Working with schools

The National Curriculum

Schools are being encouraged to use museums, museum collections and out-of-classroom experiences to enrich the pupils’ learning.
To be able to provide a suitable package for schools it is important that there is a basic understanding and knowledge of the National Curriculum since this is the framework within which teachers have to deliver education. The way schools and teaching are now organised is hierarchical and complex in structure and needs a little explanation.

Key Stages

The year groups are numbered and grouped into Key Stages
* Key Stage 1 (KS1, Infants) comprises:
Reception (ages 4/5), Year 1 (ages 5/6), Year 2 (ages 6/7)
* Key Stage 2 (KS2, Juniors) comprises:
Year 3 (ages 7/8), Year 4 (ages 8/9), Year 5 (ages 9/10),
Year 6 (ages 10/11)
* Key Stage 3 (KS3, first 3 years of Secondary School)
Year 7 (ages 11/12), Year 8 (ages 12/13), Year 9 (ages 13/14)
* Key Stage 4 (KS4 – GCSE years)
Year 10 (ages 14/15), Year 11 (ages 15/16)
* Key Stage 5 (KS5 – A level years)
Year 12 (ages 16/17), Year 13 (ages 17/18)

The National Curriculum lays out everything a child should be learning while at school through all these Key Stages and in all subjects. It also lays out Key Skills, Attainment Targets, Ability Levels and Desired Outcomes. The Key Skills in particular should be built into all activities.
The National Curriculum can be found on their website:
www.curriculumonline.gov.uk

with further information available on:
www.qca.org.uk
www.standards.dfee.gov.uk

However, since it covers all subjects at all ages and in great depth, much of it is not relevant and it can take a vast amount of time looking through to pick out the important bits for your particular organisation.

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

The basic idea is that the school picks a range of subjects for study (although the choice is fairly restricted with some areas of study being required while a few are optional) and within those choices they have to make sure that certain skills, understanding and knowledge bases are addressed.
For example, in KS1 history pupils should develop:
a) A chronological understanding
b) Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past
c) Historical interpretation - understand different ways in which the past is represented
d) Historical enquiry - how to investigate the past using different sources of information
e) Select from their knowledge and communicate it in a variety of ways
f) Have a breadth of study through the following:
Changes in their own lives and that of family and friends
The way of life of people in the more distant past
The lives of significant men, women and children in history
Past events from Britain and the wider world

Each Key Stage has its own list of the above and each bullet point has numerous details to be filled in as to precise activities, knowledge, vocabulary lists, desired outcomes and many other directions, plus extension expectations for more able pupils and alternative outcomes for those with more limited abilities.

QCA Schemes of Work

The National Curriculum is so complex that the QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) have produced some ready-made ‘Schemes of Work’ which can be presented in the classroom as a complete package. Teachers have been using these schemes extensively over the last few years because not only does it save an enormous amount of planning time, but also, teachers know that the work will be approved if the school has an inspection.

The schemes of work are available online at:
www.standards.dfee.gov.uk

However, these schemes of work are not compulsory. Teachers can develop their own schemes as long as they meet the strict criteria laid down in the National Curriculum document. Over the last few years teachers have gradually replaced parts of the QCA schemes with things that are of more relevance to their pupils, particularly by giving a local feel to the subjects where possible.

Local Initiatives

Children examining a bomb, located in the entrance to the museum tunnels.

Image: The WWII bomb recovered from a local field.

Some local authorities are funding the development of alternative schemes of work for schools to work with. A very successful initiative of this type is ‘Sense of Place’ in Cornwall. They have worked closely with schools to produce schemes that fulfil National Curriculum requirements through subject matter that is locally relevant. Details of their schemes to date (there are others in production) and resources are on their website:
www.sense-of-place.org.uk

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