National Curriculum (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)

The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary state schools following the Education Reform Act (1988). Notwithstanding its name, it does not apply to independent schools. Academies and free schools may also set their own curricula, though many choose to follow the National Curriculum.

The purpose of the National Curriculum was to standardise the content taught across schools to enable assessment, which in turn enabled the compilation of league tables detailing the assessment statistics for each school. These league tables, together with the provision to parents of some degree of choice in assignment of the school for their child (also legislated in the same act) were intended to encourage a 'free market' by allowing parents to choose schools based on their measured ability to teach the National Curriculum.

Whilst only certain subjects were included at first, in subsequent years the curriculum grew to fill the entire teaching time of most state schools.

The requirement for state schools to teach Religious Education predates the National Curriculum as this was introduced in the Education Act (1944).

There are two principal aims and four main purposes set out in the National Curriculum documentation:

It should be noted that even though the national curriculum sets compulsory scholastic and educational national standards; parents who decide for their children to follow home-schooling may opt for alternative curricula.

The table below lists those subjects which form a statutory part of the National Curriculum under the Education Act (Part 6) as updated.

¹ English is not statutory in Key Stage 1 in Welsh-medium schools in Wales

² New Computing curriculum replaced ICT in schools (computing is now counted as a science in EBACC).

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