I agree absolutely with Michael Shaw (“It’s up to you to put meat on the bones”, TESpro, 6 July) that the curriculum is what you make it. In my view when we are told to “jump” we should ask “why?”, not “how high?”. We are the professionals, and should take our confidence from this.

In our school we have taken the approach that I think Hywel Roberts in his article (“You can go your own way”, TESpro, 6 July) advocates. Our primary school has adopted the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme as a framework for developing pupils and teachers. Within this we teach the requirements of the national curriculum. This works because we focus on basic skills but also allow the teachers to innovate and children to play a key role in following their own lines of enquiry and, as Mr Shaw says, “create learning that does not feel like learning”.

We must not and will not be straitjacketed; we know what is best for our young people and will carry on with confidence.

Carol Machell, Broadgreen Primary School, Liverpool.