Charlie's page

The Cambridge Primary Review proposed that SATs should be replaced by teacher assessments. These would be for the purpose of informing them and parents of a child's progress. But these assessments would not be used to gauge the school's success in league tables or to measure the effectiveness of government policies. The Review did NOT propose scrapping a Year 6 assessment altogether, merely changing it.…



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Is it just me or are some people willfully misinterpreting the Cambridge Primary Review's proposal that kids should not start formal schooling till six?



Note the word 'formal'.



Prof Alexander makes it clear he is talking about the style of education remaining play-based till six, rather than becoming too 'formal' in terms of the teaching approach. He is not saying for one moment that children ought literally to stay at home as per Barbara Ellen's mischievous article… Continue

In most respects, I am no fan of the National Curriculum. It has grown too fat and unwieldy and is too prescriptive in terms of the content it requires my children to learn.



However, it is still useful when it talks about the skills involved in different subject areas. Take, for example, Science, a subject area that Michael Gove, Education Minister-in-waiting, sees as core to any curriculum.



Children, the National Curriculum says, in the first years of Primary school… Continue

Today's Conservative announcement on education promises the advent of 'vocational' schools around the country. Apparently, these will be 14+ entry schools where Britain's future plumbers and electricians will be trained.



"Our new technical schools will provide credible, high quality vocational education in each major city," says Mr Gove.



Once again, the language betrays the internal beliefs of the policy's creators. A generation of 'academic' children (i.e. those with a… Continue

Clever.

Able.

Academic.



I hate those words.



Don't get me wrong, those labels have never done anything to harm me. Quite the opposite in fact. I was fortunate at school for two main reasons. One, I happened to have hit a certain developmental stage in certain subjects in time to pass the 11-plus, so I got sent to a school for 'bright' kids. Two, I realised early on that if I put in enough effort in those subjects that my secondary school valued (e.g. maths,… Continue