When people say they go private to avoid the National Curriculum what do they mean exactly?

[therightcompany]

Is it the SATs, all the levelling? Or what is actually taught and what isn't?

No SATS, more languages, other subjects like thinking skills, more sport, drama and regular music. That sums it up for me. I choose a school that is 3 to 18 so whole ethos is with A -levels as the end target.

Private schools that don't follow the national curriculum (some private schools do follow NC) are generally quite academic and preparing children for 11+ and 13+ exams.

In my personal experience, the national curriculum is just not enough to get a child through 11+ and 13+. The national curriculum material is actually covered in private schools but they go further and deeper with it and don't feel constrained to follow it slavishly.

That said, a bad private school that does not follow the national curriculum or a bad private school following the national curriculum is still a bad school.

We went private as I think sats are a waste of time to student. They are there to assess to school which just means the teachers in state schools teach to the test not wide education. Also they aim to get as many kids as possible through sats with an average Mark to the determinant of bright or not bright kids.

Mostly freedom from SATS for me plus more time for music,language awareness,languages etc.One of my children's schools does use the NC levels the other has it's own system .

They ate not constrained by having to teach things in a certain order etc as well

I don't agree with the emphasis on testing that is involved in SATS, however having had my children at a private school that didn't follow the national curriculum and a state one that did, the state one was far better. At least they had to ensure they taught to a certain level. My elder DD was years behind in maths when she started secondary level and I had no idea. It is true that she did Latin and French at the private school, but the French teacher didn't even use the right gender for a lot of the words, she was completely unqualified to teach that or anything else, so it was actually worse than useless. They had critical reasoning lessons but my DD did not have a clue what they were about. I would certainly say though that the national curriculum could be a bit more flexible and SATS data while available to parents should not be released in a way that creates league tables.

No offence to people who genuinely want their children to have a certain type of syllabus that is not available in the state system, but I have heard people being disparaging about the national curriculum when they don't even know what it involves. I had a discussion recently with an acquaintance about the merits of some local state schools and she was very interested as they have 2 DC in independents but are very short of money. She said her husband thought the national curriculum was "too restricting". She said later though that her husband could just not accept the thought of them going to state schools as they were not "good enough" and he didn't want them mixing with "chavs".

There are a number of misconceptions here.
Schools do not have to teach things in a certain order
SATs are there to assess the students not the school in just the same way any exam does.
State schools can teach as many languages as they wish
they can and do have drama on the curriculum
they can and do teach music, sport, and even philosophy
Schools are free to teach the NC in any way they wish and are free to teach beyond the basic. The NC is the minimum entitlement ...

Think DD's school describe it as an enhanced national curriculum.

So things like dance lessons in reception by a teacher from the dance school, music taught by a specialist music teacher, games by a games teacher, swimming for more than one year, french by a french teacher from nursery age up.

Entry for public speaking tests, prep for 11+/selective exams.

I know from being on here some state offer some of this but our state schools locally don't.

Also approach to teaching handwriting/grammar/spelling seems more traditional than friends children are experiencing in state.

There is nothing there that can't be found in some state schools

Personally, it was a factor but not the only one. What it means for me is that the teachers can spend more time teaching and less doing the paperwork to prove that they are teaching, and also more freedom to go with the flow and adapt to what a given group of DC need. Of course other factors like higher staff ratios also support that, but not being constrained by the arbitrary targets and timelines of NC does (IMO) make their job easier to so well.

at the private school propaganda!

I don't spend a great deal of time 'doing the paperwork to prove I'm teaching'! I do have to plan lessons - but I presume private school teachers have to do that too!
I also plan according to the needs or 'flow' of the children, often on a daily basis.
Quite honestly, I don't feel 'constrained', but I do fee l that I monitor and track the progress of the children well, taking into account the individual needs and performance of each child.

I've got lots of freedom to go with the flow and my head would rather staff used energy in the classroom than on paperwork

Everyone makes their choices. For us, the one which happened to suit us and our DC best was/is an independent school. That does not mean that I think all independent schools are better than all state schools or even close. Clearly I don't know the ins and outs of school life in other schools, but I do know that my Y5 DC would not have access to the range of subject specialist teachers or the facilities in any state primary in this area.

I agree make informed choices on what is best for your child

SATs are there to assess the students not the school in just the same way any exam does

that's not true. if they were there to assess the students they would be used for transition to secondary school, & they aren't - those schools measure ability by CAT tests in Y7. SATs measure the school, which is why so many heads/Y6 teachers get in such a state about them that the poor kids do nothing else between Christmas & May.

I have 4 kids. 2 of them didn't do SATs, 2 had to. They all performed equally well later, but I know which 2 had a better time in Y6 & it wasn't the ones who were "assessed"

I'm afraid it is Ponders
and yes many secondary schools do use the results to set pupils
The results of the tests are used to compile league tables which is where the myth arises

SATs may assess the pupils and in my experience they are used by secondary schools to set children. However, the reality is that they are used to pitch one school against another in league tables. The problem is not with SATs themselves, I am sure private schools teach much more towards the 11+ than state primaries do towards the SATs , the difference is what is done withthose results and the benefits for the children.

I agree

surely most 'better' private schools just teach toward the common entrance exam. so they must teach a certain formula just no the nc

Stealthsquibble, I disagree with your comment that 'everyone makes their choices' and is able to chose the school that suits them and their child. If only it were so but many people, in fact most people, don't have the choice of opting out of the NC simply because they can't afford to. The reality is that they have to send their children to the school that the LEA allocates irrespective of what they would like.

No idea what they mean!!!

We moved from a State primary to an Independent, because it was better for our dd. I know that other state schools, do provide the education that our dd is getting now, but our school didn't - despite it being outstanding.

Surely if you are lucky enough to have a choice, you go with what is right for your child? Our school now, do follow the NC to a certain extent - the same things are covered i.e. in Year 2, the Fire of London, famous people, space etc. etc., but with a lot of extras too, in fact every day I am staggered by the quality of education she is getting, but perhaps that is more a reflection of her previous school, more than the new school is far better?

Doesn't matter really, it is right for her.

I teach Y2 and have never taught the Fire of London etc etc etc ... that isn't the National Curriculum! That is the old QCA guidance on possible subject topics (it has never been compulsory)

This is a funny thread with lots of comments by people who have NO IDEA what primary schools do!

There are key objectives in the NC that can be taught in any way and on any topic that the teacher/school chooses. I have no idea what set order you are thinking of. I choose my themes each half term and they are nothing to do with the QCA schemes of work which I assume people are talking about. There is masses of flexibility and freedom available to teachers in state schools. Granted, there are some very 'old school' schools who do stick to strict QCA plans but any good school won't be using them stringently anymore.

Interesting mrz - shows how much I know!!!! I only thought the Fire of London was part of the NC, because on her 'taster' day at her new school (independent), she bought home some work she had done about it and then in the time before she moved, her old (state) school also did a lot of work on it!!!

How weird - They have been doing Space the last week or two and the first people who went there, her friend who came to play the weekend from her old school, was saying how they were doing a topic on Space too!!!!!

The schools are in totally different areas and completely different!! Maybe I should have just not moved her atall, if they are doing the same!!!

Another option for non fee paying is to look for a local Free School. The curriculum has to be robust in order for the school to receive government funding but it does not have to follow the National Curriculum.

There are some advantages of the NC though. If you move to a different area and your child is assessed at level 3a for reading, writing and Maths then another state school in a different part of the UK would automatically know what standard they had reached.
In state primary schools much of the focus is on Literacy and Numeracy and that can leave very little time for other subjects. However some schools do still manage to have a very varied curriculum.