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Rose Review of primary education

Education expert Sir Jim Rose conducted the most significant review of the primary school curriculum in a decade.

His task was to propose a curriculum which would inspire life-long learning, give teachers greater flexibility and develop children’s personal skills.

'Choice and flexibility'

Sir Jim recommends that summer-born children should start primary school in the September after their fourth birthday rather than wait until January - however this would be subject to discussions with parents, taking into account their views of a child’s maturity and readiness to enter reception class. In some cases children might start school part-time.

To provide parents with more choice and flexibility, the government has agreed that by 2011 it will pay for both the cost of all children starting school in the September after their fourth birthday, and the full-time costs (up to 25hrs per week) of those children whose parents would prefer them to be in private or voluntary childcare.

Other recommendations include:

• making English, maths, information technology and personal development central to the primary curriculum
  
• teaching one or two foreign languages, focusing on those taught at Key Stage 3
  
• giving teachers extra support to help them teach information technology
  
• a new focus on spoken communication, such as role play and drama
  
• giving parents a guide to the curriculum, so they can better understand what their children are learning at school
  
• advising teachers about how to stimulate play based learning, which would be passed on to parents
  
• an extra training day for primary schools in 2010 so they can understand and start planning for the new primary curriculum

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said: "Sir Jim's review will give primary heads and teachers more freedom to decide what to teach and how so children enjoy learning and make good progress. Children must be secure in English and maths and have good communication skills and learn these essential life skills if they’re going to succeed and that is central to the Rose recommendations."

Areas of learning

Sir Jim also recommended organising the primary curriculum into six new areas of learning. These would be:

• understanding English, communication and languages
  
• mathematical understanding
  
• understanding the arts
  
• historical, geographical and social understanding
  
• understanding physical development, health and wellbeing
  
• scientific and technological understanding

Sir Jim said: "My recommended areas of learning will not 'abolish' subjects, such as history or geography. The essential content of these subjects must be taught well in order for children to be able to make links between them, which is what having the six new areas of learning will allow teachers to do."

• The National Curriculum for five to 11 year olds