Curriculum, Assessment and Qualifications Reform:

Implementation

Hardip BegolDirector, Assessment, Curriculum and General Qualifications

BESA AGM, 6 November 2013

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Aim of my presentation

Reforms to curriculum, assessment and qualifications

Government’s approach to implementation:

less prescription

system leadership

ITE, CPD and teaching materials

raising awareness

… and how this will enable the teaching profession and wider education sector to take ownership of reform.

Case for Reform

2010 Importance of Teaching White Paper:

So many great schools and teachers but performance below our potential when compared internationally

National curriculum should be slimmed down

Qualifications less demanding and failing to meet needs of employers and university lecturers

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2000 2003 2006 2009460

480

500

520

540

560

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%Trends in England’s GCSE maths grades and PISA maths scores 2000-2009 PISA maths upper limit

PISA maths average

PISA maths lower limit

Maths GCSE A*-C

PISA cohort

PIS

A m

ath

s sc

ore

% p

up

ils a

chie

vin

g A

*-C

in G

CS

E m

ath

s

Sources: OECD PISA databases, Micklewright bias analysis and NPD database

Maths results from PISA 2000 were not properly calibrated since maths was only a minor domain

Reforms on a page

New national curriculum: slimmer; focused on core knowledge and concepts; languages compulsory at key stage 2 (KS2); computing replaces ICT. In force from 2014.

Assessment: should relate to schools’ own curriculum; KS2 national assessment in English and maths remains.

New GCSEs: English and maths for first teaching in 2015, controlled assessment dropped; other subjects from 2016.

New A and AS levels: assessed at end of course, main subjects for first teaching in 2015; maths, languages and others from 2016.

Vocational Quals: Wolf-reforms driving up quality, first at KS4 and now post-16.

Accountability: smarter measures, minimising perverse incentives.

Vision for delivery

“…But what really matters is that this is a new approach to education, one that gives head teachers and schools far greater freedom. How they implement the national curriculum is down to them.

There will be no new statutory document telling teachers how to do their job. No national strategies telling teachers everything that they have to do. No national roll-out. This is a huge cultural shift.”

Elizabeth Truss, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (education and childcare) Speech at: http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/speeches/a00222888/felcom

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Delivering the vision: less prescription

New national curriculum sets out the ‘what’ and not the ‘how’

Shorter programmes of study setting out core content – especially in foundation subjects and key stage 3

Fuller for key stage 1-2 maths and English, but so important

Disapplication – giving schools chance to prepare by adapting curriculum in 2013/14

Delivering the vision: system leadership

Key feature of the government’s policy

Significant expansion of system leaders across England: • 355 teaching schools, 299 alliances, with c.20

schools per alliance• over 800 national support schools (NLEs)• Over 2000 LLEs

Schools Direct – major shift in delivering ITE

Delivering the vision: system leadership

£2m to help teaching schools to support schools in their alliance and beyond to plan for change

Aiming for geographical coverage, some proposals work with hundreds of schools

Focus on primary, mathematics, English, science, computing and languages

Supporting change management – auditing strengths, identifying materials

Delivering the vision: curriculum change

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http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/leadingcurriculumdevelopmentresource

National college have developed online resources to help schools plan curriculum change:

how good is your current curriculum?

what makes a great curriculum?

how can learning be organised?

Delivering the vision: ITE/materials/CPD

This curriculum makes new demands of teachers’ subject knowledge

Schools’ needs will differ and it is for them to identify their areas for development

Government is focussing investment in priority areas:• maths – NCETM has a range of support• science – national STEM centre has new materials• computing – recently announced £2m for additional master

computer teachers

‘Expert groups’ have been looking at the challenges of the new curriculum for ITE and serving teachers and how they might be addressed. Computing and geography expert groups have already published their work.

Assessment reforms

Consultation on assessment and accountability closed in early October

Proposals are that National curriculum levels will be removed and not replaced; government will not prescribe approaches to formative assessment; key stage 2 tests will remain

Proposed an option of a baseline assessment for assessing pupils’ progress across the whole time at primary school.

Opportunities

New curriculum materials and services

School-led assessment and reporting systems

Material that goes beyond the specified content in the curriculum or qualifications.

Curriculum, Assessment and Qualifications Reform:

Implementation

Hardip BegolDirector, Assessment, Curriculum and General Qualifications

BESA AGM, 6 November 2013

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