1. What should the curriculum contain?

2. How should the content and the teaching of it change to foster children’s different and developing abilities during primary years?

To reduce prescription and overload by reviewing the current programmes of study.

• “The primary curriculum also needs to give serious attention to building children’s capability with information technology.” ICT should be embedded throughout the primary curriculum and should be given greater prominence within the core of “Essentials for Learning and Life”.


• Subject disciplines remain central, complemented by cross-curricular studies to let children apply their subject knowledge and skills. This combination is already provided at every “effective primary school” visited by the Review.

“there is too much prescribed content in the current curriculum… with too little regard for the practicalities and expertise needed to teach it effectively.”

Needs to be a stronger focus on curriculum progression. Three phases for statutory content are set out in the draft programmes of learning. This will help schools match content and expected progress.

Children need a secure grasp of literacy and numeracy skills by the age of 7 – the review suggests new opportunities to strengthen this focus.

Six areas of learning [Rec. 5]:


1. understanding English, communication and languages

2. Mathematical understanding

3. Scientific and technological understanding

4. Historical, geographical and social understanding

5. Understanding physical development, health and wellbeing

6. Understanding the arts.

Other key recommendations:

Reviews of the national curriculum should be proactive and at agreed intervals. This will assure schools of a period of stability “in which to achieve agreed curricular goals.” [Rec. 2]

 “Literacy, numeracy and ICT should form the new core of the primary curriculum.” [Rec. 8]

Schools should continue teaching “decoding and encoding skills” for reading and spelling, through phonic work as advocated by 2006 reading review. Similar principles should apply to numeracy (as per the Williams review). [Rec. 10]

The two early learning goals for writing should be retained. [Rec. 11]

DCSF, with QCA and Becta, “should consider what additional support teachers will need to meet the raised expectations of children’s ICT capabilities and use of technology to enrich learning across the curriculum and set in train adequate support.” [Rec. 12]

QCA should be clear what high-quality, play-based learning is and what its benefits are. [Rec. 16]

DCSF should develop its major central initiatives – such as Assessment for Learning and Assessing Pupils’ Progress – as there is great demand from schools and they have great potential. [Rec. 18]

“Specific requirements for ICT are set out in each area of learning where it contributes directly to the essential knowledge and key skills within that area. The review has been careful to allow flexibility in the curriculum to take account of new developments in technology. Good teaching will be needed to take these requirements forward and to ensure that technology is not used superficially – for instance, that it is not used only to assist with the presentation of work, rather than for researching, analysing and problem solving. The DCSF will need to consider appropriate arrangements to ensure that all schools have the capability and confidence to undertake and develop the ICT skills to which all pupils should be entitled.” [3.49]

All KS2 children must be taught one or more languages. Schools should focus on teaching only one or two. Which ones is their choice but should, where possible, be those which the children will be taught at KS3. Languages should be situated within the first area of learning (see below) to exploit the links between English and foreign languages. [Rec. 21 & 22].

Children will be taught the “broad chronology of British and world history from ancient to modern times”, plus a minimum of two periods in depth.

Ministers have accepted every recommendation. A public consultation of the Rose Review recommended programmes of study and guidance will be led by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

 [The review suggests that DCSF and QCA put together a comprehensive support package, beginning no later than Jan 2010, on top of additional teacher training.]

New primary curriculum for Sept 2011.