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Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 2

Background to Reforms ........................................................................................................... 4

Outline of the Event ................................................................................................................. 6

Findings ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 12

Abstract

This a student/teacher response to the Department for Education’s consultation on reformed GCSE and A level subject content for teaching from 2016. An event was held at the DfE headquarters in London on 31st October 2014 to gather the views of students and teachers. The event was facilitated by ConsultGov, supported by Voting Counts UK and hosted by the Department for Education.

Subjects

GCSE Citizenship Studies

GCSE Cooking and Nutrition

GCSE Design and Technology

GCSE Drama

AS & A level Drama and theatre

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the students & teachers who attended the event and do not necessarily reflect the position of the facilitators, ConsultGov, Voting Counts UK or the Department for Education.

Executive Summary

For decades now, successive

governments in the modern age have

tinkered and modified school

classrooms over recent years.

Whether that may have been the

creation of inspection boards such as

Ofsted (Office for Standards in

Education) in 1992 or the gradual

weakening of powers by local

authorities, as ‘Academies’ became

one of the last innovations of Tony

Blair’s ten-year reign in 2005. From

2010, the UK has since produced one

of the most radical programmes of

change in its approach to education

policy under the current Coalition

government, with the then present

Education Secretary, Michael Gove,

spearheading a series of reforms,

which will affect the content and

teaching of subjects across all stages

of a student’s academic life.

Following a report by the Department

for Education (DfE) in December 2011,

which outlined a new framework on the

National Curriculum, all subject

content of GCSEs and A Levels will be

reformed. After a stage of public

consultation, these reforms will come

into force across a number of subjects

from September 2015 and will

progress throughout into all those

remaining by 2017.

The reforms themselves have not

exactly been met with universal

acclaim by teaching unions and

academics themselves, with figures

such as the National Union of

Teachers’ (NUT) General Secretary

Christine Blower describing the

reforms as “rushed”. It is no

understatement that these widespread

alterations to the curriculum have

become a divisive matter for debate.

I am therefore delighted to present this

report on behalf of Consult Gov. The

consultation hosted at the DfE on the

31st October allowed a first-hand

insight by students to inform the policy

making process, as well as using their

own experiences of formal learning to

help shape the agenda that will impact

all students and teachers in the years

ahead.

Jack Welch

Background to Reforms

There are numerous factors which

surround the reasons as to why the

government wish to reform the

curriculum as it stands. It has been

illustrated that the UK’s standing within

world league tables has slipped in

recent years, when in 2010, early into

the Coalition government’s rule,

findings 1published by the Programme

for International Student Assessment

(Pisa) had shown a decline in the

quality of reading, maths and science

had once again declined after years

which showed no improvement. Falling

behind international competition, the

former Education Secretary, Michael

Gove, has criticised the state of the

current curriculum as having “lost its

way” 2and has brought forward a

1 ‘UK schools slip down world rankings’, The Guardian, 7 December 2010, http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/dec/07/uk-schools-slip-world-rankings 2 Gove puts focus on traditional school values’, BBC News, 24 November 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11822208

series of overarching reforms to the

state of teaching in schools.

Since 2013, the government has led

on a period of public consultation and

subject content review across GCSEs

and A Levels, with a period of

transition now set to introduce these

new qualifications from September

2015.3 In a report by the DfE

explaining the objectives behind the

reforms, it would enable students to

prepare “for further and higher

education, and employment.”4

Furthermore, these changes also aim

to make studying these subjects more

rigorous and demanding in their

content to ensure an accurate

determiner of a student’s

achievements.

3 For the timetable of new individual subject syllabuses, visit this page here. 4 See the full report here.

There is less emphasis on modular

practices of study and greater focus on

a linear curriculum in order to address

the fact that while good grades have

increased, 42% of employers are still

having to give additional training to

students who have left from school or

college. A speech by Gove earlier this

year announced that these reforms

would address issues like “grade

inflation”.5 The reforms have not been

supported by the Labour Party and

have stated they will seek to overturn a

number of these changes if they were

to be elected into government after the

next general election in 2015.

5 This speech was given on the 9 April 2014. See the full transcription here.

Outline of the Event

Inviting a range of students at diverse

points of their education, including

those not studying, the sessions

focused on engaging student opinions

on what the reforms would mean for

pupils studying the scrutinised subjects

(GCSE Citizenship Studies, Design

and Technology GCSE, Drama GCSE,

Drama and Theatre AS/A Level). In the

morning session, groups were divided

on a scenario with government arguing

for the proposals of reform and head

teachers who were opposed to it to go

head to head on points ranging from

teacher autonomy to international

standings (see Section 4 for more

detail). A discussion which looked into

closer depth the significance and

impact of reforms to GCSE Citizenship

Studies followed afterwards.

The afternoon looked into the question

for ways in which government can

improve its level of public engagement

and for people to engage on

consultations and participate in policy

reforms such as the consultation on

subject reform. Once more, ideas that

were presented back looked into

closer interaction with digital resources

and creating accessibility. Further to

that, students were divided by groups,

with some working on scrutinising the

remaining subjects of those in the

agenda and others who devised a

number of role plays which would

assess the potential bearing it would

have on protected characteristics

under the Equality Act 2010 (Disability,

Gender Reassignment, Pregnancy &

Maternity, Race, Religion or Belief,

Sex (Male/Female), Sexual

Orientation). The reforms are

concerning this area due to the Act

requiring public bodies to consider

‘due regard’ for the way in which these

decisions would influence these

groups.

Findings

Starting with the debate, an even split

was apparent among students in those

who either supported or opposed the

reforms. Although individuals may

have been placed on the side which

they would have not preferred, a show

of hands revealed afterwards that

seven were in favour of the reforms

and seven were against them, with a

few abstentions. This in some ways is

surprising in contrast to teachers, with

a survey conducted by the Association

of Teachers and Lectures (ATL)

indicating that nine out of ten teachers

who took part said that the reforms

were 'chaotic' or 'flawed'6 in their

transition into schools . Arguments

reaching for the reforms leaned in

favour of the concerns of the

international competition that Britain

faced was vital in a global race which

the readiness for the world of work is

6 Schools not ready for new national curriculum ‘, Times Education Supplement, 28 August 2014, ‘http://news.tes.co.uk/b/news/2014/08/28/most-schools-not-ready-for-new-national-curriculum.aspx

determined by the quality of education

a student receives. One student

evoked a previous speech by US

President Barack Obama, who was

claimed to have made comments that

a poor curriculum will fair badly when

it's compared to others. Obama's

ambitious 'Race to the Top'

programme for schools across the US

affirms this determination to change

the standard of teaching in American

schools.

Conversely, arguments against the

reforms suggested that while some

were in favour of the changes, many

said that they could not be passed

through in their current form. In the

course of the debate arguments

pursued that teachers needed the

autonomy to educate their students,

rather than being dictated purely by

central government. Investment needs

to be directed into their resources as

opposed to being entirely committed to

this.

Practical skills such as IT and basic

communication were vital in ensuring

students would be more ready for the

world of work and not following a

purely academic line. As the familiar

phrase of one student demonstrated, 'if

it isn't broke, don't fix it'.

For the first review of one of the

subjects, GCSE Citizenship Studies,

students present were required to think

about two aspects in their discussion:

if there was a suitable level of

challenge and if the content satisfies

criteria to progress into further

academic/vocational study. Citizenship

in schools has been a frequent debate

amongst young people as to the

emphasis it is given in the curriculum

overall. The British Youth Council

(BYC) Youth Select Committee report

on A Curriculum for Life in 2013 found

that “provision and pupils’ achievement

had improved, with over half of schools

inspected judged as good or

outstanding.”7 The new curriculum for

Citizenship aims for a deeper

understanding of local and

international concepts, as well as

knowing their rights and

responsibilities as citizens and the

legal system. Students are now

encouraged to discuss real-life forms

of active citizenship and how they can

take that forward and help their own

communities themselves. Having

separated into smaller groups to share

ideas, the students fed back

collectively the outcomes of those

discussions. Students shared similar

feelings as to the subject’s importance

and felt it should be a core subject

within a student’s curriculum and

deserves recognition by universities

and not put on the same level as that

as General Studies.

7 Read the report here.

In other respects, students recognised

the important role this subject has

played in their lives to go onto study

subjects such as Politics and can

prevent the risk of ignorance around

British democracy, which would in turn

affect our own cultural identities.

Arguments also indicated that the

reforms themselves were convoluted

and needed more focus on making the

syllabus engaging for pupils and

prioritise on factors such as

democracy, law and order and the

multicultural society.

For 'Your Voice in Education', students

were asked to devise innovative

solutions to the way in which school

councils, local authorities and central

government would be able to

communicate with each other

effectively. This is so that during

reforms to the curriculum, government

will be able to consult with a wider

range of young people. After having

separated into smaller groups,

students came and fed back on the

outcomes of those conversations.

Students mentioned a number of

existing programmes which already

had success in their age groups

engaging decision makers, including

the UK Youth Parliament and the

recent Child Poverty Commission from

The Children's Society, which invited

young people to sit as Commissioners.

Students were keen to see that Youth

Parliament had a duty to engage more

widely with schools in consulting for

feedback and representation to be as

wide ranging as possible. Projects like

the CPC on the other hand would build

on the advocacy of issues which affect

young people and have created a

template in which MPs and those in

government can seriously listen to the

voices of the younger generation when

given important responsibilities.

Other suggestions which followed

included a Youth Scrutiny Panel which

would assess all matter of government

policy and a annually youth conference

which in its basic format would bring

together students across the country to

discuss the agenda of what mattered

most to them in education and to

inform government policy in return. A

similar organisation who already

performs this work may be Student

Voice. Course representatives, which

are common at universities, also had a

role to play that as well as feeding

back to their tutors about peer

feedback on their subjects, a number

of them would be invited to produce

essays and detailed reports which

would be read by industry

professionals and inform the state of

their subjects in relation to job fields. If

schools were able to, a Youth

Engagement Officer which would be

appointed to facilitate student

participation in school councils and

other extracurricular activities would be

a welcome asset to a student's

academic life.

For the last part of the day, students

divided into two different groups which

some would scrutinise further

curriculum reforms in Drama/Theatre

Studies and Design and Technology

(DT), while others would focus on the

impact that these changes would have

on Equality and Diversity in relation to

the protected characteristics (see

Section 3 for more detail). Students

had to devise a small role play of their

chosen characteristic to demonstrate a

scenario of how these areas would be

influenced by the reforms. In this case,

both disability and gender

reassignment were explored. Students

who looked at Drama observed the

positive step on looking at a student's

overall contribution to their course

more closely than a single

performance. Some students

questioned whether the GCSE

changes would satisfactorily allow

students studying the subject to move

into the A Level programme. Although

the new format would be 'issue' based

in its approach, A Level study delves

into a greater socioeconomic context

of the subject and requires more

thought and engagement overall. The

study of six texts in A2 study, though

would make students very informed,

may detract their overall performance

later on if this is given too much

priority. DT students shared similar

concerns in which emphasis on theory

based learning of the subject was too

strong and practical study not given

sufficient consideration given the

nature of the subject. It was vital that

the subject in all its form so must give

priority to skills based and problem

solving aspects of learning to ensure it

students would get the best use from

their learning.

Conclusion

What is striking from most of the

observations of students present at the

event is perhaps where they find

common ground in that schools and

colleges have a duty to tailor lessons

which prepares their students for the

wider world. Although the subjects

discussed are not all compulsory in the

curriculum, students at this

consultation have been keen to see

subjects like Citizenship awarded

academic recognition, so that those

who take on this study feel they can

progress in further/higher education or

other vocational qualifications. An

example from Ofsted investigation,

which looked into Citizenship studies

specifically, found that teachers who

were unskilled in teaching the subject

found it to be an ‘unwelcome burden.’8

This is especially problematic, as

schools who fail to take seriously the

8 Read the full report here.

way in which they should ensure their

students understand communities,

democracy and the rule of law would

surely have a detrimental impact for

later life. Moreover, the idea of schools

recruiting a Youth Engagement Officer

to support students’ participation

beyond formal learning indicates a

desire that the time invested to make

young people more rounded

individuals will pay greater dividends in

the long run than short changing them.

While there may be some

disagreement as to how the reforms

are devised or implemented within

schools and colleges, students were

fully aware of how the quality of the

curriculum is measured against other

countries and how this may impact

their choice of career in the future.

A world survey conducted this year by

Pearson9 showed that the UK’s

ranking of its education is 6th in the

world and 2nd in Europe, suggesting

that the country is moving in the right

direction of providing a strong

curriculum. In order for that mark to

stay consistent, or even improve,

government must create meaningful

and constructive practices of engaging

students on their experiences of the

curriculum, as it is they who are going

through the process which government

facilitates. Ideas of Youth Scrutiny

Panels and conferences may give

good starting points, but consultations

such as this have given an indication

that change within public engagement

in departments like the DfE is already

starting.

9 ‘UK 'second best education in Europe', BBC News, 8 May 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27314075

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