What is the national curriculum?

The national curriculum in England, last updated in 2014, is a set of subjects and standards for pupils aged between 5 and 16. The curriculum for children between these ages is structured into eleven year groups and four Key Stages. For each Key Stage there are a number of subjects which must be taught classified as either core and foundation subjects.

According to the framework document, “the national curriculum is just one element in the education of every child. There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum specifications. The national curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.”

History of the national curriculum

The national curriculum was first introduced by the Education Reform Act in 1988. At that time, the curriculum applied to both England and Wales, but in 1999 control over education was given to the devolved Welsh government. Now England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have their own national curriculum, so this article is focusing only on England.

Pupils of compulsory school age in community and foundation schools must follow the national curriculum. However private or independent schools, academies and free schools do not have to follow the national curriculum. There are however some subjects and standards to which these schools must teach.

The last big shake-up of the national curriculum was in 2014. There have been small changes to the curriculum since 2014, particularly regarding assessments in the wake of the pandemic. Since the curriculum was last updated nearly ten years ago many educators are expecting some big changes soon.

What subjects are on the national curriculum?

The following table shows the core and foundation subjects which are compulsory at each Key Stage.

	Key Stage 1	Key Stage 2	Key Stage 3	Key Stage 4
Age	5-7	7-11	11-14	14-16
Year groups	1-2	3-6	7-9	10-11
Core subjects
English	​​​x	x	x	x
Maths	x	x	x	x
Science	x	x	x	x
Foundation subjects
Art and design	x	x	x
Citizenship			x	x
Computing	x	x	x	x
Design and technology	x	x	x
Languages		x	x
Geography	x	x	x
History	x	x	x
Music	x	x	x
Physical education	x	x	x	x
Religious education	x	x	x	x
Sex and relationships education			x	x

Criticisms of the national curriculum

Critics of the national curriculum highlight its narrowness, styles of assessment and lack of policies based on real results and tangible evidence from schools. Reported in the Daily Telegraph, in 2013 a hundred academics signed a letter stating their objections to the proposed changes to the curriculum. One such academic, Professor Terry Wrigley, from Leeds Metropolitan, is quoted as saying, “The proposed curriculum consists of endless lists of spellings, facts and rules... This mountain of data will not develop children’s ability to think, including problem-solving, critical understanding and creativity."

In Rosie Niell’s article , Pete Dudley states that before making policies on education we need to gather more tangible evidence from classrooms and real learning environments. He cites the Japanese educational system as one we could learn from explaining that in Japan, “the national curriculum and assessment are modified every five years - on evidence systematically gathered from thousands of lesson studies from thousands of schools”.

Conclusion

It’s not clear when the national curriculum will next be updated as there is no set time when it must be reviewed. However it’s unusual for ten years to pass without any reforms to the curriculum. Many experts in education therefore believe that, particularly in the wake of the challenges faced by schools and educators during the pandemic, significant change is necessary and imminent.

Bibliography:
Department for Education: The national curriculum in England - Framework document (29.03.2023).
Rosie Niell: What would you change about the UK education system? (29.03.2023).
Graeme Paton: The Daily Telegraph (29.03.2023).