196: Broad and balanced curriculum Q&A with Dr. Tony Eaude

Towards a balanced and broadly-based curriculum was the theme of the National Association for Primary Education conference in March 2021. The keynote lecture was given by Dr. Tony Eaude.This is a follow up Q&A that I hosted and taken from a subsequent Facebook live event. NAPE has been a long term supporter of the Education on Fire podcast and I have been involved with the association for over 5 years, the last 18 months as vice chair. I thought this discussion was very insightful and wanted to give you the opportunity to hear it.The original full lecture can be found on the NAPE YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/YI_tiHvKxOkTony suggested four main arguments for a balanced and broadly-based primary curriculum:that the law states that schools must offer this (as it does) and that Ofsted expect this (at least from 7 years old);one based on how children create coherent, robust and flexible identities, enhancing their well-being and founded on a sense of agency;one based on a conception of democratic citizenship in which children are increasingly enabled to deal with complex ideas right from the start; anda social justice one that such a curriculum will open up opportunities from which many children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will otherwise be excluded.Questions & comments from conference delegatesRetired HeadteacherDr Eaude’s argument for a balanced and broadly based curriculum is compelling. Moving forwards, is it possible for schools to work with the current National Curriculum Framework to achieve this? Do Academies, rather than Local Authority schools, have the most potential and freedom to develop such curriculum experiences?Where (in England) is curriculum innovation to be found at present?What is the National Association of Primary Education’s role in this argument?As a student in my final year of an undergraduate course, I am currently working on an assignment about my own educational philosophy which very much aligns with Dr. Eaude’s Schiller speech. Embarking into my NQT year in September I know the best way to change this is starting in my own classroom. However big questions arise with that:What can I do beyond that? If there is not enough support or like-minded colleagues,How can I reach out to ensure this way of teaching the curriculum is opened up on to all the children in the community?Where can I find more support?For more information about Dr. Tony Eaude please visit his website https://edperspectives.org.uk/More information about NAPE is available at https://nape.org.uk/To find out more about Christian Schiller HMI please click on the link belowhttps://nape.org.uk/publications​The Schiller Book, published by NAPE, ‘In His Own Words’, can be purchased for only £5.The full lecture can be found on the NAPE YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/YI_tiHvKxOk