GTC responds to the secondary curriculum review

The GTC has broadly welcomed proposals to provide greater flexibility to teachers and improve links between subjects in secondary schools.

In its consultation response, the Council recommends steps to ensure that changes to the secondary curriculum are coherent and meaningful for students, teachers and schools.

The review is being carried out by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), who have redesigned the secondary curriculum to provide greater flexibility for teachers, greater coherence between subjects and an improved focus on students’ needs.  

The GTC believes that a review should also take place for primary schools. Giving primary teachers more flexibility in what they teach would give them more scope to engage pupils, address under-achievement and help pupils to make a smoother switch from primary to secondary school.

The Council considers that the secondary curriculum review must be part of a considered, coherent and long-term strategy. This is essential given that secondary schools are already preparing for radical reforms, notably the introduction of new diplomas.

The GTC has identified four areas that will be key to the success of the secondary curriculum review:

• Flexibility and entitlement: there should be a balance between a core entitlement for students in the curriculum and flexibility for schools to respond to their local context and their students’ needs.
 The Government should be careful not to over-prescribe content and must ensure continuity and commitment in its vision and implementation of the revised curriculum.

• Assessment: the assessment system should place more emphasis on the needs of students, rather than the Government’s national monitoring of schools.
 The system currently encourages schools to teach a narrow curriculum, hindering the true progress of pupils, and is an obstacle to flexible, tailored learning in schools.

• Teacher learning: teachers and school leaders will need enhanced learning and development opportunities to respond to the outcomes of the secondary curriculum review.

 The curriculum review will be most successful where it is supported by a sustained, enquiry-based model of teacher learning.

• The role of new technologies: teachers need greater engagement with the learning potential of ICT in education if sustainable and effective innovation is to take place.

 The secondary curriculum review should demonstrate more clearly how technology can be used within and across subjects, and teachers will need structured opportunities to develop their practice in this regard.

For further information about the GTC’s response to the secondary curriculum review, please contact Andrew Hudson: andrew.hudson@gtce.org.uk

To find out more about the secondary curriculum review, please visit the QCA website.