Page 10 - Layout 1

3.0 Primary and secondary education

Figure 3.1 Curriculum comparison One of the most exciting things happening in education now,
but perhaps relatively unknown outside the sector, is the Building
1904 Regulations 1988 National Curriculum Schools for the Future (BSF) programme – a major government
English 13% English 10% initiative to reinvent education that involves the refurbishment or
replacement of every secondary school in England over the next
Mathematics 13% Mathematics 10%
10 to 15 years. That means a new or refurbished school being
Sciences 10% Combined sciences 10–20%
delivered every three and a half days in that period, and an
Other languages 11–15% Modern languages 10%
investment of somewhere between £40 and £70 billion (the figures
Housewifery 5% Technology 10% at the moment vary widely according to source – one would like
Manual work 5% to see more certainty in terms the scale and type of investment).
History 13% History 10% BSF’s remit is limited to secondary schools and to England;
additional investment is being made in Scotland, Wales and
Geography 13% Geography 10%
Northern Ireland, and in programmes for primary schools and
Drawing 5% Art/music 10%
academies across the UK.
Physical education 5% Physical education 5%
But the real issue isn’t just about rebuilding schools; it’s about a
Source: Mike Davis, Clacton High revolution in educational process. What we really need to ask, in
order to maximise the value of that investment, is what is the future
of education? This diagram compares school curricula of 1904
and 1988 Figure 3.1. Despite all the change in the world over
that period, thinking about the curriculum and the way it’s taught
has, as you can see, remained remarkably static. But exciting
transformation, which is about doing things differently and creating
new types of educational environment, is underway and its being
driven by ideals and realised through the range of initiatives shown
here Figure 3.2. The ideals being established include developing
personalised learning programmes, helping people to reach their

Figure 3.2 Delivering 21st century schools

Education Improved outcomes Personalised Inter-agency Schools as
visions for learners learning co-location community hub

Current national Workforce Reform 14–19 Reform Every Child Matters Extended Schools
agendas
School design Remove environmental Enable positive Stimulate and inspire Support community
best practice constraints to learning learning interactions with space access and engagement

8 Primary and secondary education