National Curriculum for England published
Concerns remain that museum visits could suffer
The new National Curriculum for England was published last week, ahead of its implementation in September 2014.
The contents of the curriculum follow a consultation and draft versions published earlier this year.
From next September, the arts, design and technology, and the humanities (geography and history) will no longer be compulsory after the age of 14.
One key area of controversy has been the fact that pupils will be taught a chronological version of history – a change some critics said could threaten school visits to museums.
Nick Winterbotham, chairman of the Group for Education in Museums, said this would be tempered by the fact that adherence is not compulsory or Ofsted tested, and allows for local studies and specific topic studies.
But he added: “A far greater threat to museums across the UK may emerge from the drift towards ‘teaching to the test’. It is easy to envisage a secondary school predicament where teachers will attempt to block trips to museums that cut across fought-over timetables."
The Cultural Learning Alliance said it welcomed some revisions to the language and content of previous draft, but warned of “glaring omissions and strange emphases”.
In a statement, it said: “We are delighted to see that space in the history curriculum has opened up to allow for more emphasis on local history and heritage…
"[But in the curriculum’s present form] there is very little emphasis on the contemporary, and only the design and technology specification makes any link to the cultural or creative industries, an omission that is particularly glaring in art and design, English and music.”
Museums in England are already looking at the new curriculum to shape their future education programmes.
Liz Egan, acting learning and outreach manager at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds, said: “As a museum which has traditionally focused on the Victorians’ contributions to medicine, it did read as quite a scary prospect.
"I've taken this as a positive and am using it as an evaluation tool to look at what we offer now, what is successful, what needs updating and what we can add to it to make us even more appealing to schools."
There were 750 responses to the government’s consultation, which covers the statutory national curriculum framework at all Key Stages 1 to 4. Details of Key Stage 4 English, mathematics and science will be published after a public consultation.
The contents of the curriculum follow a consultation and draft versions published earlier this year.
From next September, the arts, design and technology, and the humanities (geography and history) will no longer be compulsory after the age of 14.
One key area of controversy has been the fact that pupils will be taught a chronological version of history – a change some critics said could threaten school visits to museums.
Nick Winterbotham, chairman of the Group for Education in Museums, said this would be tempered by the fact that adherence is not compulsory or Ofsted tested, and allows for local studies and specific topic studies.
But he added: “A far greater threat to museums across the UK may emerge from the drift towards ‘teaching to the test’. It is easy to envisage a secondary school predicament where teachers will attempt to block trips to museums that cut across fought-over timetables."
The Cultural Learning Alliance said it welcomed some revisions to the language and content of previous draft, but warned of “glaring omissions and strange emphases”.
In a statement, it said: “We are delighted to see that space in the history curriculum has opened up to allow for more emphasis on local history and heritage…
"[But in the curriculum’s present form] there is very little emphasis on the contemporary, and only the design and technology specification makes any link to the cultural or creative industries, an omission that is particularly glaring in art and design, English and music.”
Museums in England are already looking at the new curriculum to shape their future education programmes.
Liz Egan, acting learning and outreach manager at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds, said: “As a museum which has traditionally focused on the Victorians’ contributions to medicine, it did read as quite a scary prospect.
"I've taken this as a positive and am using it as an evaluation tool to look at what we offer now, what is successful, what needs updating and what we can add to it to make us even more appealing to schools."
There were 750 responses to the government’s consultation, which covers the statutory national curriculum framework at all Key Stages 1 to 4. Details of Key Stage 4 English, mathematics and science will be published after a public consultation.