A teacher’s concernsOur school is, with many others in Highland, taking a 2+2+2 route - agreed within our authority. Planning for commencement of National 45 work for a start in May 2012 is advanced.
Is all this work to be binned at this late stage? Will schools receive an unsatisfactory HMIE report if they do not follow a 3+3 model?
Will we now have to rewrite our S1-2 curriculum to include S3? Do we have to recall all advice to parents about our curricular model?
An education directorEast Renfrewshire is in a pretty unique situation. I don’t think that’s a reason for others panicking or more stringency. That would be keeping the whole class behind because one boy shouted out.
An education directorThe more conservative models are looking to replicate the old S1-2, the old middle-school and the old senior school. It means we accrue none of the advantages of the new systems but carry forward all of the disadvantages of the old.
An education directorWe don’t have a curriculum with the force of legislation behind it, so I would not expect that kind of prescription. But I would expect a consensus to emerge about what is good practice. Some of that will be influenced by the quality of attainment. A couple of years down the line, we will see if children who attain high levels do so as a consequence of choosing fewer subjects.
A headteacherIt all boils down to interpretation of a “broad general education” - and Bill Maxwell has tied it down too tightly in his letter to education directors. It’s creating a conflict between a broad general education on the one hand and personalisation and choice on the other. You can’t have both. Something has to give.
RELATED STORY:Government set to dig in on Nationals deadline
