Our expert, qualified teachers can help you navigate the mysteries of the new national curriculum and find out how your child will be affected.

Parents: take a deep breath and read on.  There are huge changes afoot in education from early years to GCSE.  From Ullswater to Urmston and from Streatham to Stretford, parents are struggling to grasp the serpentine twists and turns in curriculum developments.  Better Tuition‘s team of qualified teachers have got together to bring you an easy-to-read guide to the national curriculum of 2014 and beyond.

This is a huge topic and one which will inevitably extend into several blog posts, but let’s begin with a short summary of how the changes will affect your child.

The national curriculum (a set of subjects schools are obliged to teach their students) has been disapplied for the academic year 2013/2014 in order to give teachers the opportunity to assume the brace position, get to grips with the new requirements and, in some cases, get a head start by introducing the new curriculum before September.

1.  If your child will be in Years 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 or 9 in September 2014, they will follow the new national curriculum (more details to follow).

2.  If your child will be in Years 2 or 6 in September 2014 they will follow the current (2013) national curriculum. This is because Year 2 and 6 students take SATs, which will not be revamped in time.  These students will begin to follow the new national curriculum from September 2015.

3.  If your child will be in Year 10 or 11 in September 2014 they will follow the current (2013) GCSE syllabus.

4.  From September 2015 Year 10 and 11 students will follow the new (as yet unpublished) Programmes of Study for GCSE.  These are expected to be published in July 2014.

5.  National curriculum levels have *G*O*N*E and, somewhat surprisingly, they are not being replaced.  This means that schools must devise their own means of assessment.  All schools will have to show that students are making real, verifiable progress.

6.  The new national curriculum is not compulsory for academies and free schools, though this does not necessarily indicate that they will not elect to follow them.

We will be posting more on this over the next few days.  Meanwhile, if you’d like to book a free assessment or some tuition with one of our qualified, dedicated teachers, give Paul Syrett or Christine McLaughlin a call on 0161 748 3912 or call in to our professionally resourced tuition centre at 1 Crofts Bank Road, Urmston, M41 0TZ.

All information is correct at the time of publishing.