From an article at guardian.co.uk… “Ed Balls is to publish a new curriculum for all primary schools which will reorganise traditional subject areas into “thematic” headings and introduce compulsory sex education for the first time, under plans set out in the Queen’s speech last week.
The bill will legislate for the new primary curriculum, starting in September 2011, to reorganise traditional subject areas such as history and science into thematic areas of learning, such as “historical, geographical and social” lessons. The aim is to try to ease the pressures of the cumbersome curriculum on schools and give schools more freedom to do cross-subject thematic lessons.
There is greater emphasis on children’s happiness and wellbeing. The bill also makes personal, social and health education – including sex education – mandatory in primary schools for the first time, though parents will still be allowed to opt their children out of lessons until they turn 15.”
How do you feel about these proposed changes? I know that some schools have decided to move towards thematic teaching anyway… each term, we have one theme and base our teaching and learning experiences around that theme (although sometimes this isn’t always possible).
How are you planning at the moment… and do you welcome the new ‘thematic’ lessons? Leave a comment…
Image – Ed Balls
