New-Primary-Curriculum

New Primary School Curriculum in UK

The curriculum aims to put our children higher up the international league tables for educational outcomes by teaching our kids stuff earlier.

The new curriculum represents a jump in the requirements for children at all ages. The year 6 and year 2 classes have been the first ones to have to make this change in requirements and will be the first years to be assessed on the new Primary School Curriculum.

There are stricter requirements for good spelling, accurate grammar and more stretching maths. British history and Shakespeare are added along with computer coding. Due to this, Tutor My Kids private tutors in Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon and Newmarket have noticed that some children have gone from meeting the requirements for their age to being below theses expectations – largely due to changes in what is required from our pupils.

Why this new curriculum is good.

This is good because it will mean that our children will be better equipped for the workforce and jobs in the increasingly competitive job market. The focus on spelling and grammar means that young people’s literacy will be better fitted to the needs of employers.

Why it’s causing problems.

The problems are largely in maths because maths is a sequential subject; you have to understand basic fractions, for example, before you can move onto more advanced fractions. If children find maths hard and appreciate extra time to consolidate their learning  (get really good at a topic) this can be a problem due to the pace that the lessons are taught. (Also Ofsted requires teachers to deliver ‘pacy’lessons.)

How this can be sorted.

All schools will differentiate learning (give work of different levels to different children and/or groups of children) to support the level that each child is at.

If this isn’t enough to get the right progress for each child, then schools will put in place interventions (time in or out of the classroom to focus on key areas that pupils find challenging).

Even so, it’s not unusual for there to still be gaps in learning which can stop kids fulfilling their potential. One of our private tutors in Cambridge was working with a year 5 student recently and discovered that they didn’t know the difference between odd and even numbers, despite being proficient  in other areas of maths. This block can easily be overlooked in a classroom.

Also this can occur in secondary schools where children go up to secondary school with many primary aged gaps which make it particularly hard to then move onto more advanced maths. One of our private tutors in Ely is currently working with a year 8 student whose knowledge of fractions is being improved so he can tackle statistics more successfully.

A short course of private tuition can make a real difference to fill these gaps and help children excel.