The cultural sector has welcomed a government U-turn on replacing some GCSE subjects with the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc), but has expressed concern about draft changes to the national curriculum in England.
The education secretary Michael Gove said introducing new exams in core areas, which did not include the arts, was “a bridge too far”. It will instead focus on reforming existing GCSEs to maintain standards.
Arts Council England and Tate, which had previously warned that the Ebacc would marginalise the arts, have welcomed the move.
But revisions to the national curriculum have caused concern, particularly in the way in which history will be taught. History will not be compulsory for 14- to 16-year-olds.
The proposal also states: “Across Key Stages 2 and 3, pupils should be taught the essential chronology of Britain’s history… pupils should be taught about key dates, events and significant individuals. They should also be given the opportunity to study local history.”
Natasha McEnroe, director of the Florence Nightingale Museum, London, said she was relieved that Nightingale hadn’t been removed from the curriculum, as previously feared. But she warned that the new history curriculum would not encourage critical thought, as it was too focused on chronological and objective facts.
“My concern is that the emphasis is moving away from individuals and how they lived, which is how younger learners, in particular, access history and how museums make it relevant to them,” said McEnroe.
Nick Winterbotham, chairman of the Group for Education in Museums (GEM), said: “A pragmatic threat to museums is the absence of anything after the 17th century at Key Stage 2. So many social history and themed museums rely on primary school visits that this could knock a major hole in visiting statistics.”
Erica Davies, director of the Ragged School Museum in London, agreed that this would have huge ramifications for many museums that rely on Key Stage 2 school visits.
“So much of what museums do is geared towards the Victorians,” she said. “With Key Stage 3 pupils hard to attract, this could be a real killer for museums and leave them teetering on the brink.”
Members of the GEM email list expressed concern that the proposed revisions represented a fundamental shift in history teaching.
John Reeve, former GEM chairman and a lecturer in art, design and museology at the Institute for Education at the University of London, said the new history curriculum framework ignored diversity, social history and wider culture.
The education secretary Michael Gove said introducing new exams in core areas, which did not include the arts, was “a bridge too far”. It will instead focus on reforming existing GCSEs to maintain standards.
Arts Council England and Tate, which had previously warned that the Ebacc would marginalise the arts, have welcomed the move.
But revisions to the national curriculum have caused concern, particularly in the way in which history will be taught. History will not be compulsory for 14- to 16-year-olds.
The proposal also states: “Across Key Stages 2 and 3, pupils should be taught the essential chronology of Britain’s history… pupils should be taught about key dates, events and significant individuals. They should also be given the opportunity to study local history.”
Natasha McEnroe, director of the Florence Nightingale Museum, London, said she was relieved that Nightingale hadn’t been removed from the curriculum, as previously feared. But she warned that the new history curriculum would not encourage critical thought, as it was too focused on chronological and objective facts.
“My concern is that the emphasis is moving away from individuals and how they lived, which is how younger learners, in particular, access history and how museums make it relevant to them,” said McEnroe.
Nick Winterbotham, chairman of the Group for Education in Museums (GEM), said: “A pragmatic threat to museums is the absence of anything after the 17th century at Key Stage 2. So many social history and themed museums rely on primary school visits that this could knock a major hole in visiting statistics.”
Erica Davies, director of the Ragged School Museum in London, agreed that this would have huge ramifications for many museums that rely on Key Stage 2 school visits.
“So much of what museums do is geared towards the Victorians,” she said. “With Key Stage 3 pupils hard to attract, this could be a real killer for museums and leave them teetering on the brink.”
Members of the GEM email list expressed concern that the proposed revisions represented a fundamental shift in history teaching.
John Reeve, former GEM chairman and a lecturer in art, design and museology at the Institute for Education at the University of London, said the new history curriculum framework ignored diversity, social history and wider culture.
