Book Description

This report suggests that any new performance or curriculum measures affecting schools should only be implemented after proper consultation with key stakeholders and the wider public - something which didn't happen with the English Baccalaureate (EBac). The Committee says that the Government should also have waited until after the conclusion of the National Curriculum Review before introducing the EBac. They want the Government to deliver on its promise in the White Paper - The Importance of Teaching - to use performance tables to put greater emphasis on the progress of every child. The report notes that "certain academic subjects studied at A-level are more valued by Russell Group universities than others", but argues that a "focus on a fairly narrow range of subjects, demanding considerable curriculum time, is likely to have negative consequences on the uptake of other subjects." The Committee does not make recommendations on which subjects should or should not be included but rather encourages the Government to reconsider the EBac's composition when the National Curriculum Review is concluded. The Government should confirm how it will monitor the attainment of children on free school meals in the EBac. The report also calls for further international evidence to inform debate on the merits of the EBac: evidence the inquiry received did not suggest a link, in other countries, between the prescribed study of certain academic subjects and improved attainment and prospects for poorer students. Elsewhere, the report argues that the current arrangements for certification of the EBac should be shelved, as should calls for a Technical Baccalaureate to sit alongside the existing award.