We want to develop a world-class primary curriculum that will challenge and inspire all our pupils and prepare them for the future. The aims of the primary curriculum should reflect these aspirations and values in which we all believe.
As part of the review of the primary curriculum we asked schools to tell us the aims they had set in their own schools.
Some of the questions we asked schools to think about were:
- How did you draw up your aims in the first place?
- Were they the result of consultation with parents and pupils?
- How are your aims communicated within the school?
- Do they sum up the school’s values and beliefs?
- Do they keep everyone focused on what is really important?
- To what extent do they influence or determine your curriculum?
- If you were starting again with a blank sheet of paper, would you keep the same aims?
Why not take a moment to consider your answers to these questions?
Using teachers’ answers to these questions, along with consultation with parents, governors, employers and children about what sort of outcomes they want from our education system we found that people said that by the age of 11 young people should be able to:
- work together in teams
- show initiative
- work independently and see a job through
- show good communication skills
- show respect for others and make a contribution to society
- demonstrate self-confidence.
These were translated into three overall aims that have been used in the new primary curriculum. These are that young people should become:
- successful learners who achieve and enjoy learning
- confident individuals who can live safe and healthy lives
- responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic wellbeing.
There are thousands of words behind these statements but they all have a consensus across the country as worthwhile for all our children.
Details of the skills and qualities that make up the three aims can be found at http://www.qcda.gov.uk/curriculum. Are these anything like the aims of your school? Do they sum up what you really believe is the purpose of learning? In particular, do you think they are all equally relevant for primary pupils?
Tell us your thoughts on all the questions we’ve posed here. Help us build a world-class curriculum that we can all be proud of.
