Government curriculum advisers have produced optional schemes of work for history, geography and design and technology. Each includes a set of four teaching units for each year of primary school, and sets out the core aims and content of each subject. Schools no longer have to teach the full programmes of study in subjects other than English, maths, science and IT, but must ensure progression, breadth and balance.
The history document says the subject’s aims and purposes are to develop children’s sense of identity through learning about the development of Britain, Europe and the world, and to introduce children to what is involved in understanding and interpreting the past.
Design and technology in primary schools should nurture creativity and innovation through designing and making. Pupils should explore values about and attitudes to the made world, and how we live and work in it. They should also develop skills and understanding.
Meanwhile, geography should stimulate children’s interest in their surroundings and in the variety of human and physical conditions on the Earth’s surface; encourage children’s sense of wonder at the beauty of the world around them; help children to develop an informed concern about the quality of the environment and the future of the human habitat - and enhance children’s sense of responsibility for the Earth.
Schools are entitled to one free copy of each subject folder from QCA Publications, PO Box 99, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 6SN. Extra copies cost pound;16.
