The national curriculum was knitted together under the 'patchwork quilt'
school of design, with separate subject committees creating an edifice of such complexity that it collapsed before any pupil completed it. The curriculum was slimmed down and we were promised a moratorium on change, during which the national literacy and numeracy strategies appeared.
Primary schools were told to concentrate on the core subjects. Teachers left the classroom to become literacy and numeracy consultants.
The Foundation Stage, which should have been the basis for the rest of the curriculum, appeared long after the rest was in place, creating an uneasy transition from a child-centred approach to the formality of Key Stage 1.
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