Category Archives: Curriculum

SATs tests are still a shocking failure

Posted on July 10, 2018 by

Despite intensive test preparation and enormous stress for children and teachers, Key Stage 2 SATs tests for 2018 are a disaster once again. Figures published today show that only 64% of children passed Reading, Writing and Maths. That means 1 … Continue reading →

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Challenging the tyranny of the Phonics Check

Posted on July 9, 2018 by

It is hard to compete with Margaret Clark’s tenacity in challenging the deeply flawed Phonics Screening Check along with  schools minister Nick Gibb’s dogmatic support of Synthetic Phonics. After editing two books in a single year, she has just completed a … Continue reading →

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Knowledge, skills and ‘dead white males’

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

Comment by Terry Wrigley, Northumbria University In a recent debate Mary Bousted, joint General Secretary of the NEU, has made a bold challenge to the assumptions behind the current National Curriculum. She argued against its backwardness, narrow nationalism, and neglect … Continue reading →

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Protecting children from primary school tests

Posted on March 18, 2018 by

The damage caused by primary school testing to children’s education and wellbeing is now very clear. Among other effects, it has helped to create a crisis in children’s mental health. As we know, large numbers of children are now suffering … Continue reading →

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Will anything but a boycott stop the tests?

Posted on July 11, 2017 by

The Reclaiming Schools network has played a significant role in exposing the damage caused by high-stakes testing, including our pamphlet ‘The Mismeasurement of Learning‘, widely circulated in the NUT and elsewhere, various series of blogposts carrying detailed analysis from specialist … Continue reading →

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A lesson from Sergeant Pepper

Posted on June 28, 2017 by

A comment on creativity and the curriculum by Dr Pam Jarvis, Reader in Childhood, Youth and Education, Leeds Trinity University A few nights ago whilst nodding on the sofa, I was abruptly awoken by the BBC documentary Sgt Pepper’s Musical … Continue reading →

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The crisis in secondary schools: where is it leading?

Posted on April 15, 2017 by

All kinds of schools in England are facing damaging budget cuts. Large meetings are being held all over the country where parents and teachers together are showing their opposition to Government cuts. Every concerned teacher or parent should join the … Continue reading →

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