Teacher TV Update

Tuesday 1 December … Whiteboard Science – Seven lesson starts
Monday 7 December … Primary e-Safety
Tuesday 15 December … Primary Languages: Teachers and children starting French

Find out more here.

Major reform of curriculum at the heart of a renewed push to drive up standards

On 19th November Schools Minister Vernon Coaker confirmed the fact that there would be new legislation ( for primary education) … based on recommendations from an independent review of the primary curriculum by Sir Jim Rose, which sought the views of teachers, parents, pupils and subject experts and took over a year to complete. The reforms included creating six ‘Areas of learning’ that will shape what children learn from September 2011.

Details can be found here.

Learner entitlement to ICT

My friend Neil Adam points out in a ‘tweet’ on Twitter that Becta have pages and exemplars on entitlement to ICT within curriculum contexts. They are dated April 2009 and are emblazoned with titles such as: ICT in primary Art and Design: A pupil’s entitlement.

You can access the range which covers all of the curriculum areas  … here.

The Big Debate – Is the Curriculum Fit for the 21st Century?

Teachers TV have an interesting article on the ideas behind a curriculum for the 21C. This is what they say about the video:
Should the curriculum teach a foundation of knowledge, or simply provide analytical skills? Krishnan Guru-Murphy explores the issue with a panel of experts. Looking at the changes to the curriculum, from the introduction of diplomas and changes to the Key Stage 3 curriculum, to the Primary Curriculum Review, Krishnan and a panel including Mick Waters, director of curriculum at the QCA, and Matthew Taylor, head of the Royal Society, discuss the issues. The discussion also covers the use of the internet, analytical skills, and where the curriculum should go from here. The Big Debate features a lively discussion around these questions, recorded before a live studio audience at London’s Capital City Academy.

Microsoft ‘Know IT all’

Microsoft have a series called ‘Know IT all’ for teachers. There is a rather good pdf on the site at the moment called ‘E-Safety:An Introduction for Teachers’ … worth a look and a print for any staff room.