How do school leaders feel about the balance of the
curriculum?
In your opinion, which, if any, of the subjects below is there
not enough focus on in schools?
We asked school leaders which subjects, if any, they think receive
too little focus in schools. While nearly a third (32%) believe that all
subjects have enough focus, a similar proportion (31%) think that
personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education isn’t given
enough attention.
Primary (Top 10 subjects)
More than a quarter of school leaders think that art and design (29%),
music (27%) and drama (27%) are neglected subjects. Although
this view is held more widely among primary school leaders than
those in secondary schools, it aligns with wider concerns voiced
by the profession over the lack of creative subjects in the English
Baccalaureate5.
At the secondary phase, nearly a third (31%) of school leaders think
there’s not enough focus on sex and relationship education (SRE) and
only slightly fewer (29%) say there’s too little focus on PSHE. It’s likely,
then, that many school leaders are unhappy with the government’s
recent decision against making PSHE and SRE compulsory.
Almost one in five (18%) secondary school leaders think there’s too
little focus on PE/sport, and 13% of primary leaders agree. School
leaders in primary settings, however, are more likely to think that art
and design doesn’t have enough focus in schools – almost a third
(32%) say this, in comparison to fewer than one in five (18%) leaders in
secondary settings.
Despite science being a core subject, 13% of primary school leaders
think it doesn’t have enough focus.
TES - https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/headteachers-oppose-makingebac-gcses-compulsory-new-poll-finds
5
State of Education Survey 2016 | www.thekeysupport.com
32%
Art and design
30%
Personal, social, health and economic education
Music
29%
Drama
29%
21%
Design and technology
Citizenship
17%
Sex and relationship education
17%
Sport/physical education
13%
Science
13%
Secondary (Top 10 subjects)
31%
Sex and relationship education
N/A – all have enough focus
29%
Personal, social, health and economic education
29%
22%
Music
21%
Drama
Sport/physical education
18%
Art and design
18%
Design and technology
13%
Citizenship
13%
Computing
34
33%
N/A – all have enough focus
8%
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