National Curriculum where concise Bare Minimum for Y3 version

[kafkesque]

It is clear to me our school gives out generic homework:
Reading, spellings, project work. However, I have two special needs kids in Y3 and Y4.

I don't want to look up National Curriculum as it will stress me out and bamboozle. No I need a version that is a concise bare minimum approach. So that I feel I can at least get them through that. In our own way of learning and the school can attempt the rest their way.

At our school we have two booklets one for numeracy and one for literacy as well as two lists of spellings which I have taken as the minimum to get them through.

Anybody have you got one?

The national curriculum is online at www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum

Bear in mind that it's in the process of changing.

I'm not sure what you mean by a concise version? You could look up the key objectives for literacy and numeracy for each year group - this would give you the most important things they should be learning.

However, I think you would be better served by speaking to the school if you have an issue with the homework. Most schools send out a fairly "generic" homework activity as it's generally used to help reinforce some learning from during the week. It is usual to differentiate homework though, so that your children should be able to acces it. What exactly is the problem?

Hi Gracegrape thanks for replying.

The change will be fine I am only focusing on a minute part of the NC.

The most important things - is what we are after. That's what I mean about "concise" I have trouble filtering out the less important stuff and tend to include everything. I will feel less stressed if I can concentrate only on something small but very important for each child, that will really make a big impact on them. A sort of "Pareto's analysis" on the NC LOL.

We are doing the homework to make sure we are working with the school and to ensure to reinforcing some learning. I don't want to interfere too much with the "differentiation" as I have worked hard to try to get the school to understand each DC's requirements. I am not a teaching expert so don't want to change that or what they teach but to deliver the main things to DC's in a way that I know they will understand. DS1 Dyslexic DS2 Autistic.

I think this is the crux is I want to delver NC to DC's in the most brief but comprehensive way, as the bare minimum, as that is all they can manage.

Hi Kafkesque:

I know about these little numeracy/ literacy booklets - and if you type in Literacy targets Y3 you'll get a ton appearing on google. The fun game is to see which one your school plagiarised and what they chose to leave out. Very informative about a school's standards.

Other documents:

Campaign for real education has parent-friendly summaries of what a child should be able to do by year here: www.cre.org.uk/primary_contents.html - just select area of curriculum are read appropriate year. Just 1-2 pages per year.

I stumbled across this nice tick list of skills for maths here: uk.ixl.com/ - so just click the year and they list all the different maths skills you should be mastering. Now it's very brief (a few words per item) - but it quickly gives you an idea of the breadth of the maths curriculum to be covered.

The new Curriculum (to be rolled out from Sept 2014) is here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum - if you scroll down at the bottom you can open individual areas of the curriculum and then read the relevant pages for your children's years.

HTH

The short answer is there isn't a concise "bare minimum" version I'm afraid.

www.cumbriagridforlearning.org.uk/getfile.php?src=2348/PF_Literacy_by_year_alt.pdf

www.teachfind.com/national-strategies/core-learning-mathematics-year-3-framework-teaching-mathematics

the CRE materials posted don't I'm afraid reflect the national curriculum but it may be the school is using the new curriculum in Y3 as the government have disapplied the old for Y3&4

Hi Kafkesque

mrz is right that the Campaign for Real Education 'curriculum' material is most likely not what your school will be working to - but is what they feel 'in an ideal world' could be achieved. I have in the past tried to describe this as 'gold standard' to warn parents that this isn't necessarily 'real world' expectations.

Everyone's different - I just find it useful to understand what in theory is possible in an ideal world.

I wouldn't describe it as a "gold standard" PSBD more "gilt standard" I would be worried if that is the limit of our aspirations

sorry mrz - do you object to 'gold standard' as an expression?

I do rather begin to wonder.

Personally, given my great age, I find 'gilts' a rather new fangled banking scheme that was the begin of the slide into the moral bankruptcy banking as a profession has rather arrived at.

Of course being a teacher I'm sure you realise the term derives from the verb 'to gilt' (covering things like wood with a thin layer of gold). A form of deception to make something appear solid gold - i.e. more valuable than it actually is.

So forgive me - I feel gold (an actual thing) trumps gilts.

No I object to the idea that the CRE curriculum is of such a high standard as to be described as "gold standard" PSBD ...plated possibly!

I agree gold trumps gilt which is why I would not describe it as gold ... just a poor relation.