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VIEWS FROM THE PEN OF... EMMA TURNER


Searching for the overall purpose of primary education


In our regular series highlighting authors in education, we hear this month from EMMA TURNER, author of “Simplicitus – The Interconnected Primary Curriculum and Effective Subject Leadership” published by John Catt Educational.


Primary curriculum and subject leadership have been in sharp focus in recent years. There is much advice out there for primary schools, but it is often dominated by voices not trained or experienced in primary practice. Primary is a truly unique phase where we


take children from the cusp of toddlerhood to the beginnings of adolescence. When we are designing our curriculum, we are doing so for children who are “multi novice” and this can be both an exciting and daunting prospect for primary schools who are required to deliver upwards of 12 subjects. Subject leadership can also be a challenge for primary colleagues, with


many often being asked to lead a subject (or more than one subject) in which they are not a specialist, with little release time. Schools have reported that subject leaders are unsure where to start with subject leadership, what the expectations are, what needs to be done and how to establish whether what is happening is effective practice. These challenges are why I wrote ‘Simplicitus - The Interconnected


primary curriculum and effective subject leadership’. The book is based on my 25 years’ experience in primary schools as teacher, subject leader, AHT, DHT, headship and now Trust CPD lead. The resources within the book are a comprehensive walkthrough of the considerations of how to build a successful primary curriculum and then how to lead a subject in primary. They have been used on my training with hundreds of schools and thousands of staff with great success both nationally and internationally, and are suitable for colleagues new to subject leadership as well as established subject leaders. The current tension between single subject teaching and thematic or


topic based teaching is also discussed at length within the book. Many schools are at a crossroads with their curriculum design, where they feel under pressure to abandon topic or thematic based teaching and move towards single subject teaching across all subjects in the primary phase. The unique approach discusses a third option, linking what we know about how we learn, child development, the practical and logistical aspects of working in a primary school, timetabling and the needs of our youngest learners, to present an interconnected model which is rooted in effective primary practice. One aspect of curriculum design which has not been in such sharp


focus, is that of the overall purpose of primary education, not all education but that which is specifically for children aged 5-11. Often publications and training materials/programmes are either generic for all aspects of the sector or not designed specifically with primary in mind. This reflection on primary purpose is championed throughout Simplicitus and readers are encouraged to think of everything through the “primary lenses” to ensure that they are the most effective approaches for the youngest children in our education system. Simplicitus is designed to be a one stop shop for curriculum thinking


and all aspects of subject leadership within primary. For further information, follow Emma @Emma_Turner75


BRITISH EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION (BESA)


A lot to do for the new PM


In our regular look at all things BESA this month PETER DOYLE, Policy Analyst at the Association, looks at the immediate challenges in education facing the new Prime Minister. As I write this article today, we are


heading towards the climax of a fierce (and long-drawn-out) Conservative Party leadership election which will determine our next Prime Minister. The challenges the new leader will face will be immense and have been much discussed. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the immediate challenges the new Prime Minister will face within the education sector. Of all these crises though, one which pervades all areas of


government is the cost-of-living crisis. As the waves of inflation rise, energy bills may potentially increase by as much as 173% by January. This leaves schools, not immune to these costs, in a precarious position going into the new term. While needing to find the finances to cover soaring energy bills, schools will likely be dealing with more of their pupils sliding into poverty, adding to the already huge pressures that recovery from the pandemic is placing on teachers. Looking forward through the school term, it’s difficult to see how school leaders, already dealing with a nationwide staffing crisis, will be able to cope without significant additional support from the government. Another challenge for the Prime Minister will be to resolve two


key pieces of legislation currently stuck in parliament. The School’s Bill began life under the former Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi (a supporter of Liz Truss), who will be keen to push through his key piece of legislation. The bill has been subject to extensive amendments in the House of Lords and is still making its way through parliament – though some Conservative MPs now want to drop it all together – with many complex issues still to be resolved, such as the governance and regulatory structures that will oversee Multi-Academy Trusts. The Online Safety Bill is an even trickier beast. The main objective


of the bill is to impose a duty of care on companies, such as social media platforms, to remove illegal or ‘harmful’ content quickly. Both candidates have struggled to come to any firm conclusions as to the extent to which they support the bill, specifically the ‘legal but harmful’ clause which would require larger platforms to specify their policy on specific types of content, which was not illegal, but listed harmful. The conflict here seems to be that while candidates want to prevent genuinely harmful and inappropriate content from being available on large platforms – specifically those accessible to children – there are also concerns that the policy both infringes too much on free speech and would be difficult to enforce. Finally, despite a period of significant investment in EdTech


during the pandemic, BESA research indicates that schools may be looking at cutting investment in this area because of the cost-of- living crisis. Our annual ICT Research shows that over half of primary schools and one in three secondary schools are significantly below the Department for Education’s Digital and Technology Standards for Schools, at a time when the Institute for Fiscal Studies finds that real term per pupil funding is now lower than it was in 2009/10. At BESA we’re trying to help schools make the very best of the spending power they have, which is why this year we’ll be restarting our LearnEd Roadshow. This free event will be touring the country this Autumn and give senior leaders the opportunity to connect with their peers, hear from industry leaders, and try out the very latest EdTech products.


Tickets are available free of charge at www.besa.org.uk September 2022 www.education-today.co.uk 13


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