Labour

The curriculum review has been further delayed by a year - Twigg

Stephen Twigg MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary today, commenting on the report by the Expert Panel of the National Curriculum Review, said:
 
"I welcome the report by the Expert Panel of the National Curriculum Review. It is clearly a serious piece of work to address the challenge of how we best prepare children not just for the world of work, but so they can fulfil their full potential.
 
"We note that the curriculum review has been further delayed by a year. If the delay is to allow a serious debate on how to implement the recommendations, and to consult with parents and teachers, then we welcome that. But if it is merely a cover for the proposals to be rewritten to fit Michael Gove and Nick Gibb’s ideology, then that is far more worrying.”
 
"Labour believes firmly that reform must be based on evidence not dogma.
 
"Literacy and numeracy at all ages must be at the heart of any new curriculum, both for primary school pupils getting the firm foundations, and for secondary pupils as critical work and life skills both before and after the age of 16. There must be a laser like focus on raising standards in the 3Rs.
 
"There are interesting proposals in the review, such as the plans for a three-year programme of Key Stage 4, which I have seen working well at schools like Perry Beeches in Birmingham and The City Academy Norwich. If the evidence supports their wider implementation, Labour will support such plans.
 
"The National Curriculum should be placed above party politics, so we can give confidence to teachers and head teachers that ministers will not constantly chop and change the curriculum to fit their own ideology. That’s why I’ve written to Michael Gove to offer the chance to attempt to agree a cross-party consensus on the plans."