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Education at primaries 'is deficient'
Tim Ross, Education Correspondent20 Feb 2009
Children's lives are being impoverished by an education that is "fundamentally deficient", a major inquiry concluded today.
It argues their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum has been eroded by a fixation on standards in the basics of literacy and numeracy. Subjects such as history, geography, the arts and science have been "squeezed out".
While there is a need for a national curriculum, currently it is seen as "overcrowded, unmanageable and in certain respects inappropriately conceived".
The interim report on the primary curriculum is part of the Cambridge University-based Primary Review - the biggest such inquiry in 40 years.
The report also addresses the issue of testing, noting that in Year 6 especially, the final year of primary school, "breadth competes with the much narrower scope of what is to be tested".
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "To say our children are receiving a deficient education is insulting to hard working pupils and teachers everywhere and flies in the face of international evidence."
Reader views (3)
....and they will be less stressed
- Beljamine, uk, 20/02/2009 18:37
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short regular 15 -20 minute tests in maths and grammar or any other subject will in fact motivate children to dio better all the time and will be less stressed. too much molly coddling and treating all students as equal have ruined education here
- Beljamine, uk, 20/02/2009 18:13
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I would agree that the education is lacking but that's not to say it is based too much on maths and english, rather far too much time is wasted on ridiculous subjects such as PSHE and Citizenship and not enough time on academic studies. I have to pay private tutors to bring my year 4 daughter up to the level expected of her age group in other countries I should not have to do this but the state education is focused on indoctrination rather than education and teachers time is taken up by the crazy inclusion policy which forced brilliant pupils to be dragged down by the special needs kids in the class.
- Jane Bewick, London, 20/02/2009 14:23
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