So, the government has announced that the new National Curriculum won’t be implemented until at least September 2014. The explanation for this delay being that it’s a process that shouldn’t be rushed; that’s hard to argue with, this is something that could make or break the lives of a generation. It does seem a little strange to even be thinking about a national curriculum when its implementation is likely to be at a time when the vast majority of secondary schools will be academies and, therefore, able to ignore it. That said, some of the information in the documents makes for reassuring reading (provided that we remember that these are just recommendations to the government, not policy or even intent).
Before I carry on, the reader should be aware that I’ve only skimmed through the documents once.
In particular, the music education community seems largely pleased that Music is being recommended for retaining its compulsory status from Key Stage 1-3. Admittedly, Key Stage 3 is now going to be just two years long but this is increasingly common in many schools. The provision at Key Stage 4 is now going to include ‘The Arts’, which should include Art and Music. Part of me does wonder if there was some degree of consideration in this report for preserving the workforce and not burdening the country with mass unemployment of teachers.
I will admit to being a little cautious about the apparent preference for age-related expectations rather than personalised learning. Before really nailing my colours to the mast on this, however, I will be having a more thorough read through of the documents that were published yesterday.
Links to the original document can be found below…
It’s also well worth reading these documents alongside the National Plan for Music Education,
which can be found by clicking here.