Children risk missing out on the arts, humanities and sport at primary school because of a “neo-Victorian” focus on the three-Rs, according to one of the country’s leading experts on early education.
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| Prof Robin Alexander criticised the new National Curriculum, saying it placed too much emphasis on the three-Rs. |
A new National Curriculum introduced by the Coalition will narrow pupils’ horizons by failing to give them the “knowledge, skills and experience” needed in all subjects, it was claimed.
Robin Alexander, fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and professor of education at York University, said that literacy and numeracy provided a vital foundation for children’s future lives.
Robin Alexander, fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and professor of education at York University, said that literacy and numeracy provided a vital foundation for children’s future lives.
But speaking in central London, he insisted the revised curriculum for under-11s – to be introduced next year – overemphasised their importance at the expense of other core disciplines, suggesting the arts and humanities were being “left to chance”.
Prof Alexander also criticised the Government’s drive to make young children “secondary ready”, insisting that primary education was an important stage in its own right and should not be seen as a mere stepping stone towards secondary school.
It represents his most high-profile comments since the publication of the landmark Cambridge Primary Review in 2009 – a 600-page report edited by Prof Alexander following a six-year inquiry into the state of primary education in England.
A new Cambridge Primary Review Trust – based at York University – has now been established to build on the work of the inquiry and help raise standards in primary schools across the country.
Speaking at the launch on Monday, Prof Alexander said the trust would seek to develop teaching in the face of a “neo-Victorian” National Curriculum.
“While primary schools must and do insist on the foundational importance of literacy and numeracy, they should also lay those other foundations – in science, the arts, the humanities, in physical, emotional and moral development and in lived experience - that in their way are no less important for young children’s future learning and lives,” he said.
The new curriculum makes a distinction between the “core” subjects of English, maths and science – which are covered in depth – and shorter specifications for “foundation” subjects such as history, geography, languages, art, physical education, music and design and technology. It will be taught from September 2014.
But addressing an audience of teachers and academics, Prof Alexander said an equal focus on all subjects would “make children more truly ‘secondary ready’ than if they do the three-Rs and little else”.
He added: “The review has consistently argued against the neo-Victorian opposition of the ‘basics’ on one hand and the rest on the other, which the revised National Curriculum perpetuates, sadly, in its sharper-than-ever distinction between the ‘core’ and foundation subjects.
"Such stratification is both educationally inappropriate and pedagogically counterproductive.
"This two-tier curriculum undervalues not just the true cultural and economic worth of the so-called non-core subjects but also the evidence from research and inspection showing how learning in one area enhances learning in others.”
The new trust is being sponsored by Pearson, the education and publishing company, and will provide support services and teaching materials for primary schools.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “It is utterly unacceptable that so many children leave primary school without a firm grounding in the basics of English, maths and science. That is why our rigorous new primary curriculum focuses on these vital subjects.
“Of course we expect primaries to teach beyond just English, maths and science. That is why we are giving teachers more freedom than ever before, allowing them to shape lessons to meet the needs of the pupils they know best.”
Speaking at the launch on Monday, Prof Alexander said the trust would seek to develop teaching in the face of a “neo-Victorian” National Curriculum.
“While primary schools must and do insist on the foundational importance of literacy and numeracy, they should also lay those other foundations – in science, the arts, the humanities, in physical, emotional and moral development and in lived experience - that in their way are no less important for young children’s future learning and lives,” he said.
The new curriculum makes a distinction between the “core” subjects of English, maths and science – which are covered in depth – and shorter specifications for “foundation” subjects such as history, geography, languages, art, physical education, music and design and technology. It will be taught from September 2014.
But addressing an audience of teachers and academics, Prof Alexander said an equal focus on all subjects would “make children more truly ‘secondary ready’ than if they do the three-Rs and little else”.
He added: “The review has consistently argued against the neo-Victorian opposition of the ‘basics’ on one hand and the rest on the other, which the revised National Curriculum perpetuates, sadly, in its sharper-than-ever distinction between the ‘core’ and foundation subjects.
"Such stratification is both educationally inappropriate and pedagogically counterproductive.
"This two-tier curriculum undervalues not just the true cultural and economic worth of the so-called non-core subjects but also the evidence from research and inspection showing how learning in one area enhances learning in others.”
The new trust is being sponsored by Pearson, the education and publishing company, and will provide support services and teaching materials for primary schools.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “It is utterly unacceptable that so many children leave primary school without a firm grounding in the basics of English, maths and science. That is why our rigorous new primary curriculum focuses on these vital subjects.
“Of course we expect primaries to teach beyond just English, maths and science. That is why we are giving teachers more freedom than ever before, allowing them to shape lessons to meet the needs of the pupils they know best.”
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