School's in - targets out?

The Conservatives have pledged to reduce the size of the national curriculum as part of an overhaul of the education system.

Addressing the NUT’s annual conference as delegates voted for strike action, shadow education secretary Tim Yeo detailed the Tories' plan.

He said the overall size of the curriculum would be reduced in order to give teachers more freedom.

“The target culture is just one of the impediments imposed on professional teachers,” Yeo told delegates.

“The national curriculum is another. It has been bloated by too many initiatives, not enough of which are directly related to the educational needs of the classroom.

 “Each parent takes a big step by entrusting their child to the care of a school every time they leave them at the school gates.

“Government needs to show a similar level of trust in teachers and in schools.”

“The next Conservative administration will slim down the national curriculum to a core of relevant subjects, reversing the trend of the Labour government to use it to override the professional judgment of teachers.

And he vowed to do more to put teachers back in control.

“We are determined to allow teachers to control their classrooms and the direction their classes take,” he said.

“That means the content, the balance and the discipline of our classes.”