National Curriculum for England

The National Curriculum for England was first introduced by the Education Reform Act of 1988. At the time of its introduction the legislation applied to both England and Wales. However, education later became a devolved matter for the Welsh government. The current statutory National Curriculum dates from 2014 at which point it was introduced to most year groups across primary and secondary education. Some element were introduced in September 2015. The National Curriculum sets out the content matter which must be taught in a number of subjects in "local authority–maintained schools".

There are two main aims presented in the statutory documentation for the National Curriculum, stating:

These aims set out to support the statutory duties of schools to offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, while preparing pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life, as set out in the Education Act 2002.

The National Curriculum is set out for all year groups for pupils aged between 5 and 16. Within these ages, the curriculum is structured into four Key Stages, for each of which a prescribed list of subjects must be taught. The table below sets out the statutory list of subjects to be taught at each Key Stage:

For each of the statutory curriculum subjects, the Secretary of State for Education is required to set out a Programme of Study which outlines the content and matters which must be taught in those subjects at the relevant Key Stages. The most recently-published National Curriculum was introduced into schools in September 2014.

In addition, children in all Key Stages must be provided with a curriculum of Religious Education, and for pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4 a curriculum of Sex and Relationships Education must also be provided. At Key Stage 4, although some subjects are not compulsory for all students, provision must be made to allow all students to access the arts (comprising art and design, music, dance, drama and media arts), design and technology, the humanities (comprising geography and history) and a modern foreign language.

The first statutory National Curriculum was introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988 by Kenneth Baker. The Programmes of Study were drafted and published in 1988 and 1989, with the first teaching of some elements of the new curriculum beginning in September 1989.

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