National Curriculum

National Curriculum Review

On 20 January 2011, the Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove announced a major review of the National Curriculum, to cover 5-16 education. The review will take place in two phases:

Phase 1 - A review of the four compulsory subjects. These are English, science, mathematics and P.E and will be introduced for first teaching in September 2013.
Phase 2 - A call for evidence on the remaining curriculum subjects to determine whether these should be statutory. Subsequent work will take place to develop statutory curricula for first teaching will be September 2014.

The National Curriculum does not encompass the wider school curriculum. It is the Government's intention that the National Curriculum be slimmed down so that it reflects the body of essential knowledge which all children should learn. It will be the responsibility of schools to construct their own programmes of study in subjects outside the National Curriculum and develop approaches to learning and study which complement it.

Science National Curriculum

Science will remain a compulsory subject in the National Curriculum. The Department for Education (DfE) launched a three month call for evidence on 20 January 2011. SCORE submitted evidence to the Department on the 14 April 2011.

In addition, SCORE hosted a conference on 21 March to explore science in the National Curriculum. A summary of the event is available to download here.

This webpage outlines how the science community may get involved in the review, the process for the review and further reading.

Scientific enquiry

SCORE has published a report of a SCORE workshop on scientific enquiry, held on 19 September at the Royal Society. The report - Scientific enquiry and its place in the National Curriculum - summarises the main issues raised and describes the views of the participants. The report does not represent SCORE policy.