The National Curriculum - A Guide For Parents
From September 2014, Primary schools were required to introduce the new National Curriculum to all children. Tenbury Primary Academy gradually made the transition to the new curriculum in 2013 and are now fully implementing it across the whole school.
e big curriculum change?
Why the change in 2014?
The main aim of the new curriculum is to raise standards. Although the new curriculum is intended to be more challenging, the content is actually slimmer than the previous curriculum, focusing on essential core subject knowledge and skills.all primary schools follow the new curriculum from 2014?
What are the main changes?
The table below summarises the main changes in the core subjects covered by the National Curriculum.
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Subject
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What’s new?
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English
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- Stronger emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar, punctuation and spelling (for example, the use of commas and apostrophes will be taught in KS1)
- Handwriting – not currently assessed under the national curriculum – is expected to be fluent, legible and speedy
- Spoken English has a greater emphasis, with children to be taught debating and presenting skills
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Maths
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- Five-year-olds will be expected to learn to count up to 100 (compared to 20 under the current curriculum) and learn number bonds to 20 (currently up to 10)
- Simple fractions (1/4 and 1/2) will be taught from KS1, and by the end of primary school, children should be able to convert decimal fractions to simple fractions (e.g. 0.375 = 3/8)
- By the age of nine, children will be expected to know times tables up to 12x12 (currently 10x10 by the end of primary school)
- Calculators will not be introduced until near the end of KS2, to encourage mental arithmetic
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Science
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- Strong focus on scientific knowledge and language, rather than understanding the nature and methods of science in abstract terms
- Evolution will be taught in primary schools for the first time
- Non-core subjects like caring for animals will be replaced by topics like the human circulatory system
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Design & technology
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- Afforded greater importance under the new curriculum, setting children on the path to becoming the designers and engineers of the future
- More sophisticated use of design equipment such as electronics and robotics
- In KS2, children will learn about how key events and individuals in design and technology have shaped the world
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ICT
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- Computing replaces Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with a greater focus on programming rather than on operating programs
- From seven, they will be taught to understand computer networks, including the internet
- Internet safety – currently only taught from 11-16 – will be taught in primary schools
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Languages
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- Children will be expected to master basic grammar and accurate pronunciation and to converse, present, read and write in the language
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We adopt a creative curriculum approach throughout the school, based on the Prospectus curriculum, linking subjects together under themes wherever possible.
If you require further information about our curriculum, please see your child's class teacher or Mrs Phelps, our Headteacher.