communities.
12. The wording of the third aim needs to be amended to include reference to
the acquisition and development of skills as well as knowledge. The aim
might also include reference to having the highest expectations of every
child and to providing opportunities and experiences that enable each
pupil to achieve.
13. The wording of the fourth aim needs to be amended to remove reference
to ‘fulfil their educational potential’ as this runs counter to the model of
progression recommended by the Expert Panel and suggests that
potential is fixed. More appropriate wording might be: ‘Support personal
development and empower children and young people, enabling them to
be self-confident and make choices that will help them to live happy,
healthy and successful lives’.
14. If the aims, values and purposes of the National Curriculum are to have
genuine meaning then the Programmes of Study and related Attainment
Targets should build from these aims, values and purposes. The Expert
Panel’s recommendation that each Programme of Study should include
goals that reflect the system-wide aims and the purposes for school
curricula provide the framework for achieving this coherence. However,
the goals will not inform and influence the development of the
Programmes of Study if they are added once the Programmes of Study
have been drafted.
Breadth and balance
15. The National Curriculum should set an entitlement for every pupil to
receive a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. Teachers and school
leaders welcome the Expert Panel’s attempt to preserve a broad and
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balanced curriculum. They argue that a broad and balanced National
Curriculum should provide opportunities for practical and vocational
learning that are appropriate to children’s needs. They also believe that
the National Curriculum should cover the development of skills and
dispositions such as social and emotional skills, critical, creative and
independent thinking and problem solving skills.
16. Teachers and school leaders reject the view that breadth and balance can
be achieved solely through the study of academic subjects, most notably
subjects that form part of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). A broad and
balanced curriculum must, as legislation requires and the proposed aims,
goals and purposes suggest, recognise the importance of personal skills
and of developing the whole child.
17. The report of the independent review of cultural education, Cultural
Education in England,1 emphasises the importance of interpreting breadth
and balance in a way that recognises analytical and critical thinking and
their relevance across subjects. The report also highlights the role of
cultural education in developing both group and individual skills and says
that these skills should be included in the timetable. The NASUWT
welcomes the Secretary of State’s commitment to build on the
recommendations of the Henley Review and believes that they should be
reflected through reforms to the National Curriculum.
18. Children of all abilities benefit from having access to a wide range of
learning experiences, including practical and vocational learning. The
National Curriculum and, in particular, the school accountability system
must not discourage schools from providing this breadth. It should be
noted that the current young apprentice of the year took a social care
apprenticeship alongside GCSEs in order to develop skills and gain
experiences that will help her to pursue a career in medicine. She is now
studying for A Levels. Teachers can provide many other examples to
1
DfE and DCMS (2012), Cultural Education in England: an independent report by Darren
Henley for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education.
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illustrate how practical and vocational courses can help academically able
pupils to develop skills and confidence that help them to prepare for higher
education and/or employment.
19. The NASUWT would reject any proposal that pupils who struggle to
master key concepts in the core subjects should focus on those core
subjects at the expense of other subjects. It is very important that pupils
are given appropriate support to enable them to understand and apply
what they have learned. However, it is equally important that pupils who
struggle with ‘the basics’ have the same entitlement as their peers to a
broad and balanced curriculum. If they do not receive this entitlement they
are likely fall behind their peers in these other subjects and miss out on
gaining key experiences and developing skills that will prepare them for
the future. Further, other subjects, including practical curriculum areas play
a critical role in enabling some children to engage in learning and develop
the confidence to tackle things that they find difficult, including literacy,
English, numeracy and maths. It is crucial that National Curriculum
reforms do not undermine teachers’ ability to provide high-quality, rich and
engaging learning experiences that enable all pupils to achieve. The
reforms must also enable the achievements of every pupil to be
recognised and valued.
20. Pupils who do less well than their peers are more likely to come from
backgrounds where they do not have access to high-quality support and
learning experiences outside of school. It is vital that the every child has
the opportunity to participate, for example, in cultural activities and events.
Such experiences can help to build pupil’s confidence, develop their sense
of responsibility and encourage a love of learning. The National Curriculum
should set a clear expectation that the school curriculum will provide these
opportunities and experiences. The proposed aims, purposes and goals
will help to ensure that breadth and balance are interpreted in this way.
21. Some schools use small practical and vocational qualifications to build
courses that are tailored to the very specific needs of individual pupils,
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particularly pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Such courses may play a critical role in engaging pupils in learning and
supporting them to develop life and employment skills. The fact that such
qualifications will not be recognised in school performance tables sends a
very strong message to those pupils that their achievements are not
valued. The policy also means that schools will not gain recognition for the
work that they do to support and develop such pupils. The policy may
undermine pupils’ confidence and sense of self worth and, in a system of
high stakes accountability, will discourage schools from offering such
courses. The government should revise its policies so that the
achievements of all children are both valued and recognised.
Attainment Targets and model of progression
22. It is not possible to offer detailed comments on the proposed changes to
Attainment Targets without having information about the rationale that
underpins the design of the Attainment Targets and seeing examples of
the draft Attainment Targets.
23. It is absolutely essential that reform of the National Curriculum starts with
the curriculum and that reform of assessment supports and follows from
these reforms. However, there is a real danger that the high-stakes
accountability system will mean that greater attention is paid to
progression and attainment, and that decisions about the model of
progression and Attainment Targets will drive decisions about the
curriculum. This highlights the need for clear aims, purposes and goals for
the National Curriculum and for decisions about the content of
Programmes of Study and Attainment Targets to build from these aims,
purposes and goals.
24. Whilst the model of progression being proposed by the Expert Panel has
some appeal, most notably the notion of having the highest expectations
of every child, teachers and school leaders regard the model to be
problematic. They believe that the model could be interpreted in a way that
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sees pupils as a homogenous group, where all pupils are expected to
achieve the same results. The high stakes accountability system increases
the risk that the model will be interpreted in this way. Teachers and school
leaders are extremely concerned that this would have adverse impact on
the quality of education at system level and that it would also have a
devastating impact on the lives of significant numbers of pupils, teachers
and school leaders.
25. The Expert Panel’s failure to consider fully the implications for pupils with
SEN adds to teachers and school leaders’ concerns. They are particularly
worried that the model could encourage an interpretation of SEN that is
narrow, inflexible and does not recognise individual pupils’ needs.
26. During the course of the consultation events, Tim Oates was asked how
the model of progression proposed by the Expert Panel might address the
issue of pupils with SEN. He used the education system in Singapore to
explain how this might operate. He said that in Singapore pupils are
channelled into three routes when they enter secondary school – an
accelerated route, the route followed by most learners and a route for
children who struggle to keep up. Whilst the NASUWT might question the
accuracy of this interpretation of the education system in Singapore, the
example is extremely important because it indicates that differentiation is
operating through structures rather than through the tasks given to pupils.
This raises fundamental issues about how schools are organised; about
the role of the teacher and the nature of their professional responsibilities;
and about the extent to which the diversity of individual pupil’s abilities and
needs are recognised at system level, at school level and in the
classroom. Teachers and school leaders say that teachers must have the
professional autonomy to differentiate on the basis of tasks that they give
to pupils. They would reject a model of progression that differentiates
primarily through structures. They also stress the need for a thorough
discussion about the principles that should underpin the approach to
progression
before
decisions
about
models
assessment are made.
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of
progression
and
27. Teachers and school leaders are especially concerned that SEN is being
treated as an ‘add-on’ rather than an integral part of the National
Curriculum design process. This appears to reflect an approach that treats
most children as the same and highlights the failure to understand what is
meant by an equality impact assessment. Assessing the equality impact of
proposed
policies
should
mean
that
evidence
about
the
likely
consequences for different groups of pupils, including pupils with SEN, is
collected at the start of the process. It should mean that such evidence
informs and influences all stages of the reform process, from initial
planning and decision-making through to implementation.
28. Whilst teachers and school leaders welcome the Expert Panel’s
recommendation that there is a need to consider the implications of the
proposals for pupils with SEN, the Expert Panel should have been given
an explicit remit to identify the needs of different groups of pupils, including
pupils with SEN, and to propose a National Curriculum framework that
addresses these needs. They should also have been given access to the
resources and expertise to enable them to undertake this work.
29. It is critical to recognise that children who struggle in some areas of
learning may have substantial abilities and talents in other areas. The
National Curriculum must establish a model of progression that both
reflects how children learn and recognises that learners come from diverse
backgrounds and have different needs, abilities and aspirations.
30. Decisions about how pupils will learn best and about how teachers should
teach must rest with teachers. The National Curriculum should provide a
framework that enables teachers to have a substantial say in how they
approach teaching and learning.
31. The Expert Panel reject level descriptors because they encourage
differentiation and focus on pace at the expense of understanding.
Teachers and school leaders share these concerns but believe that the
high-stakes accountability system is primarily responsible for these
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problems rather than the descriptors themselves. However, teachers and
school leaders acknowledge that there are problems with interpreting
levels. For example a level 5 at KS2 is not the same as a level 5 at KS3
and a level 3 at KS1 is not the same as a level 3 at KS2. Also, parents and
others experience difficulties in understanding what is meant by a level.
These are issues that need to be addressed. But this does not necessarily
mean that level descriptors should be replaced by Attainment Targets
focused on outcomes. The NASUWT believes that it would be most
appropriate for the DfE to engage teachers and school leaders in work to
examine the strengths and weaknesses of the existing model and develop
an appropriate model of assessment.
32. The Expert Panel suggest that Attainment Targets based on outcomes of
learning will encourage a focus on depth and understanding. However,
high-stakes accountability and the pressure on schools to demonstrate
progress may well mean that this model is distorted from its original intent.
Questions must be raised about how the model would translate into
practice, and its implications for a pupil’s entire learning experience.
33. In the course of discussions at the curriculum review events, it was
suggested that splitting KS2 into upper and lower KS2 would increase
pace and ambition. These comments related to the core National
Curriculum subjects. Teachers and school leaders argue that high stakes
accountability means that schools will need to demonstrate progress in the
core subjects and that this could mean that they could come under
extreme pressure to both narrow the curriculum and progress pupils
before they have understood key concepts.
34. Introducing a new model of progression has massive resource and training
implications. Schools are already experiencing significant cuts to budgets
and many local services that supported schools have been cut or closed. It
is difficult to see where additional resources to provide catch up support to
pupils who are struggling will come from. It is both unrealistic and
unacceptable to expect teachers to take on the task as teachers are
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already experiencing significant workload burdens. Teachers and school
leaders have a very clear message for the Government: a tired teacher is
not a good teacher. They also say that the curriculum reforms must be
accompanied by reforms that support and develop teacher quality by
addressing excessive workload and ensuring that all teachers have both
the time and an entitlement to access high-quality CPD and support.
35. Teachers and school leaders are extremely concerned that the model of
progression
that
is
being
proposed,
combined
with
high-stakes
accountability, will result in pupils becoming disengaged from learning.
They believe that this will also likely to encourage some unscrupulous
schools to adopt strategies to exclude or not admit pupils who are likely to
struggle or who have challenging or complex needs. Feedback from
teachers and school leaders indicates that competition between schools
has led to an increase in such practice. For example, at open evenings for
prospective parents, school staff may tell a parent that the school down
the road will better cater for their child’s needs. This places great pressure
on other schools that are committed to inclusion and operating fair and
transparent admissions practice.
Key stage structure, organisation of Programmes of Study, and
curriculum content for English, maths and science
36. In principle, teachers and school leaders do not oppose plans to introduce
a lower and upper Key Stage 2. Many primary schools already organise
KS2 in this way. However, formally introducing a lower and upper KS2
raises questions about whether the end of lower KS2 will be assessed
formally. Teachers and school leaders are extremely concerned that the
reforms could lead to the introduction of high-stakes assessment at the
end of year 4. The NASUWT would oppose the introduction of any formal
test at the end of year 4 as this would mean that pupils will be subject to
even more tests. It would also have massive implications for teachers’
workload. Teachers and school leaders have a very clear message for the
Government: pupils and teachers do not need more tests! The focus
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should be on providing a high quality, enriching and relevant curriculum
that inspires and engages pupils and enables them to achieve.
37. Teachers and school leaders emphasise the need to ensure that a new
model of assessment must be clear, transparent and simple to implement.
38. Teachers and school leaders reject proposals to introduce a year-on-year
curriculum for maths at primary level. They argue that teachers must have
the flexibility to enable them to teach mathematical ideas over time and in
different contexts. They stress the importance of helping pupils to
recognise the relationships between areas of maths and the value of
adopting cross-curricula approaches to maths. These views reflect the
positions outlined by others including the Advisory Committee for
Mathematics Education (ACME)2 and the Association of Teachers of
Mathematics (ATM) 3 in their responses to the National Curriculum review
call for evidence.
39. Teachers and school leaders expressed concerns that a year-on-year
curriculum would lead to even more testing, with pupils being formally
assessed each year. They would reject any plans to introduce more tests
and say that this would have an adverse impact on both pupils and
teachers and on the quality of teaching and learning.
40. Teachers and school leaders stress the need for high-quality training, CPD
and support so that teachers in primary schools can update and extend
their knowledge and skills in teaching maths. The recent Ofsted report on
good practice in maths teaching in primary schools supports these views
and highlights the value of using cross-curricular themes in other subjects
to develop maths skills.4 Also some schools, including University Technical
Colleges (UTCs), adopt project approaches to teaching. This provides a
2
Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (2011), National Curriculum Review 2011.
3
ATM (2011), National Curriculum Review.
Ofsted (November 2011), Good Practice in Primary Mathematics: evidence from 20
successful primary schools.
4
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means for teachers to both provide support to and receive support from
other teachers, including subject experts. The NASUWT believes that the
Government must pay particular attention to establishing both the support
frameworks and working environments that will enable teachers to share
and receive support. The frameworks that are developed must suit schools
operating in different contexts. There is a particular need to address the
needs of small and rural schools.
41. Although the Expert Panel suggests ways for achieving greater curriculum
breadth at KS4, there is a danger that the proposal to increase the length
of KS4 from two to three years will not lead to a broader curriculum at
KS4. A number of schools have used the end of KS3 SATs to introduce a
three year KS4 rather than provide greater breadth at KS3. There is little
evidence that schools are using this extra year to provide a broader and
richer curriculum up to the age of sixteen. The high-stakes nature of GCSE
qualifications means that many schools are using the extra year to give
pupils more time to study for GCSEs. Schools may pay little attention to
subjects and the development of skills and dispositions that do not lead to,
or do not form part of, GCSE qualifications. Therefore, pupils who do not
opt to study arts subjects at GCSE may have access to a limited and
impoverished curriculum in this area.
42. The Expert Panel asks whether all courses should lead to a qualification or
whether some courses might be non-accredited. Teachers and school
leaders stress the need for the DfE to engage children and young people
as well as teachers and school leaders in discussion about this issue.
However, teachers and school leaders participating in NASUWT-led
discussions expressed concern that pupils will not value non-accredited
courses and may resent having to study something which leads ‘to
nothing’.
43. The Expert Panel recommend that there should be more detailed
Programmes of Study and Attainment Targets for English, maths and
science but that Programmes of Study for other National Curriculum
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subjects should be very brief with few or no Attainment Targets. Whilst this
provides a means of reducing prescription, something that teachers and
school leaders welcome, it also means that some subjects, notably the
core subjects, could be seen as more important than other subjects. In the
context of a high-stake accountability system that concentrates on
measuring performance in the core subjects, there is a very real danger
that schools will pay much less attention to other subjects. This may mean
that some schools will not employ subject specialists for some subjects. It
could mean that teachers who teach other subjects experience problems
in accessing CPD and have fewer opportunities for career development
and promotion. This has profound implications for the quality of teaching in
those subjects and so for learning outcomes. It also has consequences for
the skills and expertise available within the profession, for teacher training
and retraining, and it raises significant issues about equality of opportunity.
Any work to take forward the Expert Panel’s proposal must include an
assessment of the implications for different subjects and for jobs.
44. Teachers and school leaders believe that the tension between removing
detail and prescription from the National Curriculum and ensuring
curriculum breadth and balance will not be resolved unless the
Government reforms the accountability system.
Oral language development
45. Teachers and school leaders support the Expert Panel’s recommendation
that oral language development should be included in the National
Curriculum and that it should include both discrete and focused elements
within English and across National Curriculum Programmes of Study.
46. The recommendation has implications for teacher training and for
professional development across the curriculum.
47. An increased focus on oral language development provides an opportunity
to ensure that there is greater focus on what pupils know and can do. It
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offers another means for valuing pupils’ achievements. For example, some
pupils may struggle with literacy and so may not be able to demonstrate
their knowledge and understanding in written form. However, they may be
able to show that they know and understand a concept by talking about it.
Assessments should allow pupils to demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding in this way.
48. The high-stakes accountability system can encourage schools to adopt a
‘tick-box’ approach to the development of skills and expertise across the
curriculum. For example, the increased focus on oral language
development across the curriculum could lead to some schools creating
oral language development posts that prioritise monitoring that all lesson
plans include references to language development. It would be far more
appropriate for oral language development specialists to focus on helping
teachers to implement strategies that embed oral language development
within their teaching. This should include supporting teachers to work
together, learn about effective practice and from each other.
Teacher quality - CPD, workload and resource implications
49. The NASUWT agrees with the Government’s view that teacher quality is
the most important factor in determining the quality of pupil’s learning.
Therefore, it is vital that curriculum reforms and wider education policy
reforms support the development and maintenance of a high-quality
teaching profession. Evidence from the OECD shows that high-performing
education systems attract, develop and retain highly skilled and highquality teachers.5 The evidence indicates that attractive salaries and
working conditions, including a reasonable work-life balance, are important
in making teaching attractive.
5
OECD (2011), Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession: Lessons from Around the
World.
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50. The OECD’s report on building a high-quality teaching profession6 says
that high-quality candidates are more likely to be attracted to teaching if
schools are organised in ways that treat teachers as professionals. It
describes such work environments as ones that are not prescriptive and
that do not use bureaucratic management procedures to direct their work.
The report says that ‘the essence of professional work can be seen as the
acknowledgement that it is the professional, and not the supervisor, who
has the knowledge needed to make the important decisions as to what
services are needed and how they are to be provided’.7 Further, it says
organisations dominated by professionals are ‘those in which workers are
consulted on all matters of consequence […] and have considerable
discretion with respect to diagnosing […] needs and [how] to address
those needs’. This runs counter to the experiences of many teachers. In
particular, both teachers and school leaders identify the high-stakes
accountability system, most notably inspection and school performance
tables, as critical factors in undermining the professional status of
teachers. If the National Curriculum reforms are to be implemented
effectively then it is essential that the accountability system is also
reformed.
51. As professionals, it is crucial that teachers maintain, update and extend
their professional skills and knowledge. Therefore, the NASUWT supports
the view that the curriculum reforms must be accompanied by appropriate
training and CPD. However, the reforms must go way beyond this.
Evidence shows that high-performing education systems place great
emphasis on ensuring that all teachers have access to high-quality CPD.8
Crucially, this includes ensuring that all teachers have the time to
undertake CPD and ensuring that working environments support
professional practice by encouraging teachers to work with each other to
share knowledge and expertise. For example, in Singapore, teachers have
an entitlement of 100 hours free professional development per year; in
Shanghai China, every teacher is required to undertake 240 hours CPD
6
OECD (2011), Ibid.
OECD (2011), Ibid, page 11.
8 OECD (2011), Ibid.
7
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within 5 years; and in Finland, teachers are given time to undertake
practical research throughout their careers.
52. In England many teachers do not have access to high-quality CPD and
support. Also, heavy workload and lack of designated time for professional
development means that it is very difficult for many teachers to undertake
CPD and, more generally, reflect critically on their practice. Further, some
teachers are expected to undertake CPD in their own time, something that
raises major equality issues for some groups of teachers, including those
with caring responsibilities. Steps must be taken to ensure that all schools
both have the capacity to and enable all teachers to undertake regular
high-quality CPD within designated working time and at no personal cost.
This should form part of a nationally agreed framework for recognising
teachers’ professionalism and be a contractual entitlement. Particular
attention will need to be paid to building capacity and supporting teachers
and school leaders in small schools and rural schools.
53. Some schools have adopted innovative approaches to organising the
curriculum that create time and space for teachers to undertake CPD.
Supportive, collaborative working relationships and support strategies
such as mentoring and coaching, can also form an important component
of CPD.
54. If teachers are genuinely considered to be professionals in the way
described in the OECD report referred to above, this has significant
implications for the nature of school leadership, a point picked up in an
Ofsted report of the curriculum in successful primary schools.9 The report
refers to the importance of involving all staff in discussions and decision
making. The report said that this helped to create a sense of team work,
secured staff commitment to implementing decisions, and helped to
ensure a consistent approach across the school.
Policy coherence, including school accountability
9
Ofsted (October 2002), The curriculum in successful primary schools.
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55. The NASUWT believes that a policy framework that supports high quality
teaching must build from the following key elements:

systems of accountability are supportive and developmental;

all policies start from the principle that teachers are professionals and
are trusted as professionals;

policies and practice encourage and support collaborative working
between and across schools;

policies and practice encourage and support approaches to leadership,
including leadership of the curriculum, that empower teachers and
facilitate collaboration and co-operative ways of working; and

policies and practice support and enable all teachers to reflect on their
practice and continue to develop by providing access to high-quality
on-going CPD and professional support. They also ensure that
teachers have the time to carry out their professional responsibilities for
teaching and learning.
56. The Expert Panel has highlighted the importance of achieving coherence
between policies related to the curriculum and other education policies.
The NASUWT welcomes the fact that ministers recognise the need to
address the issue of policy coherence across education policies and notes
that a group has been established to work on this issue.
57. The Expert Panel suggest that school accountability might be used to
influence curriculum policy and practice in schools. This sees school
accountability as a lever to drive change. However, there is also a need to
undertake a deeper and more fundamental review of school accountability
and other policies that shape policy and practice in schools.
58. The
NASUWT
believes
that
school
accountability needs
to
be
reconceptualised. A reformed model of school accountability should start
from the principle that teachers are professionals and that national
accountability systems such as inspection must support teachers, school
NASUWT
The largest teachers’ union in the UK
18
leaders and school to do their jobs effectively. This means that national
inspection should not be punitive and focused on identifying and exposing
weakness. Rather, it should focus on identifying and promoting good
practice at school level and on identifying issues and difficulties that
schools are experiencing. This information should inform decisions about
development of policies and the allocation of resources to address these
issues. Effectively, national inspection should be about evaluating the
effectiveness of the education system as a whole and judging the quality
and appropriateness of national education policies and strategies.
59. The NASUWT believes that school accountability should be locally based
with teachers, school leaders, parents and local communities playing a key
role. It should be enacted through collaborative, supportive working
relationships within and between schools.
Roll out of curriculum reforms
60. It is essential that careful consideration is given to how the curriculum
reforms should be implemented. The proposals have major implications for
teacher training, for CPD and support, and for the design and organisation
of the curriculum in schools. Teachers and school leaders stress the need
for a carefully coordinated roll out programme. They argue that there must
be coherence between the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the
National Curriculum as well as between the National Curriculum and
GCSE qualifications. They also argue for a bottom up approach to both the
design of the National Curriculum framework and implementation of the
National Curriculum. This should mean that the National Curriculum builds
from the EYFS and that implementation should start from KS1. Teachers
and school leaders believe that the implementation process should be
phased in over a number of years. This would allow time to plan for the
new curriculum and enable teachers to undertake appropriate CPD.
61. Teachers and school leaders emphasise the need for both the curriculum
reforms and the implementation strategy to take account of different
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The largest teachers’ union in the UK
19
school contexts. In particular, teachers and school leaders working in
small schools and in rural schools stress that the reforms must work in the
small/rural context. They argue that particular attention needs to be paid to
how to build capacity in small/rural schools and how to ensure that
teachers and school leaders working in small/rural schools access the
same entitlement to high quality CPD and support.
Chris Keates
General Secretary
For further information on the Union’s response, contact Sonja Hall, Principal
Official (Education).
NASUWT
Hillscourt Education Centre
Rose Hill
Rednal
Birmingham
B45 8RS
0121 453 6150
www.nasuwt.org.uk
nasuwt@mail.nasuwt.org.uk
NASUWT
The largest teachers’ union in the UK
20