Troubled Scots curriculum to be used in English Free School

ITS troubled introduction failed to inspire confidence among Scotland’s teachers, but the country’s new school curriculum has found an unlikely champion south of the Border.

Parents attempting to set up one of the UK government- approved Free Schools in Oxford want to use Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence as the basis for the new venture.

It is a major vote of confidence in the curriculum, introduced in 2010 amid criticism that it was vague and lacking in structure.

Oxford New School, which hopes to open its doors in 2013 with an initial roll of 375 pupils, will use the curriculum alongside the Opening Minds framework of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

The parents are hoping to win financial backing from the Department for Education under the Free School model introduced by the coalition government.

Based on an idea pioneered in Sweden, Free Schools are state-funded, but set up and run by parents, teachers, charities or voluntary groups. The first ones in England opened in September. Eylan Ezekiel, a former teacher who is among those setting up Oxford New School, or ON School, said the Scottish curriculum was best suited to the demands of educating today’s children.

He said: “I have been working in education for 20 years, and I think there’s always been a tension between teachers wanting more explanation of what to do, and also more creativity.

“Why Curriculum for Excellence? Because it’s a lot closer than the English curriculum to getting that balance right. It’s a modern curriculum for the kids we’ve got in front of us, not the ones we had 15 years ago.

“What Curriculum for Excellence does is to enable us to combine the skills approach of the RSA Opening Minds framework with a strong subject-based curriculum in a way that blends skills and subjects really well.”

The introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence had to be delayed for a year in Scotland to make sure teachers and schools were fully ready.

It had been plagued by criticisms that it was too “woolly”, with calls for more textbooks and more training for teachers.

But Mr Ezekiel said there was a certain amount of envy among some teachers in England that Scotland was making strides in attempting to modernise its school system.

He added: “Well done Scotland for once again at least trying to get it right. In England, I have sat in numerous events where the Scottish practice is shown to English teachers and the way they are able to work. People have just sat there and said ‘What? They’re able to work like that!’

“What’s really impressive in terms of the view from down south is the fact that Scotland is looking for significant positive change. What’s really key is that people are open and transparent in the way we expect our kids to be.”

Minister for learning Alasdair Allan said the Curriculum for Excellence had bedded in well and was driving up standards.

He added: “I am delighted to hear that schools outwith Scotland are considering using the model, and hope that its introduction is a success in the same way that it has been here.”