Report on Curriculum Changes

Source : ASCL, SSAT, AQA

• KS3 • KS4 • KS5 • Vocational • Performance measures • Raising of participation age

National Curriculum (current) • The secretary of state has confirmed that he intends to proceed

with plans to “disapply” elements of the existing national curriculum from September 2013.

• This will affect programmes of study, attainment targets and statutory assessment arrangements from September 2013 for all subjects at Key Stage 3 and 4.

• The intention is to allow schools to adapt their curriculum during the transitional period before the new national curriculum is introduced.

• However, it will remain compulsory for maintained schools to teach all the core and foundation subjects as now.

• Schools are not obliged to make changes before the new national curriculum takes effect in September 2014 if they do not wish to do so.

Future National Curriculum Reform by “Benson and Hedges” (!)

• Academies will be free to follow the national curriculum or not as they choose.

• Subjects would remain the same as at present at KS3 and KS4 but ICT would be renamed computing.

• Current legislation would still apply in respect of RE and sex education. PSHE remains non-statutory but recommended.

• The KS4 entitlement for every student to study, and take a qualification in, one arts subject, one humanity, one design technology and one language remains.

• The proposal is for the revised National Curriculum to be introduced in every year group in 2014.

• Attainment levels and level descriptors are to be abandoned and replaced with a single attainment target for each subject at the end of each key stage. It is not yet clear whether these would have to be reported at the end of KS3.

• The new curriculum will be driven by knowledge rather than skills (Ed Hirsch)

https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/nationalcurriculum2014

http://www.usethekey.org.uk/administration-and-

management/government-policies-and-legislation/government-policies/comparison-of-the-current-and-draft-national-curriculum-in-the-core-subjects

http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jun/21/michael-

gove-history-curriculum http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/oct/15/hirsch-

core-knowledge-curriculum-review

KS4 (current)

• From Sept 2012 all GCSE exams take place at the end of the course

• No modular exams, but Controlled Assessments remain in place. For this cohort only Geography specifications have changed

• We will know by September if Speaking and Listening will continue to be a part of English Lang and Lit. It may be reported on separately.

• From September English Lit and History specifications will be “tightened”

• From 2014 there will be a November re-sit opportunity in English and Maths. November 2013 could be an early entry.

KS4 (future)

• Abandoned (The “u turns”)…. o EBCs o Single awarding bodies o Statements of Attainment for low attainers

• Reformed GCSEs in English, Maths, Science, Humanities start teaching in Sept 2015. The rest Sept 2016

• All GCSEs will be linear, assessed by written final exams, with Controlled Assessment only in practical subjects, with fewer aids, new grading structure but tiers remain in some subjects. (“U turn”)

• In the Autumn there will be a list of approved “high quality” GCSES that will count in the “best 8”.

https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/qualifications/gcses

http://www.aqa.org.uk/

http://www.ocr.org.uk/

http://www.edexcel.com

http://www.wjec.co.uk/

KS5 (current)

• There will be no further January examination window so

all modules in AS and A2 will be taken in the summer from now on.

KS5 (future)

• Most A levels will be reformed for first teaching in September 2015, first awarding in 2017 (English language, literature, language and literature, mathematics and further mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, psychology, art and design, sociology, business studies, economics, computing) with other subjects reformed in subsequent years.

• The reformed structure will be linear with more synoptic assessment and more challenging exam questions and removal of coursework for most subjects. AS will be “decoupled” so that AS marks do not contribute to an A level grade. Where possible AS will be designed so that it can be co-taught with the first year of A level and will be at the level of first year A level work.

https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/qualifications/alevels

http://www.usethekey.org.uk/administration-and-management/government-policies-and-legislation/government-policies/changes-to-a-levels-and-sixth-form-funding

Vocational qualifications at KS4

• Every November the DfE publishes a list of qualifications that are equivalent to one GCSE in KS4 performance tables. These qualifications have to meet criteria (mostly around the nature of their assessment) in order to figure in the list.

• Other qualifications on list 96 may be used at KS4 (and

should be if they are of benefit to students) but do not carry points within the tables.

Vocational qualifications (post-16)

• DfE is consulting on a proposal to reform post-16 vocational qualifications.

• The proposal divides vocational qualifications into two types: applied general and occupational.

• Applied general combine theory with practice, do not prepare for specific occupations and can be taken alongside academic qualifications. They will need to meet the same criteria as KS4 vocational qualifications.

• Occupational qualifications prepare learners for specific job roles. • Schools and colleges are expected to demonstrate that their 16-19

students are following a coherent study programme that is based on a ‘substantial’ vocational qualification and also includes maths and English (where GCSE grade C has not yet been achieved) and work experience.

https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/qualifications/otherqualifications

Proposed changes to performance tables

• This proposes that there should be two key measures which will be used for floor standards

• Firstly, the percentage of students achieving a ‘pass’ in English and maths (a pass being a C grade at GCSE or whatever the replacement for a C is in the reformed GCSEs),

• Secondly, a progress measure based on an average point score best eight to include: English, maths, three EBacc subjects, three other GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, and calculated using a value added method using KS2 test results as a baseline.

• The raw average point score eight would also feature highly in the tables.

• Other measures (including EBacc) will also be listed in the tables but will not be considered to be key indicators.

• https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/qualifications/otherqualifications/a00222511/14-to-16-info-perf-tables

Raising of the participation age

• The statutory participation age is raised to 17 for the academic year

2013-2014 and 18 for 2014-2015. • From these dates, all young people must be in full-time education,

apprenticeships or employment with training and must be advised accordingly during Y11.

• All students from Y8 to Y13 have the right to receive independent, impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG) which should make clear to them (pre- 16) the various routes available post-16.

• All 16-19 year olds should study English and/or maths until they have achieved a GCSE grade C, although they may take an alternative qualification if that is considered more appropriate.

http://www.usethekey.org.uk/administration-and-management/government-policies-and-legislation/government-policies/raising-the-participation-age-implementation-and-debate

Issues

• Linear courses > terminal exams

• Assessment, tracking and intervention

• Progress indicators

• Curriculum design at KS5