Curriculum of United Kingdom

This document consists of data related to curriculum of United Kingdom. Here is the Agenda of this document;
1. Introduction.
2. What is National Curriculum?
3. Establishment of National Curriculum.
4. The current national curriculum of UK.
5. Regulatory Framework for private Sector.
6. Summary of regulatory framework of UK.

1. 1



Introduction:
In the UK, curriculum formulation process varies across the four countries. For instance, in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there is a statutory subject-based national
curriculum, from the age group five; the details of the prescribed curriculum vary to some
extent across these three countries. In Scotland, the curriculum from 5 to 14 is based on
five broad curriculum areas, and from 14 to 16 on ‘eight modes’ of study (Croxford, 1999),
or as stated by McPherson and Raffe (1988) ‘curriculum is just guidelines, but not
prescriptions’. In practice, differences are more pronounced in primary than secondary
schools, where subjects dominate the curriculum in Scotland, as they do elsewhere. At
secondary education level, again the principal difference is between Scotland, where the
curriculum comprises shorter academic courses (Highers) and vocational modules, and in
the rest of the UK it comprises longer academic courses (A Levels) and vocational
programmes leading to group awards. Partly, the post-16 tracks are weaker in Scotland
than elsewhere (Raffe, 1993). Spours, Young, Howieson and Rafee (1998a) also found that
“The English and Welsh systems represent tracked systems and the Scottish system an
intermediate ‘linked system’ although three countries are moving along a continuum in the
direction of a more unified system”.
What is a national curriculum?
A national curriculum sets out the body of knowledge, skills and understanding that a
Society wishes to pass on to its children and young people. Most countries have some form
of national curriculum. In countries where the curriculum is set at regional level these
frameworks are often informed by shared guidelines. Countries typically structure their
national curriculum around aims and values, subject content and skills, but do so in varying
levels of detail. In comparison to many countries’ frameworks, England’s National
Curriculum remains relatively prescriptive. Unlike in some other countries, England’s
National Curriculum only applies to maintained schools and not to independent schools,
nor to children who are educated at home. National or state education Ministries typically
have oversight of their respective national curriculum. In England the Department is
responsible for the strategic management of the National Curriculum. Development and
support of the National Curriculum largely rests with the Non-Departmental Public Body,
the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).


Curriculum of United
Kingdom

2. 2
Establishment of the National Curriculum:

1. In 1987 the Department of Education and Science, now under Kenneth Baker, issued a
consultation document that set out the rationale for a national curriculum. This document
essentially identified four broad purposes: introducing an entitlement for pupils to a broad
and balanced curriculum; setting standards for pupil attainment and to support school
accountability; improving continuity and coherence within the curriculum, and aiding
public understanding of the work of schools.

Following the consultation, Parliament passed the 1988 Education Reform Act,
which established the framework for the National Curriculum. The key principles in
developing the National Curriculum were that:

• It would be underpinned by two aims—and echoing the 1944 statement—to promote the
spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and to prepare pupils
for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life;

• It would be structured around ‘Key Stages’ and be subject-based, covering the ‘core’
subjects of English, mathematics and science, and the ‘foundation’ subjects of art,
geography, history, music, physical education and technology, with all subjects studied
from age 5 up to age 16, modern foreign languages from age 11, and

• The syllabus for each subject at each Key Stage would be set out in a ‘Programmed of
Study’, which would also include a scale of attainment targets to guide teacher assessment.
Schools would also be required to teach religious education and areas such as personal,
social and health education, though these subjects sat outside the National Curriculum. A
number of non-statutory ‘cross-curricular’ themes and generic—or life—skills were added
to this basic framework in the course of implementing the National Curriculum.

Development of the National Curriculum was overseen by two new advisory bodies,
the National Curriculum Council and the School Examination and Assessment Council.
Formulation of the original Programmers of Study was handed to subject-based work in
groups, comprising experts from a wide variety of educational backgrounds and which
drew on evidence and expertise from throughout the education system. Due in part to the
different subject communities wanting to promote their subject within the National
Curriculum, the documentation to emerge from this process was substantial and set out in
considerable detail the subject content that schools should be required to cover.

The drawing up of testing arrangements for the National Curriculum was taken
forward by the Task Group on Assessment and Testing (TGAT). The TGAT report
emphasized the formative aspects of assessment and the use of a range of assessment
Approaches that could be delivered and marked by teachers. However, the Department of
Education and Science regarded the TGAT recommendations as overly complex and
Simpler arrangements were ultimately put in place—teacher assessment accompanied by
summative assessment through nationally-administered standardized tests, known as ‘Key

3. 3
Stage tests’. More controversially and again counter to the TGAT report, test results were to
be published in performance tables.

The National Curriculum was introduced into primary schools in 1989, and
implementation across the primary and secondary phases continued into the mid-1990s.
The first run of Key Stage testing was completed in 1991. In 1993 responsibility for school
inspections was transferred from Her Majesty’s Inspectors and local authority inspection
teams to independent inspection teams, the work of which would be co-ordinate by a new
Non-Ministerial Department of State, the then Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

The current National Curriculum:

1). Primary curriculum:

Format and content
At both Key Stage 1 (Year groups 1–2, pupils aged 5–7) and Key Stage 2 (Year
groups 3–6, pupils aged 7–11), the primary curriculum continues to be structured around
the subjects as specified in 1988:
• The ‘core subjects’ of English, mathematics and science, and
• The ‘foundation subjects’ of art and design, design and technology, geography, history,
ICT, music and physical education.

Primary schools must also teach religious education, the syllabus for which is
determined at local authority level.7 They are encouraged, but not required, to cover
appropriate personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship topics.

The primary curriculum includes two non-statutory skills frameworks:
• Key Skills, covering communication, application of number, information technology,
working with others, improving own learning and performance and problem-solving skills,
• Thinking Skills, covering information-processing, reasoning, enquiry, creative thinking
and evaluation skills.

In addition, it includes five non-statutory cross-curricular
elements:
• Creativity;
• ICT;
• Education for sustainable development;
• Literacy across the curriculum, and
• Numeracy across the curriculum.

At the end of Key Stage 1 pupils sit tests in reading, writing and mathematics, which
are marked by the teacher. At the end of Key Stage 2 pupils sit tests in English, mathematics
and science, which are marked by an external marker.

4. 4
Documentation:

The detail of the primary curia statutory Program of Study—syllabus—for each
subject at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
• A non-statutory Scheme of Work—lesson plans—for each subject at Key Stage 1 and Key
Stage 2.
• Non-statutory guidance on timetabling the primary curriculum, 10 and
• The ‘Big Picture of the Curriculum’ framework, which links the curriculum to other
aspects of school life.11culum is set out in the following documentation:

2). Secondary curriculum:

The new secondary curriculum is distinctive in being underpinned by a set of
statutory aims. The aims state that the secondary curriculum should enable young people
to become:
• Successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve;
• Confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives, and
• Responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.
For each heading there are around 10 statements, including, for example, statements on
Learning how to learn, having secure values and beliefs and sustaining and improving the
environment. The full list of aims is provided at Appendix 1.

The subjects included in the secondary curriculum remain broadly the same as
those in the primary curriculum. At Key Stage 3 (Year groups 7–9, pupils aged 11–14)
pupils also study citizenship and modern foreign languages. At Key Stage 4 (Year groups
10–11, pupils aged 14–16) pupils study English, mathematics, science, citizenship, ICT and
physical education. Alongside this they must be able to take at least one subject from each
of the four entitlement areas of arts subjects, design and technology, humanities and
modern foreign languages. In addition, at Key Stages 3 and 4 schools must teach religious
education, sex and relationship education, drugs education and careers education. At Key
Stage 4 they must also provide work-related learning.

Key Stage 3 tests in English, mathematics and science were discontent 2008, though
teacher assessment remains in place for these pupils. At Key Stage 4 pupils sit GCSE or
equivalent examinations.

Where and when the National Curriculum applies

The National Curriculum applies to pupils of compulsory school age in community and
foundation schools, including community special schools and foundation special schools,
and voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools. It is organized on the basis of four
key stages1, as shown here.

5. 5
Key Stages 1 Key Stages 2 Key Stages 3 Key Stages 4
Age 5-7 7-11 11-14 14-16
Year groups 1-2 3-6 7-9 10-11
English    
Mathematics    
Science    
Information &
communication
Technology
   
History   
Geography   
Modern Foreign
Languages
 
Art & Design   
Music   
Physical
Education
   
Citizenship  

 Statutory from August 2000
 Statutory from August 2001
 Statutory from August 2002

The structure of the National Curriculum:

For each subject and for each key stage, programs of study set out what pupils
should be taught, and attainment targets set out the expected standards of pupils’
performance. It is for schools to choose how they organize their school curriculum to
include the programs of study.

Programs of study:

The programs of study2 set out what pupils should be taught in each subject at each
key stage, and provide the basis for planning schemes of work. When planning, schools
should also consider the four general teaching requirements (pages 30–40) that apply
across the programs of study.
The national frameworks for teaching literacy and mathematics published by the
DfEE, and the exemplar schemes of work jointly published by the DfEE and QCA, show how
the programs of study and the attainment targets can be translated into practical,
manageable teaching plans.

The level descriptions provide the basis for making judgments about pupils’
performance at the end of key stages 1, 2 and 3. At key stage 4, national qualifications are
the main means of assessing attainment in National Curriculum subjects.

6. 6
The national curriculum in England:
1). Aims:
The national curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge that
they need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said;
and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.
The national curriculum is just one element in the education of every child. There is time and
space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum
specifications. The national curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge around which
teachers can develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’
knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.
2). Structure:
Pupils of compulsory school age in community and foundation schools, including community
special schools and foundation special schools, and in voluntary aided and voluntary controlled
schools must follow the national curriculum. It is organized on the basis of four key stages
3
and
twelve subjects, classified in legal terms as ‘core’ and ‘other foundation’ subjects.
The Secretary of State for Education is required to publish programs of study for each national
curriculum subject, setting out the ‘matters, skills and processes’ to be taught at each key stage.
Schools are free to choose how they organize their school day, as long as the content of national
curriculum programs of study is taught to all pupils.
The proposed structure of the new national curriculum, in terms of which subjects are
compulsory at each key stage, is set out in the table below:
Key Stage 1 Key Stage 2 Key Stage 3 Key Stage 4
Age
Year groups

5-7
1-2
7-11
3 – 6
11-14
7 – 9
14-16
10-11
Core subjects
English    
Mathematics    
Science    
Foundation
subjects


Art & Design   
Citizenship  
Computing    
Design &
Technology
  
Languages  

7. 7
Geography   
History   
Music   
Physical
Education
   

About key stages 3 and 4
Where and when the National Curriculum applies:

The National Curriculum applies to pupils of compulsory school age in community and
foundation schools, including community special schools and foundation special schools,
and voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools. It is organized on the basis of four
key stages1, as shown here.

The Education Act 2002 extended the National Curriculum to include the foundation stage.
This made the six areas of learning in the foundation stage the statutory curriculum for
children aged 3–5.

Key Stages 1 Key Stages 2 Key Stages 3 Key Stages 4
Age 5-7 7-11 11-14 14-16
Year groups 1-2 3-6 7-9 10-11
English    
Mathematics    
Science    
Information &
communication
Technology
   
History   
Geography   
Modern Foreign
Languages

Art & Design   
Music   
Physical
Education
   
Citizenship  

Religious
Education
   
Careers
Education
 
Sex Education  

8. 8
Work-related
learning

Personal, Social
& Health
Education
o o o o

 Statutory
o Non-statutory


The structure of the National Curriculum:

For each subject and for each key stage, programs of study set out what pupils should be
taught, and attainment targets set out the expected standards of pupils’ performance. It is
for schools to choose how they organize their school curriculum to include the programs of
study.

1). Programs of study:

The programs of study2 set out what pupils should be taught in each subject at each key
stage, and provide the basis for planning schemes of work. When planning, schools should
also consider the four general teaching requirements (Inclusion section, pages 30–37) that
apply across the programs of study. The exemplar schemes of work jointly published by the
DfES and QCA, show how the programs of study and attainment targets can be translated
into practical, manageable teaching plans.

2). National Curriculum levels
At Key Stages 1, 2, and 3, the National Curriculum is accompanied by a series of eight levels.
These are used to measure your child’s progress compared to pupils of the same age across
the country.
There are eight National Curriculum levels, covering ages 5-14 years. The lowest is Level 1,
which describes the achievements of children at around the age of five. The highest is Level
8, which is attained by the most able pupils at the age of 14. There is also a description of
‘exceptional performance’ above Level 8, which only a very few pupils are expected to
reach.

9. 9
National Curriculum levels expected in each primary school year group



(Correct at August 2011)
National curriculum structure:

Curriculum:

The national curriculum is divided into four key stages:
 key stage 1/years 1 and 2: covers from when pupils start school to the age of seven
 key stage 2 / years 3-6: ages seven to eleven
 key stage 3 / years 7-9: ages 11 to 14 - pre-GCSE
 key stage 4 / years 10-11: ages 14 to 16 - preparation for GCSE examinations

10. 10



Structure:

The education system in the UK is divided into the primary and secondary phases.

Primary phase:
 For children aged between two and four or five, pre-school education is available.
This involves guided play, creative activities and working in groups. Fees are
normally payable
 compulsory education begins at five in England
 emphasis is on literacy and numeracy in early years, with little or no specialist
subject teaching
 pupils are usually transferred to specialist schools at eleven
Secondary phase:
 Comprehensive schools account for about 90% of state secondary school pupils in
England, Wales and Scotland. These provide a wide range of secondary education for
children of all abilities aged from 11 to 18
 at age 16, when compulsory education ends, pupils may transfer to sixth form
colleges or tertiary colleges
Education Structure
The UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which all have
different education departments and structures.
England: The Department for Children, Schools and Families
Scotland: Education and Lifelong Learning Department within the Scottish Parliament
Wales: Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills Department within the Welsh
Assembly
N. Ireland: Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI)

Each of these departments not only has a different approach to education but also often
uses different terminology to describe the various age groups and sectors.

11. 11
Due to this huge diversity with the UK, e-Bug will initially be implemented in England only
however we are planning on implementing the resource into schools in Scotland, Wales
and N. Ireland by September 2010.
“Regulatory Framework For private Sector”
Introduction:
According to John Fielden & N.V.Varghese;
“Regulation begins with a decision to allow a private provider to plan or develop a campus,
continues with the approval of programmes, awards, the grant of operating incentives or
the collection of taxes, and then includes regular monitoring together with the collection of
information on financial and academic performance. Thus, any national system of quality
review is part of the regulatory framework.”
A new regulatory framework for the private sector:


The role of the private sector in higher education is increasing but its not very well
regulated. The author calls for a new regulatory framework based on a recent HEPI
report.
In regulatory terms there have been some recent changes; at the end of March it was
announced that colleges seeking Highly Trusted Sponsor status entitling them to sponsor
international students were to be vetted by the Quality Assurance Agency; the government
has also confirmed that students at accredited private providers will be entitled to receive
grants and loans from the Student Loans Fund. However, the UK still lacks several elements
of a regulatory framework and no-one knows the full extent of the sector. What the recent
HEPI report recommends for consideration therefore is:
• A clear system for licensing and registering all new private providers, including those
from overseas, when they first start to operate in the UK.
• A unification of the processes by which the QAA examines the quality of public and
private providers after they have received degree awarding powers.
• Collection and publication of information about all private providers of higher
education using HESA’s existing framework.
• A requirement for private providers to publish information about their overall
governance, finances and ownership.
• No distinction between for-profit and not-for-profit institutions in the regulatory
framework.

12. 12
• Clarification that providers offering higher education are entitled to access public
resources that are available to state-funded institutions (although it might be realistic to
charge fees for student use of facilities such as the SCONUL Access scheme).
• Standardization of some processes for both public and private sectors – e.g. the fact
that private providers, after they have been awarded degree awarding powers, need to
have it reviewed after 6 years by the QAA, whereas public institutions are not subject to
this check. Similarly, the process for acquiring Highly Trusted Status from UKBA is much
more demanding for private providers.
• Recognition that private providers are part of the national system by continuing to
involve them in national debates and opening up communication channels with their
representative bodies.
If there is to be a truly level playing field, the State may decide to require some things in
return, particularly if the students of private institutions receive public funding – or the
institutions themselves develop STEM subjects and are funded for them. In some countries
there are rigorous reporting requirements on the private sector that go beyond those
applied to state institutions. This is not our style, but there are other possibilities such as
asking private providers to set aside certain sums for scholarships or submitting
statements to OFFA about their access policies. Nor is there any reason why the National
Student Survey should not apply to the private sector and they should be asked to collect
statistics on their UK students’ employment six months after graduation.
Agreements with higher education providers in which accountability
requirements are set out
Type of higher
education provider
Regulator Accountability mechanism
Higher education
institution


HEFCE  Financial
Memorandum
 BIS terms and
conditions of
institutional
designation
Further education
college
SFA  SFA Financial
Memorandum with
colleges
 HEFCE funding
agreement
Alternative provider BIS (supported and
advised by HEFCE)
 BIS terms and
conditions of specific
course designation
 Quality assurance
arrangements with
QAA (for those with
DAP)

13. 13


Summary of the Regulatory framework

British system:
British system (United Kingdom and Ireland) – fundamental administration units are
rather larger in this system. However they lack independent financial base and therefore
they are also more depending on the central administration. Transfer of power to the local
level is smaller than in the Nordic system.

14. 14


England:
England does not have its own devolved parliament and is thus entirely subject to the
administration of the UK Government in Westminster.

The subdivisions of England are depicted in the diagram below.

The following diagram shows the geographic structure rather than the administrative
reporting structure.
In practice, neither metropolitan counties nor Regions (Former GORs) are truly part of the
administrative hierarchy, and electoral wards/divisions are simply the 'building blocks'
from which higher units are constituted.

Parishes on the other hand can have their own council, but have been isolated from the
geographic structure as, unlike electoral wards/divisions, they are not found across the
whole of England.

15. 15
Bibliography
 London Early Grid For learning. Retrieved from
http://www.egfl.org.uk/categories/teaching/assess/national/structure.html
 Information Daily Staff Writer. (2011). A new regulatory framework for the private
sector. Retrieved from
http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2011/05/18/higher-education-a-new-
regulatory-framework-for-the-private-sector
 Regulatory Partnership Group.(2013). Operating Framework for higher Education in
England. Retrieved from
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/about/introduction/workinginpartne
rship/rpg/operatingframework/operating_framework_for_HE_11072013_2.pdf
 Halaskova. M. & Halaskova .R. (2012). Administrative terrestrial Structures in EU
countries and their specifics. Retrieved from
https://dspace.upce.cz/bitstream/10195/35687/1/HalaskovaM_AdministrativeTerr
itorial_SP_FES_2009.pdf
 Health Protection Agency. (2011). Implementation in England. Retrieved from
http://www.e-bug.eu/partners/meetings/London%202009/posters/England.pdf
 Office for national statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-
guide/administrative/england/index.html