A Creative Primary Curriculum for All

Emma L. Palastanga

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367470715
• eBook ISBN: 9781000475555
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The curriculum in many primary schools, in recent history, became worryingly narrowed such that children were being prepared for tests more than their lives were being enriched with a variety of knowledge, skills and experiences. It is clear that it is the latter that enables them to perform well in tests and in life, so the time for change is now! This book seeks to empower teachers and school leaders to better understand what is meant by 'curriculum' and what a creative educational diet might look like in each individual school.

The book explores curriculum intent, implementation and impact. It includes leaders' reflection boxes and practical suggestions for busy teachers. Emma L. Palastanga analyses the need for a broad and balanced curriculum, against the limitations of cramming for success, and delves deep into the process of curriculum planning, delivery and evaluation, using Ofsted's terminology. Examples of lessons and a range of different approaches are shared throughout the book.

A Creative Primary Curriculum for All will give all subject leaders, classroom teachers and teacher trainees the confidence to provide a rich, exciting and varied curriculum, meeting the needs of learners whilst also letting the craft of teaching and individual inspiration shine.

Chapter 1 Introduction

DOI: 10.4324/9781003033189-1

• What is the aim of this book?
• What classroom experience does the author have?
• How is curriculum defined?

The aim of this book is to shine a spotlight on curriculum knowledge, to empower schools to value a broad and balanced curriculum with rich and varied experiences. My experience with and focus in this book are the education system in England; however, there will be similarities with other systems around the world, and much of what I write about will be relevant beyond the UK. Evidence from inspections and wider research evidence in the UK revealed a lack of curriculum knowledge and expertise in schools, which lead to curriculum being confused with assessments, driving the practice of ‘teaching to the test’ and a narrowed curriculum. Academies have the option of not following the national curriculum, but they must provide a curriculum which is ‘broad and balanced’ and includes English, maths, science and religious education. I hope this book will inspire educators in a range of settings in terms of both the type of establishment and geographically.

As a passionate educator for twenty years, I have worked in several different school settings from inner city to rural. My roles have encompassed both class teacher and school leader instigating change. I have also worked as an Ofsted inspector, observing and measuring the quality of education in a variety of settings. I have experienced a range of different approaches to teaching and learning as well as feeling the pressure of delivering results. This has led to a narrowed curriculum in Year 6 (the end of primary school in the UK), especially leading up to Statutory Assessments so that time could be spent teaching children how to access tests, helping children to independently identify how to achieve the full three marks in the reading comprehension paper for example, practising past test papers and providing data analysis to the headteacher termly.

In 2006, I was awarded a master’s in education, and as part of this degree, I continued exploring an area which had aroused my curiosity seven years earlier in my Bachelor of Education, namely the ‘creative curriculum.’ It was elements of this degree which ignited a desire to adopt a more child-centred approach to learning, leading me to take up a post as ‘Head of Elementary’ in a Montessori school. It was here that I learnt about Dorothy Heathcote’s ‘Mantle of the Expert’ (Heathcote & Bolton 1994) as well as understanding more about the Montessori child-centred approach. On taking up my next post as deputy head in a village primary school, I was tasked with developing the curriculum. This was an exciting and daunting responsibility and something I was determined not to rush. I visited other schools and discussed their learning journeys and carried out literature research to identify our legal obligations and, therefore, our freedoms, after which I led staff meetings to inspire the staff to join me on the voyage.

Teachers need to be given the confidence that providing a rich, exciting and varied curriculum is the right thing to do, and yes, children need to be taught how to access tests but not at the exclusion of all other opportunities. Since 2019, Ofsted has also put a greater emphasis on looking at the curriculum in schools, curriculum intent, implementation and impact, but this has generated a myth for some that there is an ‘outstanding curriculum’ to be followed. This is simply not true, and there is plenty of scope for the craft of teaching and inspiration to shine through, meeting the needs of learners and impacting on positive outcomes.

For many teachers the word curriculum had become synonymous with National Curriculum Programme of Study and Attainment Targets since this is mandatory for all maintained schools in England and Wales, in addition to a daily act of collective worship, religious education and, since September 2020, relationships and sex education (RSE). Relationships education forms part of the mandatory RSE programme which includes online and offline friendships and knowing how to stay safe in the real world and virtual world, as well as respecting and celebrating differences and developing awareness of positive mental wellness in themselves and others. Sex education is compulsory in secondary school but not in primary school; however, some primary schools choose to teach sex education beyond the contents of the science curriculum (which covers how our bodies change as we get older). If a school does decide to teach it, then there should be a separate policy, and parents have a right to withdraw their children from these sessions. It is also imperative to bear in mind religious views and any special educational needs. Relationships education builds the foundation of boundaries and respect, a precursor to consent which is explored at secondary school.

It is the National Curriculum Programmes of Study content which sometimes staff feel pressured to ‘get through’, and it is this aspect on which the book will not focus! The National Curriculum forms one part of the school curriculum, and as stated in the National Curriculum (DfE 2013) document, ‘[t]he School curriculum comprises all learning and other experiences that each school plans for its pupils’.

The intention of this book is also to empower schools to better understand what is meant by ‘curriculum’ and ‘creativity’ and to envisage the educational diet in your school. The curriculum has so much scope for individual creativity and wider opportunities, of which the National Curriculum is only a small part. There are plenty of opportunities for the skill of teaching and individual creativity to shine through, meeting the needs of learners and impacting on positive outcomes. In this vein of empowerment, there will be space to reflect at the end of each chapter with questions to prompt your thinking. Allow yourself some time to absorb what you have read and apply it to your own setting. How would you answer the questions currently, does anything need to change and what other questions or ideas are generated?

In defining curriculum we need to explore the purpose of a school curriculum; to do this, I quote from the Education Act 2002 which is cross-referenced in the 2010 Academies Act:

Every school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based. Maintained schools must also promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society and prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

(Parliament of the United Kingdom, 2002 and 2010)

That is to say, schools must provide an education which caters for the current needs of individuals and society as well as prepares children for the future as citizens who have the skill set to contribute to that society. This is where creativity comes into its own; we need citizens who can think creatively, who can solve problems and make connections, who can apply previously learnt knowledge and skills to new situations as jobs and perhaps social situations which don’t exist currently but may well exist by the time those children are ready to engage in the world of work. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us a glimpse of this with many businesses having to adapt, operating in versatile ways and educational establishments having to utilise technology in different ways to continue educating learners beyond the classroom walls.

In Chapter 2, I explore more about the history of the school curriculum so that we can understand the purpose it plays in education today and how this links with creativity as well as where it may have squashed creativity in the past. For now, it is enough to acknowledge from the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010 quoted earlier that a school curriculum is there for the good of the pupils and of a wider society both at any given moment in time and for the future.

The National Curriculum ‘provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge they need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement’ (DfE 2013).

If a school follows the National Curriculum, it is a solid foundation for meeting the purpose of a school curriculum; however, note the use of the word introduction in the earlier quote, which suggests in itself that there is more to be explored. Later in the 2013 National Curriculum document, this is clarified further: ‘The national curriculum is just one element in the education of every child.’ Students’ education should not be limited to the content of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. We also need to consider what is meant by ‘the best that has been thought and said’ as this will differ according to each person’s viewpoint. However, the National Curriculum provides some examples from which we can work. This doesn’t mean to say that other authors, musicians and artists shouldn’t be included. High-quality, well-regarded works should be introduced to children as part of their learning and that, in turn, may stimulate their imagination and model the skills to be learnt in order to produce such pieces. This also applies to mathematical formulae and scientific ideas, in fact, in all areas of the curriculum.

When I was tasked with developing the school curriculum in our small village school, I first began with research. I also explored common myths which existed amongst staff and worked to dispel them. One of the main myths which existed within and beyond my own school was the legal amount of time we must spend teaching core subjects; this does not exist. The Education Act of 2002 states that an order under the act may not require allocation of particular periods of time for any programme of study or specific skill or the allocation of particular periods within the school timetable, so yes, you can teach maths in the afternoon if you choose or only teach two sessions of English in a week! This gave us newfound freedoms to block particular subjects so that we taught linked subjects in a particular thematic approach and could spend longer getting deeper into a lesson. This was in contrast to having to stop and change focus every hour, as was previously believed necessary, to fit each subject into a weekly timetable.

In fact, the National Curriculum is a very useful document if you take time to explore it beyond the Programmes of Study because it states quite clearly that schools are also free to include other subjects or topics of their choice in planning and designing their own programme of education. There is also permission to ‘range beyond the national curriculum specifications’ and encouragement for practitioners to ‘develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum’ (National Curriculum 2013).

As I stated at the beginning, the term curriculum had for many become synonymous with mandatory programmes of study in the National Curriculum. What I hope is now clear is that this is one small part of a child’s educational diet during their time at school. I could explore in depth the meaning behind a wide range of terms such as the taught curriculum, exactly what it taught and compare that to what the pupils actually learn; the learned curriculum; and the hidden curriculum, a school’s attitudes and culture in general and towards particular subjects, perhaps suggesting through time allocation alone that one subject should be revered more than another or a particular behaviour is more desirable than another. However, for this book, it is enough to simply acknowledge that the National Curriculum Programmes of Study introduce pupils to ‘the essential knowledge they need to be educated citizens’ (DfE 2013) and that in order to promote the wider development of pupils and prepare them for later life, there are so many more skills, opportunities and experiences we as educators need to provide through exciting and stimulating lessons.

In Chapter 3, I define creativity as it is an ambiguous term. By the end of the chapter, you should understand why creativity is important and be able to identify the differences and links between creative teaching, learning and outputs. Creativity is not only of importance to the individual, but it is also imperative for future business and global economic competition.

I draw on the working definition of the curriculum that Ofsted has used over the last couple of years in Chapter 5 to explore in more detail the concepts of ‘intent,’ ‘implementation’ and ‘impact’ to ‘recognise that the curriculum passes through different states: it is conceived, taught and experienced’ (Ofsted 2019).

I dedicate this book to celebrating creative learning opportunities in order to deliver ‘exciting and stimulating lessons’. The background information and personal anecdotes are included to support educators on the same journey and to enable you to benefit from my experiences. I hope it will give you the confidence to be brave, take risks and provide your children with high-quality teaching and learning opportunities. Some of the examples included later in the book will link to the national curriculum objectives, and others will explore wider curriculum opportunities.

In the rest of this book, we explore the history of the curriculum, recent changes in the inspection regime and what this has meant for schools whilst providing some examples of creative curriculum lessons as we delve into ‘implementation’ of curriculum. We also look in more detail about what is meant by a broad and balanced curriculum and the options available to schools. I do not propose one single approach but instead present a range of information which I have gathered in my twenty years in education which I hope will support you to make the right choices for the children in your setting.

• What do you understand by ‘school curriculum’?
• Did it surprise you to learn that there is no legal time allocation for a subject?
• What does the ‘educational diet’ look like in your school?
• Is there anything you will adapt or change as a result of reading this chapter?

Bibliography

Books and articles

1. Heathcote, D. and Bolton, G. (1994) Drama for Learning: Dorothy Heathcote’s Mantle of the Expert Approach to Education. Dimensions of Drama Series. Heinemann.

Journals and reports

1. DfE (2013) last updated 2015 The National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2 Framework Document Available from: www.gov.uk/dfe/nationalcurriculum Accessed 3 June 2020.
2. Ofsted (2019) Inspecting the Curriculum Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-the-curriculum Accessed 26 November 2020.
3. Parliamen...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 A brief history of the curriculum
• Chapter 3 Constraints, creativity, carte blanche?
• Chapter 4 A broad and balanced curriculum
• Chapter 5 Curriculum champions
• Chapter 6 A creative curriculum for all
• Chapter 7 Intent, implementation and impact
• Chapter 8 A range of approaches
• Chapter 9 Homework
• Chapter 10 Curriculum provision during a pandemic
• Chapter 11 Conclusion
• Index