The crumbling shrine: The national curriculum and the proposals to amend it

The consultation process that was carried out by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) at the end of the last millennium involved a large number of teachers as well as organisations. It elicits views about the character and shape of the National Curriculum and whether changes should be made to it. The Secretary of State's proposals for a less prescriptive and more flexible national curriculum framework were broadly welcomed by teachers. They are intended to give teachers greater scope for selecting and organising content in ways which match the learning needs of their particular pupils. Much of the early opposition to the national curriculum framework was based on the view that it would put teachers in a straitjacket and replace their professional judgement with a large amount of prescriptive detail. The challenge for teachers is to develop more socially inclusive pedagogies in their classrooms and the challenge for government is to design a curriculum framework which supports such development.