Strong Foundations

A recent article - England’s curriculum review: what education experts what to see - offers some positive foci to shape a fresh approach - from giving children more choice to direct their learning to decolonising the curriculum. 

However, a reformed curriculum will only be effective if delivered on the right foundations. 

In many ways it reflects concerns about a headline to recruit 6500 new teachers - recruitment is one thing but retaining those teachers is another. 

It would, therefore, be encouraging to see calls for an investigation of the culture in schools - asking a fundamental question - ‘what is their point and purpose?’. 

A non judgemental, open and creative exploration that allows schools to examine who they are seems like an important starting point in driving both changes to the curriculum and workforce. 

Such an examination - would involve a chance for schools to reflect on what learning means to them.  

It might sound silly - of course schools are all about learning - aren’t they? 

The reality is that ‘learning’ becomes confused with teaching. Children are ‘taught’ to fulfil a series of requirements placed on schools by the system (national testing/ exams). A focus on the end result reduces the time to invest in the process - the journey - and it is here that so much ‘learning’ happens. 

The point is - as we think about the curriculum and staffing - let’s also think about the culture of school - and how ‘learning’ infuses who schools are - defining what they do. 

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