MP Lynda Waltho warns National Curriculum is too bloated

Apr 3 2009 by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Post

The National Curriculum should be cut back to give schools more control over what they teach in the classroom, according to a West Midlands MP.

Lynda Waltho (Lab, Stourbridge) was one of the authors of a report warning that the “bloated” National Curriculum had left teachers “de-skilled” and “demotivated”.

The MP, who was a teacher for 12 years before entering politics, said too many subjects had been included.

She is a member of the Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee, which has published the results of an inquiry into the national curriculum.

Ms Waltho said: “I was a teacher when much of the National Curriculum was introduced, and we needed it at the time.

“There were children coming to our school who had studied Roman history five times in different classes, and nothing else. We needed to have some way of making sure key subjects and skills were taught.

“But the curriculum has become too packed. Every specialist has drawn up a list of things that they think should be included, and it gets added in.

“We’ve also had new topics such as citizenship studies and first aid added, and while it’s good that they are taught in schools the result has been that there’s simply too much.”