Primary curriculum review

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The National Curriculum for PE Focusing on
Equalities
Crichton Casbon, QCA 6th May 2009 AfPE Research
seminar
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Outline of this session

• Provide information about the consultation on the
  new primary curriculum
• Focus on Equalities and provide some personal
  thinking based on what I have learnt

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Background to the primary curriculum review
An independent review led by Sir Jim Rose

• QCA worked with Sir Jim to
• gather evidence
• engage stakeholders
• carry out work on curriculum design and content
  
• manage all associated consultations

QCDA is now managing the formal consultation on
behalf of DCSF. It last till 24th July
2009 Visit www.qca.org.uk/curriculumconsultation
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Principal aspects of the review

• Curriculum design and content
• Literacy, numeracy and ICT
• Personal development
• Transition and progression, including summer
  born
• Modern languages

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Sir Jim was asked

• To develop a primary curriculum that will ensure
  all children
• build on their prior learning in the EYFS
• develop the essential literacy, numeracy and ICT
  skills
• acquire the range of personal, social and
  emotional attributes essential to their wellbeing
• experience a broad and balanced entitlement to
  learning
• experience a smooth transition between phases
• reducing prescription and increasing flexibility
  so schools can personalise

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A short guide to the proposed curriculum

• We live in a changing world, and our curriculum
  has to evolve to prepare our children for the
  opportunities and challenges of life in the 21st
  century.

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What parents say

• Here's what two parents told us, when we asked
  them about what they wanted from their child's
  primary education
• "We want children to have the chance to explore,
  be creative, and discover the world around them."
• "I would like to see children having access to
  as wide a range of experiences as possible so
  each child has an opportunity to shine."

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Whats changed?

• "...a well-planned vibrant curriculum recognises
  that primary children relish learning
  independently and cooperatively they love to be
  challenged and engaged in practical activities
  they delight in the wealth of opportunities for
  understanding more about the world."
• Sir Jim Rose

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Whats changed?

• The new curriculum has a clear set of aims, more
  flexibility and more opportunities for all
  children to become successful learners, confident
  individuals and responsible citizens.
• There's a new focus on the essentials for
  learning and life.
• Learning has been reorganised into six key areas
  that easily relate to each other and allow
  teachers more flexibility to adapt their
  curriculum to each child's needs.
• Thousands of children, teachers, parents and
  education experts have contributed to the review
  of the primary curriculum. Now it's time to have
  your say.

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Benefits

• "If we can give children these skills - to
  communicate, to work together, to present, to
  talk, to be confident, to be successful - they
  will be confident and successful learners in
  whatever career they choose."
• Primary headteacher

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Benefits

• Children will develop a deeper knowledge and
  understanding by making connections between and
  within areas of learning.
• Better links between school, home and the
  community will ensure that what children learn in
  school is given context in the real world.
• Teachers will have more flexibility to create
  challenging, exciting and engaging learning
  activities.
• It will better prepare children for secondary
  school.

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What teachers have said

• Wayne Beech class teacher"The new proposed
  curriculum allows me a lot more fun, a lot more
  freedom, a lot more creativity in teaching it
  which is fantastic."
• Terry Maxwell - consultant"I think that it is
  very empowering to the children that they can
  help to define what theyre learning and also as
  a school, as a headteacher, it can help to define
  the whole ethos of your school."

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• Alice Witherow headteacher
• "We trialled a project using the personal,
  social aspect of the curriculum. We had an
  enquiry question for children to find out whether
  all families are the same and the children in
  year one and two each took home a camera and
  photographed their families. We were particularly
  interested in the communication skills that
  children had - to communicate their ideas and
  their understanding of diversity, to create a
  sense of respect of the importance of difference
  within our school community and to involve
  parents in learning because we feel that is an
  essential part of any kind of curriculum."

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What the proposed curriculum looks like

• It is an opportunity for new ways of organising
  learning, designed around a clear set of aims.
  The curriculum aims help teachers keep in mind
  the purpose of the curriculum which is enabling
  all children to become
• 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.

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What the proposed curriculum looks like

• To achieve these aims, children need to be
  equipped with the essentials for learning and
  life
• literacy, numeracy and ICT capability
• learning and thinking skills, personal and
  emotional skills, and social skills.
• These skills can be developed across the whole
  curriculum, and provide some of the building
  blocks for successful lifelong learning, in a
  digital age.

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The aims and essentials will be developed through
each of the six areas of learning.

• The new areas of learning are
• Understanding the arts - exciting children's
  imaginations about the arts and developing their
  creativity
• Understanding English, communication and
  languages - developing children's communication
  and language skills
• Historical, geographical and social understanding
  - stimulating children's curiosity about the past
  and the present, and their place in the world
• Mathematical understanding - developing
  children's understanding of mathematics and its
  use in everyday life
• Understanding physical development, health and
  wellbeing - developing children's understanding
  of what makes a healthy, active and fulfilling
  life
• Scientific and technological understanding -
  developing children's understanding of the
  natural and man-made worlds and their curiosity
  and inventiveness.

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How areas of learning work

• Each area of learning contains essential
  knowledge, understanding and skills from a range
  of subject disciplines.
• It begins with an importance statement, which
  explains the distinctive contribution of the area
  to a child's development.
• Essential knowledge describes the big ideas
  children need to know and understand and key
  skills set out what children need to learn to do
  to help them to make progress
• The breadth of learning describes the range of
  contexts and experiences within which children
  learn. Curriculum progression gives an overview
  of what children must be taught at early, middle
  and later primary stages, to help teachers plan.
• Cross curricular studies set out the
  opportunities children should be given to enrich
  and enhance their learning and make connections
  with other parts of the curriculum.
• Where does PE fit?

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Focusing on the Equalities
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What is meant by Equalities?

• It is not simply about rights, access, provision,
  opportunities or compliance
• It is about recognising and celebrating
• differences
• individual and group achievements
• individual and group value
• It is also about
• finding specialisms or niches
• the right to make progress
• developing confidence and trust
• taking personal responsibility

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Developing a commitment to learning
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What have we found are the ingredients for
commitment to learning?
Schools
Attitudes
People

• Schools
• Charles Leadbeater identified four key aspects of
  good school relationships
• they build participation
• they provide recognition and affirmation
• they make people feel cared for
• they are responsive to personal motivation.

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What have we found are the ingredients for
commitment to learning?
Attitudes When Henry Ford allegedly said If you
believe you can or you cant youre probably
right he recognised the role of self-belief in
achievement.
People Weve heard said that long after youve
forgotten what they said or even what they did,
youll remember how they made you feel.
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What have we found are the ingredients for
commitment to learning?

• It is attitude rather than aptitude that causes
  most failure. Having a commitment to learning is
  one of the main reasons why people succeed.

Its absence is why many students dont achieve
what they are capable of and many adults look
back on school as a time of underachievement.
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The challenges

• The young people we have spoken to say, I would
  really like to learn
• how to become the person
• I want to be
• to have good relationships, especially with my
  family and close friends
• stuff I need to get on in life
• how I can make a difference.

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What do we want to achieve?
We want our learners to
4. have aspirations
1. develop good personal qualities and attitudes
2. develop self-belief
3. feel valued
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What should the curriculum be built on?

• Positive relationships with teachers
• Support from parents and carers
• Support from school
• Support from peers
• Inspiring learning experiences
• Supportive assessment processes

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And what about physical education?
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What do we want to achieve?
Part 1
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What is Physical Education about?

• physical competence and skilfulness
• physical growth and development
• confidence in and enjoyment of physical activity
• knowledge of what success looks like and how to
  succeed
• personal, social and emotional health and
  wellbeing

Part 1
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How do we achieve these outcomes?

• developing physical competence - balance,
  coordination and dexterity
• working physically to grow and develop the body
  systems and structures
• experiencing enjoyment and success to develop a
  love for physical activity and the confidence to
  get involved
• developing knowledge and understanding about how
  to succeed and what decisions to make in a range
  of activities
• developing knowledge and understanding about
  whats good quality movement and performance and
  what to do to improve it and make progress
• developing understanding about how physical
  activity is part of healthy living

Part 1
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The confident thinking being
A picture of physical competence and effective
performance

The skilful physical being
Part 1
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composition
balance
health and wellbeing
fine motor skills
exercise patterns
tactics
replicate
co-ordination
maximum performance
strategy
dexterity and manipulation

problem solve
choreography
outwit
gross motor skills
express and communicate
decision making
competence
The skilful physical being
The confident thinking being
The learner
confidence
Body systems and structures
Confidence and enjoyment
determination
Grow and develop
aspiration
stamina
focus
strength
suppleness
wellbeing
safe
speed
fun
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In simple terms we want young people who

• have a good range of secure skills that enable
  them to be coordinated, balanced and dextrous
• have the physical and mental capacity to take
  part
• have the physical capacity to succeed in physical
  activity
• can take part in any type of activity and know
  what they are doing and how to perform well
• are creative and good decision makers in physical
  activity
• are confident enough and committed to taking part
  in physical activity
• actively choose physical activity to support
  their personal, physical, social and emotional
  wellbeing

Part 1
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How will you organise the curriculum to achieve
your aims?
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What do your learners want and need?

• A high-quality curriculum that
• makes sense to them it has clear aims and
  purposes that reflect their interests, needs and
  aspirations
• is personal to them - focuses in on their
  greatest needs , aspirations and interests
• is designed to help them learn - uses time,
  staffing, space, resources and approaches to
  teaching, learning assessment in ways most likely
  to meet the priorities
• changes when it needs to - is reflected on and
  reviewed regularly to ensure quality

Part 2
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A curriculum that makes sense

• How will this help me to become what and who I
  want to be in life?
• How does it provide me with the skills I need as
  I grow up?
• Why is this worthwhile doing and learning?
• How does this relate to the world I live in?
• How does it link to other subjects and areas of
  learning?

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A curriculum that is personalised

• What do I want to achieve next?
• What steps do I need to take to get there?
• What are my greatest difficulties and how can I
  overcome them?
• What choices can I make about what to do next,
  what to get involved in and what I want to become?

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A curriculum designed for learning

• How can time be provided, used and distributed to
  bring about learning?
• how is time best distributed to learn balance,
  coordination and dexterity? What is best for
  composition, strategy, problem solving? What is
  best for developing confidence and commitment?
• Who will I learn best with and from?
• teacher, coach, parent, peer, mentor?
• What type of resources and equipment will help me
  to learn?
• ICT, written resources, well sized and weighted
  equipment, etc.?
• How do I like to learn and what makes me want to
  learn most?
• whole or part, light coverage or depth, auditory,
  kinaesthetic or visual, on my own or with others
• What type and style of assessment helps me to
  learn best?
• praise and feedback, celebration and reward,
  records or reports

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Why is physical education so important?

• Children naturally need to be physically active
  to support their growth and physical development
  and to enable them to become young people with a
  strong sense of health and personal and physical
  wellbeing.
• The development of good balance, co-ordination
  and the ability to manipulate and use objects and
  equipment well make them content and confident in
  themselves.
• Physical activity, exercise, play and active
  learning are all critical in developing their
  personal and social wellbeing that is fundamental
  to good learning.

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Why is physical education so important?

• All learners need to experience the thrill and
  excitement of involvement in physical activity,
  sport, dance, exercise and play.
• They need to feel the enjoyment involved in
  regular physical activity.
• They need to develop dreams and aspirations that
  are critical to becoming happy, emotionally
  balanced spiritual beings