The UK National Curriculum has changed a number of times since its development in 1998. It was an attempt to ensure that there was an entitlement to learning for all pupils in UK schools and to ensure that the state could test children to see just what they had learnt.
The NC was criticised on a number of fronts but in particular that the extent of its content restricted flexibility and prevented innovation. This may or may not have been true but it is clear that the curriculum content contained within the NC did need to shrink to allow greater curriculum flexibility and to allow greater personalisation. The new curriculum seeks to achieve three key outcomes:
successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve
confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.
confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.
Some of the language does reflect the nature of learning in the 21st Century but time will tell whether it actually is fit for purpose and will meet the needs of youngsters in UK schools. The new curriculum does offer much greater opportunities for flexibility and while there are statutory tests at the end of KS2 (11 year olds), KS3 (14 year olds) and KS4 (16 year olds) the way in which the statutory curriculum is delivered can vary from the very formal to an almost total project based model. The joint NCSL (National College for School Leadership) and QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) project 'Developing a 21st century curriculum' explored some of the ways in which the curriculum could be developed demonstrating that creative educators can innovative while still delivering to national standards.
The ICT curriculum aims to secure Capability, make effective use of communication and collaboration, explore ideas and manipulate information, explore the impact of technology and develop critical evaluation. One would hope that these skills and aptitudes are also developed and utilised throughout the curriculum as in an ideal world we would not need an ICT subject as such but would develop the competencies through everything learners and teachers do.
Posts
If you want to see what happens it might be worth seeing how Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence is doing:
http://www.curriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk/
It reads almost the same but has been around a good few years longer. It's worth pointing out, I hope, that there is no such thing as a UK Curriculum, although the new English resembles the Scottish one so much we might be headed that way ;-)
Suitably admonished - for UK read English. I guess some would suggest that as they are so much alike they must have it right!
Having worked both north and south of the border (See http://virtual-teacher.blogspot.com archive post in 2006) the English National Curriculum does try to model itself on the Scottish one, but they will never address many of the issues unless they reduce the class sizes (as they have done in Scotland). The English National Curriculum is a MINIMUM requirement of what is to be taught. The draft proposals from the QCA on meeting the 5 outcomes of Every Child Matters (and subjects must justify their existence within those 5 outcomes) leads me to believe that teaching of the compartmentalised 'subject' at secondary level is going to be a thing of the past at Key Stage 3 level.