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HMI Primary Survey (1978) Notes on the text
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Primary education in England
A survey by HM Inspectors of Schools (1978) London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1978
Chapter 5 The content of the curriculum
i. SKILLS AND ATTITUDES 5.1 In Sections ii to vi of this chapter the curriculum is discussed in terms of subjects such as English, mathematics or geography, or in relation to certain activities such as learning to read or to play team games. Many of the skills, ideas and attitudes referred to have applications that recur in various parts of school work, but they also need to be taught quite specifically and time has to be given, for example, to teaching children to calculate and to read. Because this kind of teaching is not wholly susceptible to fixed timetable periods many classes have broadly drawn timetables with times specified only when resources or specialist teachers are shared among a number of classes. 5.2 The advantages that can come from improving language skills and developing ideas by applying them widely in many areas of the curriculum were discussed in the Bullock Report. The same general principle applies to some other aspects of learning, and examples were found in a number of schools. Music was ordinarily played or sung during the daily act of worship, and it was fairly common for children to accompany the hymn or to play a piece on the musical instruments they were learning; this required careful preparation and practice and also provided motivation. Drama was used on occasions to bring a bible story to life, or to highlight a historical incident. 5.3 These uses of one activity to promote learning in connection with another could be considerably extended. This was particularly so in such basic skills as calculating and measuring which were seldom applied to work on historical, geographical or even scientific topics. Similarly, more could be done, particularly with the older children, to encourage them to follow a line of argument, to evaluate evidence and alternative points of view, or to reach judgements in the course of discussion, and in their own writing. 5.4 There were notable occasions when children were seen to be required to think things through, as, for example, in the 11 year old class which was mapping the course of a river near their school. The children followed a small tributary which disappeared underground and the teacher asked the children to think about where it might have gone. This led to a careful examination of the surrounding area and the contours of the land. The children produced a number of possible alternatives and subsequently put forward arguments suggesting which was the most likely course, with some pupils producing evidence to support their different points of view. While the course of the tributary was not finally discovered, the children had valuable experience in presenting their cases and marshalling evidence to support them. Social and moral learning 5.5 Some aspects of learning are so general that they rarely appear as subject or timetable headings. Social development and moral learning include essential elements of this kind, yet were aspects of children's development frequently given attention in the course of the day to day work in every classroom. 5.6 Heads were asked to state briefly in writing what their schools set out to achieve in social and moral education. Their replies confirm the view that, in most primary schools, living and working together amicably and successfully were given high priority. The schools in the survey attached particular importance to children acquiring a sense of social responsibility, whether by performing tasks related to the general welfare of the school or class, or through the way work was arranged and carried out in the classroom. In nine out of ten classes teachers provided planned opportunities for children to take responsibility and to participate as members of a group or team. The older children particularly were also given opportunities to exercise leadership. 5.7 Consideration for other people and concern for the natural environment and for living creatures were widely encouraged. In almost all the classes children were taught to respect their surroundings and were expected to take care of materials, equipment and other objects in the classroom and the school generally. The widespread use of groups in the arrangements for teaching (1) provided many opportunities for children to be taught to behave in a responsible and considerate way. In about two thirds of the classes there was evidence of situations being planned and used to encourage children to make informed choices, to use their initiative and to be responsible for their own work and behaviour. 5.8 In a similar number of classes teachers helped children to become aware of their own feelings and emotions by making use of incidental situations which arose; for example, by helping an individual child to understand why he had behaved aggressively or selfishly or by helping other children to understand and be tolerant. One teacher of an 11 year old class followed a rather violent classroom quarrel by the introduction of a story which aroused lively discussion and helped the whole group, and in particular the two boys concerned in the quarrel, to understand what had happened and why they had become angry. 5.9 The evidence of this survey suggests that as long as teachers continue to be aware of the importance of social and moral learning there is much to be said for an approach which takes advantage of opportunities that arise throughout the school day and are related to work within any part of the curriculum. Learning to notice and to think 5.10 There is hardly any aspect of the curriculum in which children can make progress without taking careful notice of what they see, hear or otherwise experience, and without thinking about their observations. 5.11 in learning the basic skills of reading children are required to listen carefully, to notice similarities and differences in sounds and in shapes of letters, to generalise about the ways in which visual symbols represent sounds, words and meanings, to classify groups of letters as they relate to sounds and to notice and remember exceptions to general rules. 5.12 Opportunities for discriminating, classifying and observing interrelations arise in connection with work in all areas of the curriculum. They could be used more fully than they are. 5.13 In art children rarely drew or painted from careful and detailed observation of things around them; accurate and careful measurement and observation were seldom a part of the work in science, craft or social studies. Whether they are working at first-hand or with secondary sources children need help in noticing relevant features and generalising from their observations. Specially devised activities to support practice in classifying and generalising, for example, exercises involving the manipulation of coloured shapes, may have a useful place but they are a poor substitute for the varied and interesting work with plants, animals and all kinds of natural and man-made materials and objects, through which these cognitive skills are, in a minority of schools, developed in the various parts of the curriculum. Recording and practical skills 5.14 Writing, drawing and painting were the forms of recording most frequently used in the majority of the classes in the survey. While four fifths of all the classes made some use of graphical and other diagrammatic forms of presentation in mathematics, there was little evidence that children were encouraged to employ these methods to present their work in other areas of the curriculum. The use and making of maps and plans was given little attention even in relation to geographical aspects of the work. Three dimensional models were used to illustrate work in geography and history, but older children, particularly, had few opportunities for constructional work with resistant materials which required accuracy and precision. Tools and equipment to assist more precise construction, measurement and observation were seldom available for work in craft or science. 5.15 Techniques learned in mathematics were infrequently used in other areas of the curriculum or related to everyday situations, and children were seldom required to quantify as part of their recording, except in mathematics lessons. While particular computational techniques have to be taught and practised there is considerable advantage in children appreciating their application in a wide context. 5.16 In the following sections the content of the curriculum is looked at from the point of view of five fairly broad aspects of the children's work with some assessment of the quality and range of work within each area. ii. LANGUAGE AND LITERACY 5.17 During the course of this survey objective tests in reading were administered to a sample of 11 year old children (2). The results from these tests are consistent with a rising trend in reading standards between 1955 and 1976-77. (3) This is supported by other findings from this survey which confirm that teachers gave a high degree of priority to the teaching of basic readings skills. The work children were given to do in reading was more closely matched to their capabilities for all ages and all levels of ability than work in any other area of the curriculum. (4) The ways in which 'match' was assessed are described in Chapter 6 ii and Annex B. 5.18 The primary school is particularly concerned with the development of language in the education of young children and every aspect of the children's work is influenced by the extent to which they use language with imagination, precision and accuracy. Much of the work undertaken in the primary school is designed with this in mind; through their work in all areas of the curriculum children extend and improve their ability to use language in a variety of contexts. 5.19 Competence in language develops through the interaction of listening, talking, reading, writing and children's own experience. Heads' comments indicate that this was widely recognised and the following statements of what they intended to achieve in the teaching of language in their schools are typical of many: 'To teach the basic skills of reading, spelling, handwriting, grammar, composition and comprehension.'Listening and talking 5.20 Some witnesses to the Bullock Committee suggested that there had been a marked deterioration in children's ability to listen to their teachers reading or giving instructions. (5) The findings of this survey do not support this opinion. In over nine out of ten classes children were learning to follow instructions effectively, to understand the main ideas in information given to them and to follow the plot of a story; in about four fifths of the classes children also had the opportunity to listen to their teachers reading poetry. 5.21 There was some evidence, however, that these early listening skills were not being appropriately extended for some of the older children. Although four fifths of the 11 year old classes were learning to comprehend the details in information they were given, in only about three fifths of these classes were children learning to follow a sustained discussion and contribute appropriately and in fewer still were the children taught to follow the line of an argument. 5.22 A similar pattern emerged regarding the opportunities children had for talking. In almost all the classes children had the opportunity to talk informally among themselves at some time in the course of the working day. More formal arrangements for conversation which allowed controlled exchanges of ideas between children were increasingly common as the children grew older, being found in about half of 7 year old classes and approximately three quarters of 11 year old classes. Typically children discussed stories, television or radio broadcasts, or cooperative work concerned with projects in history and geography, or worked out dramatic improvisations. 5.23 It is important that children have the opportunity to discuss with their teachers the work they are doing and the problems they may meet. This was given due place in about two thirds of the 7 year old classes and almost half the 9 and 11 year old classes. It may well be that the more informal arrangements characteristic of the infant classes made it easier for this to happen. It was encouraging to find that in about four fifths of all classes opportunities existed for children to talk with adults other than their own class teachers. Often this was with other teachers and sometimes with parents or other people who came to the school. 5.24 In nine tenths of all the classes teachers ensured that children's vocabulary was steadily extended. This kind of work in language took place in all areas of the curriculum and was not limited to times devoted particularly to work in English. In about half the classes children were encouraged to elaborate and explain their answers or comments and were assisted, in this way, to find more precise and appropriate ways of describing what they had seen or experienced. However, in only about a fifth of the classes were children encouraged to formulate and pose pertinent questions or helped to find alternative ways of expressing themselves clearly and accurately. 5.25 Drama, whether considered as the dressing up or role play of the younger children or the cooperative dramatising of a story or incident which occurred in the classes of older children, had a place in about half of the classes. In very few classes was drama exploited as a vehicle for the extension of children's spoken language. Reading 5.26 As has already been noted (see paragraph 5.17) the teaching of the basic reading skills was accorded a high degree of priority. The use of graded reading schemes was universal in 7 year old classes and in nine out of ten of these classes children's reading practice was extended through the use of supplementary readers associated with these schemes. A very similar picture emerged in the 9 year old classes. 5.27 By the age of eleven, some children in three quarters of the classes were making use of reading schemes and, in about four fifths of the classes, of supplementary readers. In about a fifth of these older classes graded readers were given rather too much attention, at the expense of other more profitable forms of reading material. It was evident that teachers devoted considerable attention to ensuring that children mastered the basic techniques of reading but there was a tendency at all ages for children to receive insufficient encouragement to extend the range of their reading. (6) 5.28 Children in about two fifths of the 7 and 9 year old classes and in half the 11 year old classes appeared to turn readily and naturally to books for pleasure during the course of the day. In rather fewer classes the children appeared to use books with ease and confidence as a source of information. In almost all the classes there were some opportunities for children to select books for themselves. However, even by the age of eleven, this was given a high enough priority in only about two fifths of the classes. Generally, more non-fiction than fiction was read by the children and poetry was read by children in about two fifths of the 11 year old classes. 5.29 In about a quarter of the 7 year old classes children's own speech and writing were used to provide early reading material for some children. Special arrangements for the withdrawal of individuals or groups of children for remedial help were made in half of the 9 and 11 year old classes and about two fifths of the 7 year old classes. (7) 5.30 For the abler readers, at all ages, there was little evidence that more advanced reading skills were being taught. The work which the ablest readers were given to do was too easy in about two fifths of the classes. (8) Children were asked to comment on what they had read in about a third of the 7 year old classes, rising to three fifths of 11 year old classes, but in only a very small minority of classes at any age were children discussing the books they had read at other than a superficial level of comprehension. Writing 5.31 In just over half of the classes children did some writing on subjects of their own choice not connected directly with other current school work; such activities included describing events of interest, writing up information about things learned at home or at school, writing accounts for their diaries, retelling or making up stories, or describing favourite television programmes. In about two fifths of 7 and 9 year old classes and in half of 11 year old classes the children did some writing which they initiated themselves and which arose from a range of studies currently being undertaken. In one class, for example, children were studying the trees near their school and each had chosen one of twelve related topics, suggested by the teacher, to follow up and write about. These topics included a detailed description of a chosen tree, observation of the form and foliage, an account of colonisation by plants and insects and the ways in which the timber could be used. Some children wrote pieces of imaginative prose and poetry about trees. 5.32 Children were frequently involved in writing tasks which had been set by teachers. These activities were more common than writing initiated by the children, and whether or not connected with other work in the curriculum, were found in three quarters of 7 year old and four fifths of 9 and 11 year old classes. The extent to which children were required to produce work set by teachers but not arising from other work or personal interests suggests that much less writing arose from pupils' own choice than is sometimes supposed. 5.33 In the Bullock Report is stated 'the experience of our visits was that much of the writing done in the name of topic work amounts to no more than copying'. (9) The evidence from the present survey also suggests this was happening quite extensively. There was copied writing from reference books in about two thirds of 9 year old classes and in four out of five 11 year old classes; this was generally felt to be excessive. In four out of five classes children, on occasion, copied writing from the blackboard. The extent to which this was done was generally considered acceptable although it had too prominent a place in about a third of these classes. 5.34 Handwriting practice was provided in almost all the classes at all ages. 5.35 In virtually all the classes, children undertook some form of narrative writing, for example, relating stories, recounting adventure from real life or fantasy or describing their own experiences. The writing of prose or poetry which was expressive of feeling, often labelled 'creative writing', was not as strongly encouraged as might have been supposed. Where it fell into the category described in the Bullock Report as 'colourful or fanciful language, not "ordinary", using "vivid imagery" ... very often divorced from real feeling', (10) then its absence can only be applauded. At its best personal writing enabled children to recreate experiences faithfully and sincerely and arose from the context of daily life in the classroom or outside. The amount of writing arising in this way increased with the age of the pupils, some examples being seen in about half of the 7 year old and in four out of five of the 11 year old classes. 5.36 It was rare to find children presented with a writing task which involved presenting a coherent argument, exploring alternative possibilities or drawing conclusions and making judgements. While it is recognised that this is a difficult form of writing for young children, it could have been more regularly encouraged among the older and abler pupils. 5.37 In just under half the classes children were actively encouraged to share with other pupils what they had written. For example, in some classrooms children's stories had been collected together and placed in a book for other children to read. Stories and poems which had been written by the children were sometimes read aloud by the teacher or by the children. Some children were encouraged to write, act, tape or broadcast plays to the class or to the school, or to produce class or school magazines. Sometimes opportunities were found for children to write 'real' letters as, for example, when a member of the class was in hospital, or when, as occasionally happened, the teacher arranged an exchange of correspondence with a class in another school. 5.38 Surprisingly, in only about a third of the classes were samples of children's written work regularly used to monitor their progress. In fewer than half of the classes was children's own written work used as a basis for teaching spelling, syntax, sentence structure or style. Stimuli for language work 5.39 Children's own experiences frequently provided the basis for language work. Children were asked to talk and write about things which had happened to them out of school hours in about four fifths of the classes. In a similar proportion of classes, school visits or school journeys provided the impetus for work in language. 5.40 The classroom, the school and its surroundings were extensively used to provide starting points for language activities. Approximately three quarters of the 7 year old classes and nearly three fifths of the older groups wrote and talked about animals, plants or things which were to be seen within the school, and nearly half the classes had produced work which was based on features of the school grounds or the immediate surroundings. 5.41 With the younger children particular emphasis was placed on imaginative and constructional play. Two thirds of the 7 year old classes were encouraged through these kinds of activities to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. 5.42 Teachers read or told stories in almost all 7 and 9 year old classes, and in nearly nine out of ten 11 year old classes. These stories, chosen from the wide repertoire of children's literature now available, ranged from traditional folk and fairy tales to modern stories of real life and fantasy. in particular, fiction based on historical periods and events, and science fiction, were popular with older juniors. Poetry was read to children in about nine out of ten classes in all three age groups. About a third of the classes were visited by speakers from outside the school. 5.43 Television programmes were introduced in more than four fifths of classes and radio in about three fifths of classes. Tape recordings were made by children in about a fifth of all the classes. Pre-recorded material was used in half of the classes. 5.44 Libraries and book collections were available almost universally, but in about three fifths of the classes children had too little opportunity to use them for private reading of their own choice, or for reference. In three quarters of the classes the books had been selected with care and represented a range of reading material containing, for example, interesting plots, good characterisation, clarity of illustration, factual accuracy and an index where appropriate, and suited to the age and reading abilities of the pupils. 5.45 Textbooks containing comprehension, grammar and language exercises were used to provide children with knowledge of language techniques and writing conventions, including spelling and syntax. Sometimes such material was introduced to support and develop children's individual written work, though the exercises chosen were not usually connected with pupils' own writing. Reliance on isolated exercises presented in textbooks does not necessarily provide children with the right kind of assistance in improving their capacity to use written language fluently and with purpose. Textbooks featured in the work of almost every 9 and 11 year old class, and of about two thirds of 7 year old classes. Language course kits fulfil a similar function, but are generally presented as individual assignments that may be matched more closely to the reading abilities of the individual child. These kits were used in about half of the 9 and 11 year old classes and in a fifth of 7 year old classes. Other kinds of assignment cards were used for various purposes, from providing exercises in grammar or spelling, to stimulating creative writing. Whatever their particular intention, assignment cards usually provided starting points for individual work or occasionally for work in small groups, rather than for class work. These cards were introduced in about two thirds of the classes. Comment 5.46 On the evidence of this survey teachers in primary schools work hard to ensure that children master the basic techniques of reading and writing. There is little support for any view which considers that these aspects of language are neglected in primary schools. In the vast majority of classes reading schemes and courses were used to provide children with material at the right level of difficulty and were used regularly. 5.47 Graded reading schemes are of considerable value, particularly with the younger children. They provide a controlled rate of increase in the difficulty of words and phrases but in doing this certain limitations are imposed on the variety of the language used and the level of interest of the content. As soon as the children have gained some confidence in reading, these schemes should be supplemented with reading material which has been carefully selected to provide broader literary experience and extension of knowledge. Once the skills of decoding are firmly established further skills should be introduced. These include the efficient use of dictionaries and reference books, skimming passages for quick retrieval of information, scanning passages to establish the main points, the interpretation of context cues and the capacity to make sense of difficult passages. The teaching of these more advanced skills did not occur in three quarters of 11 year old classes and even in the remaining quarter there was seldom planned and regular practice. 5.48 The learning and practice of skills, specific rules and conventions of English are all important parts of the acquisition of language competence, both written and spoken, and are more effectively taught when based on children's own language. The improvement of spoken language requires opportunities to engage in discussion and controlled intervention by the teacher. 5.49 Although all class teachers in the primary school are responsible for developing the use of children's language and must therefore be competent to teach reading and English language, it is probably not realistic to suppose that every teacher should acquire a high level of understanding and expertise in this as well as every other area of the curriculum. The Bullock Report's recommendation (11) that 'every school should have a suitably qualified teacher with responsibility for advising and supporting his colleagues in language and the teaching of reading' is probably the best way of ensuring that a high level of expertise is available in every school, but it is essential that the teacher concerned has the knowledge, the standing and the opportunity to carry out the duties implied by this role. iii. MATHEMATICS 5.50 The findings of this survey do not support the view which is sometimes expressed that primary schools neglect the practice of the basic skills in arithmetic. In the classes inspected considerable attention was paid to computation, measurement and calculations involving sums of money, though the results of these efforts were disappointing in some respects. (12) 5.51 In describing what their schools set out to achieve in mathematics heads' comments indicated clearly that they attached considerable importance to children achieving competence in the basic skills of arithmetic and understanding mathematical processes. There was almost universal reference to the rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, to computation and to concepts such as weight and number. This common view was reflected in the statement of one head who said his intentions were: 'To teach the children their tables. To teach the four rules of number in relation to money, decimals, fractions, time and measurement, along with some basic geometry. To show why and how these processes work so that children can understand them and use them accurately.' Many heads also referred to the importance of children gaining confidence, enjoyment and satisfaction from their work in mathematics. 5.52 Children were given individual assignments of work in mathematics in over four fifths of all classes. In half of the 9 and 11 year old classes and in two thirds of the 7 year old classes the allocation of individual assignments was a usual method adopted for organising the work in mathematics. (13) The presentation of assignments was usually by means of commercially published work cards, work cards devised by the teacher or, to a lesser extent, the use of textbooks. 5.53 In most classes where textbooks were used, they were employed appropriately to introduce a new aspect of mathematics or to provide suitable practice in a particular process. Commercial work cards were used to present work in almost all 9 and 11 year old classes and in nearly three quarters of the 7 year old classes. Work cards devised by the teacher were less frequently used in the older classes but extensively used in 7 year old classes. 5.54 Children were grouped by ability for their work in mathematics more commonly than in any other subject. (14) There was a tendency in a number of classes to use individual work card assignments when it would have been more appropriate to draw the group together to work from the blackboard or from a textbook. Direct teaching and discussion have an important part to play in the teaching of mathematics and in some classes this was inhibited by too great a reliance on the use of individual assignment cards. Television programmes were used in the teaching of mathematics in about a fifth of the 9 and 11 year old classes. Content 5.55 In the majority of classes arithmetic was given appropriate attention and in no class was this aspect of the work in mathematics being ignored or neglected. In all the classes attention was given to calculations involving whole numbers and the processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, although this kind of work was not sufficiently emphasised in about a fifth of the 7 year old classes. In about a third of the classes, at all ages, children were spending too much time undertaking somewhat repetitive practice of processes which they had already mastered. In these circumstances there was often a failure to make increasing demands on the children's speed or accuracy, or to introduce new and more demanding work. This and other issues concerning the teaching of mathematics are discussed in Chapter 6 iii and in Chapter 8 ii. 5.56 In almost all the classes some work was undertaken which was designed to help children to understand place value. Work was also given to help them to recognise simple number patterns. For the younger children this included activities such as counting by adding in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, doubling numbers or identifying odd and even numbers. For older children the work included the full range of multiplication tables and finding multiples and divisors beyond the limits of the tables. In nearly nine out of ten of the 11 year old classes this work involved drawing children's attention to some of the broader implications, such as understanding that the order of numbers can be changed without affecting the result in addition or multiplication but that this is not so in subtraction or division. This kind of work was taking place in less than half of the 7 year old classes. 5.57 Activities involving counting and estimating took place in most classes although there was room for more of this kind of work in about half of the classes. Practical activities designed to promote the understanding of quantitative description and the ideas of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division were introduced in well over four fifths of the 9 and 11 year old classes and nearly all the 7 year old classes. However, in over half of these classes the practical activities undertaken were insufficiently demanding, for example, they were often confined to repetitive activities involving measuring and weighing and the children's attention was not drawn to the mathematical implications of what they were doing. 5.58 The notion of a fractional part was introduced when discussing everyday things in over half the 7 year old classes, four fifths of 9 year old and nearly all 11 year old classes, although in many classes this was only touched on and the work was not fully developed. For the younger children the work was mainly concerned with practical activities involving halves, quarters or thirds, while the older children progressed to the idea of equivalence and the techniques employed in the calculation of fractions. In a few 7 year old classes children were introduced to the notion of decimals, usually associated with the recording of amounts of money or metric measures. It was more common for such teaching to be introduced at a later stage, within the programme of about three quarters of 9 year old classes and almost all 11 year old classes. Nine out of ten 11 year old classes were taught to carry out calculations involving the four rules of number to two decimal places or more. 5.59 The importance of learning to handle money in everyday transactions and acquiring a sense of its value in relation to simple purchases was recognised in almost all the classes. Work involving the measurement of length, weight, area and time took place at some time in nine out of ten classes at all ages, the work progressing as the children grew older. For example, while 7 year olds were frequently taught to tell the time or measure each other's height, 11 year olds were often introduced to the twenty-four hour clock, carrying out assignments based on rail or flight schedules, or to activities such as calculating the area of the playground or the height of the school building. Occasionally such work was linked to ideas in elementary physics as, for example, when the children in an 11 year old class made simple pendulums, recorded the number and rate of oscillations and determined their relationship to the length of string and the weight of the pendulum bob. In another 11 year old class the study of a river in science involved the estimation and calculation of speeds and the amount of water flowing; the children measured the width and depth of the river and the slope and angles of the bank. 5.60 When children are asked to 'find the answer' to a problem in arithmetic, they are usually being asked to complete an unfinished statement; for example, 'six and nine more make ......', or '81 - 16 = ......', or again '(4 x 320) - (2 x 55) = ......'. If, however, the missing part lies in the middle of the statement it may be represented by a symbol; for example 6 + ? = 15, or again 1280 - ? = 1170. [*] The use of symbols gives precision in the recording of mathematical statements; some symbols are essential to any progress in mathematics and were taught in ail classes. In about half of the classes children were introduced to additional symbols such as 'box' diagrams or arrows. Where children understood the meaning of these symbols, and could use them appropriately to express a mathematical relationship, this provided a useful dimension to their work in mathematics. For some children, however, a proliferation of symbols tended to create confusion rather than clarification. In some cases, particularly in the older classes, more attention could usefully have been given to more precise and unambiguous use of ordinary language to describe the properties of number, size, shape or position. [* In the printed version of the report the symbol for the missing figure was a small square.] 5.61 Children used various forms of visual presentation for their work in mathematics in about four fifths of all the classes. This ranged from making simple table squares with multiples picked out in colour, to the drawing or construction of block or line graphs, pie charts or three dimensional shapes. In about a fifth of the classes there was evidence of mathematics being linked to work in other areas of the curriculum, and this sometimes provided opportunities for visual presentation of mathematical data. For example in an 11 year old class children visited a church as part of a local study and were able to watch the bellringers at work. They observed the different order of the changes rung and, on their return to school, considered the possible permutations. Subsequently the children devised a diagram to illustrate the possible sequences. 5.62 Mention has already been made of the link between mathematics and physical science. This connection could be more fully exploited in the work children do both in mathematics and science as in a 9 year old class where children were constructing a model following a visit to a windmill; discussion of the gears provided the teacher with the opportunity to introduce the notion of ratio and to follow this up in the children's work in mathematics. Again, in a 7 year old class the children were working on 'ourselves' as a mathematical topic. They recorded and constructed graphs of their bodily measurements and, using a stopwatch, recorded each other's variations of pulse rate following the performance of a number of different physical activities. 5.63 Many ideas encountered by children, for example weight, volume, density, speed or velocity, are common to mathematics and physical science but the connection was rarely made explicit. Similarly, precise measurement is essential to both disciplines but techniques of measurement acquired in mathematics were seldom applied to the children's work in experimental science or vice versa. Geography is another subject where ideas common to both subjects, for example, scale, coordinates, direction finding, angles, or longitude and latitude, were seldom linked in the work which children did in either subject; much more could be done in this way, especially with the older children. Comment 5.64 Mathematics is given a high degree of priority in the curriculum of the primary school. For average and less able children within the classes inspected the work in mathematics, together with that in reading, was more consistently matched to children's capabilities than their work in any other area of the curriculum. (15) However, for the children who showed most marked mathematical ability the work was often too easy and it is a matter for concern that these children's abilities were not fully extended in their work in this subject. (16) The responses to the NFER mathematics test E2 show that the efforts made to teach children to calculate are not rewarded by high scores in the examples concerned with the handling of everyday situations. Learning to operate with numbers may need to be more closely linked with learning to use them in a variety of situations than is now common. 5.65 The extensive use of individual work card assignments resulted in some children repeating known processes rather than being taken on to the next stage of their learning. In addition there is a place for more direct teaching of a whole group or class in mathematics. Most classes were grouped according to their attainments for work in mathematics and this arrangement could provide opportunities for teachers to deal with a particular topic or process with a whole group. In some cases it is more efficient to teach the whole class than to attempt to teach each new aspect of mathematics individually to each child. Challenging questions and quick recall of number facts, including multiplication tables, are essential in the learning of mathematics and often require a lively and sustained contact between a teacher and a group of children. iv. SCIENCE 5.66 Few primary schools visited in the course of this survey had effective programmes for the teaching of science. There was a lack of appropriate equipment; insufficient attention was given to ensuring proper coverage of key scientific notions; the teaching of processes and skills such as observing, the formulating of hypotheses, experimenting and recording was often superficial. The work in observational and experimental science was less well matched to children's capabilities than work in any other area of the curriculum. (17) 5.67 Heads' statements showed that the degree to which programmes of work in science had been thought out varied considerably from school to school. A number of heads referred to the importance of developing children's powers of observation, and to the responsibility of schools to encourage enquiry and curiosity. One wrote that his intention was 'to encourage in the children an attitude of wonder and enquiry so that these may become a lasting part of their life and outlook and to assist children's desire to communicate and construct; and help them to gain an insight into the happenings of everyday life'. 5.68 Some heads also mentioned the scientific subject matter they considered children should study; for example, 'practical work in nature study, plant and animal life, and an introduction to a study of the environment'. Another head wrote: 'The children should be able to perceive relationships and pose hypotheses to be tested through experiments, to be discarded if found untenable; they should become acquainted with the evolution and metamorphosis of animals; learn the simple properties of air and water; and understand how simple machines work'. 5.69 Science is a way of understanding the physical and biological world. However, the general impression given by heads' statements was that only a small minority recognised the important contribution which science could make to children's intellectual development. Although some science was attempted in a majority of classes, the work was developed seriously in only just over one class in ten, either as a study in its own right, or in relation to other topics being studied. The attention given to science did not vary greatly with the age of the children. 5.70 In science it is essential that children should develop observational skills and begin to recognise similarities and differences. The study of living and non-living things can stimulate children to ask the sort of questions which can lead, with careful guidance, to the formulation of hypotheses and the devising of experiments to test them. 5.71 In about two thirds of all the classes a nature table or 'interest' table was kept, where objects such as pieces of wood, sea shells, building materials, old clocks or radios were collected and displayed. In a similar number of classes plants were either grown in school or brought in for study. About half the classes kept small mammals such as hamsters or gerbils and a similar proportion undertook some work arising from outdoor activities such as a nature walk, a visit to a local park or the study of a local habitat such as a canal or pond. 5.72 Unfortunately, although children in a fair proportion of the classes were introduced to plants, animals and objects intended to stimulate scientific enquiry, in very few classes were opportunities taken to teach children how to make careful observations or to plan and carry out investigations of a scientific nature. For example, collections of autumn leaves were commonly used for decorative purposes or to stimulate work with pattern and colour; they were seldom used to help children to recognise similarities and differences in formation, such as the different forms of multiple leaf in ash and horse-chestnut trees, or notions of stability and change in living things. 5.73 In about two fifths of the classes some use was made of television broadcasts for the teaching of science, but radio was used in less than one class in ten. In some classes a particular television or radio broadcast was selected to fit in with a topic the class was studying, and in others part of a term's work was planned around a series of programmes. Used in these ways, television and radio broadcasting made a valuable contribution to the work in science and it is surprising that, in a subject where many teachers lacked confidence in their own abilities, more use was not made of this resource to support the work in science. 5.74 Textbooks or assignment cards were used to initiate work in science in only about a fifth of all the classes, although their use increased with the age of the children. At the 11 year old level about a quarter of the classes made use of assignment cards and a similar proportion worked with textbooks. The discriminating use of carefully chosen textbooks or assignment cards can help to sustain work in science if their use is carefully planned to supplement a programme of work; more use of this resource to support a particular line of scientific enquiry could have been made. Considerable use was made of reference books in nearly two thirds of the 7 year old classes and four out of five of the 11 year old classes. However, in only about a fifth of the classes were reference books well used to support first hand observation or experimental work or to develop sustained work on a particular topic. 5.75 Children's interests arising from their life at home, outside school or on holiday sometimes provide starting points for work in science. There was some evidence in about two fifths of the classes that work had arisen in this way, although the potential of such work was seldom exploited. Children may collect shells, pebbles or fir cones; may wonder why aeroplanes stay in the air or how a canal lock works; may become interested in the behaviour and characteristics of animals or immersed in the details of the latest space exploration reported on television. There is a wealth of experience for teachers to draw on, and most children are willing to bring things to school and discuss their enthusiasm in class. 5.76 Although four fifths of ail classes had access to some resources for their work in science, the provision was generally inadequate. Simple equipment for measuring, observing and discriminating, for example, thermometers, hand lenses, tuning forks, and materials such as batteries, bulbs and wire for work with electricity, can be assembled easily but were rarely seen to be available in the classroom. Older children were only marginally better catered for than the younger children in this respect. Content 5.77 In interpreting the findings relating to the content and quality of children's work in science it has to be kept in mind that there was no evidence of such work in nearly a fifth of all the classes. In those classes where work in science was undertaken, about half had touched on topics which contributed to children's understanding of the characteristics of living things and to notions of stability and change in living organisms. Fewer classes gave attention to reproduction, growth and development in plants and animals. Sources of energy were considered in about half of the 11 year old classes but rarely by the younger children. 5.78 in only half the 11 year old classes and about a third of the 7 and 9 year old classes were children prompted to look for and identify significant patterns, for example, the way leaves are arranged on a twig, patterns of bird migration, the way materials react to heat or light, or the arrangement of colours in a rainbow, and the way light behaves when it is reflected, casts shadows or is dispersed into its component parts. Such topics can be developed without specialised facilities, using simple materials such as twigs, water, salt or mirrors or simply carrying out observations in a natural habitat. In only a very small minority of classes were activities requiring careful observation and accurate recording developed beyond a superficial level and in less than one class in thirty was there evidence of investigations which had been initiated as a result of questions asked by the children. 5.79 In those classes where efforts were made to introduce children to science as both a body of organised knowledge and an experimental process the emphasis tended to be placed on work relating to plants and animals. This probably reflects the fact that rather more teachers were knowledgeable in the field of biology than in the physical sciences, although some were able to extend the work to take account of physical as well as biological aspects. For example, in one 9 year old class the teacher had arranged a visit to a bird sanctuary. The preparatory work involved drawing children's attention to the characteristics of different species of birds which would assist in their identification, examining the construction of birds' nests and relating the materials used and the method of construction to the size of the bird and the shape of the beak. At a later stage the children constructed a bird table and went on to collect bird droppings; they placed them in sterilised seed compost and witnessed the germination of seeds which had been carried by the birds. In an 11 year old class where germination was being studied, the children were growing plants under different conditions and recording their findings in a systematic way. They were being encouraged to make predictions and generalise from their findings; the teacher was also able to introduce the notion of the need for a control sample. 5.80 Another school had its own small area of woodland in part of a nearby Forestry Commission plantation. The children in the 11 year old class had planted seedlings and were carrying out systematic observations of their growth. They also made careful comparisons of other plants and animals found on open ground, on the fringes, and in the centre of the woodland. This included the observation and identification of living things found under stones and logs and on the trees. In the course of these activities the children designed and constructed clinometers and other instruments to enable them to measure dimensions such as the height and girth of the trees and the spread of the branches. The children had learned to distinguish hard and soft timber and had employed a rigorous technique for comparing the hardness of woods by dropping a weight from a standard height on to a nail in the wood. The children were knowledgeable about the kinds of wood appropriate to different forms of manufacturing, for example, paper and matchsticks, and the types used in the construction of different household articles. 5.81 Studies relating specifically to man-made artefacts or mechanical actions were comparatively rare, although one 9 year old class had paid a visit to a working water mill. During the visit the children made notes and drawings and, on their return to school, were able to construct a working model to illustrate the action they had observed at the mill. Subsequently the children looked at other applications of the mechanics of a chain of cogwheels including the gears of a bicycle, the action of an alarm clock and a rotary food whisk. The study of mechanical artefacts supported by constructional activities is an aspect of the work in science which is seldom exploited and which could usefully be developed at the primary stage. Comment 5.82 During the past few years considerable efforts have been made to stimulate and support science teaching in primary schools. There have been curriculum development projects at national level and in some areas local authority advisers and teachers' centres have been very active. Guidance about the kind of science which is suitable for young children, its place in the curriculum and teaching methods is readily available in the publications of the Schools Council, the Nuffield Foundation, the Department of Education and Science and elsewhere. Yet the progress of science teaching in primary schools has been disappointing; the ideas and materials produced by curriculum development projects have had little impact in the majority of schools. 5.83 The most severe obstacle to the improvement of science in the primary school is that many existing teachers lack a working knowledge of elementary science appropriate to children of this age. This results in some teachers being so short of confidence in their own abilities that they make no attempt to include science in the curriculum. In other cases, teachers make this attempt but the work which results is superficial since the teachers themselves may be unsure about where a particular investigation or topic in science could lead. 5.84 Making good the lack of science expertise among existing teachers is a complex matter but the careful deployment of those teachers who do have a background of study in science is a straightforward step that should be taken. Such teachers should be encouraged to use their expertise to the full, as class and specialist teachers, to bring about an improvement in the standards children achieve in science. Teachers with a particular responsibility for science need to be supported fully by heads and advisers and where necessary receive further in-service training, particularly courses which are designed to help them to further their own knowledge of science. The planned acquisition and use of resources for science teaching would also contribute to a general improvement of the work in this area. In addition, more attention should be given to the ways in which initial training courses can best equip new teachers to undertake the teaching of science whether as a class teacher, as a science consultant, or as a specialist in the primary school. v. AESTHETIC AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 5.85 Aesthetic education may arise in connection with work in any area of the curriculum. This section is concerned with those subjects which contribute particularly to the development of children's aesthetic response through making and doing, looking and listening, and touching and moving. Art and crafts 5.86 Some form of art and craft activity was undertaken by every class. In almost every classroom, and often in the corridors, halls and other shared spaces there were displays of children's work. In their comments a number of heads emphasised the importance of the visual environment created within the school and its effect on the children. 5.87 It was common practice for teachers to initiate work in art and craft by directing children's attention to arrangements and displays both inside and outside the classroom, and, to a lesser extent, to the immediate environment of the school. Displays of natural objects such as plants, rocks or shells were introduced as a stimulus for work in over three quarters of the classes although there was seldom sufficiently careful observation and discussion before the work was begun. Drawing or modelling from direct observation was rarely encouraged, although there was some interesting work which arose in this way. For example, in one 9 year old class the children made very careful and thorough observations of stick insects feeding on privet leaves. Using hand lenses to assist their observation of the details they made charcoal or pencil drawings of various parts of the insects before beginning work on their pictures. 5.88 !n another 9 year old class a collection of Anglo-Saxon pottery had been borrowed from a local museum and children were able to handle and examine the pottery before making their own clay pots. Man-made objects were less frequently used than natural objects as starting points for work in art and crafts, and the observation of mechanical artefacts was rare. It was encouraging to see assignments of the sort undertaken in one 11 year old class where bicycles had been brought into the school playground and the children studied and drew the various parts with considerable care. The drawings were intended to record differences in the style of construction and to demonstrate how the working parts operated. 5.89 While almost every class had some materials for drawing, painting and print-making, materials for modelling and three-dimensional construction were available in under two thirds of the classes. The quality of materials was reasonably satisfactory in over half of the classes but there were indications that more discrimination in the selection of materials by teachers and more care in the subsequent storage of materials and equipment would have contributed to better standards of work in some classes. 5.90 The use of pattern and colour was generally given more attention than form and texture in the work that children did. Children in four out of five classes were taught to handle tools, equipment and materials carefully and safely. Although children in the majority of classes were being taught to choose materials with some discrimination, satisfactory standards in the execution of the work were achieved in only about a third of the classes. Often the unsatisfactory standards resulted from insufficient guidance in the use of appropriate techniques. 5.91 About a third of the classes visited local art galleries, exhibitions or museums and it was encouraging to note that about one class in ten was visited by local craftsmen or artists. 5.92 Drawing, painting and modelling were frequently employed to record observations and information in other areas of the curriculum. Four fifths of the 11 year old classes used these techniques to illustrate their work in geography and history; among the younger children this kind of activity was more often associated with the illustration of stories and poems. Large murals, either painted or constructed with collage assembled from scrap material, were often used to depict a scene, for example from The Pied Piper of Hamelin or an underwater scene from The Water Babies. There is a place for this kind of large scale construction of a picture, which has the advantage that several children, or even a whole class, can contribute to a joint enterprise, but care needs to be taken to ensure that sufficient demands are made on individual children and that the work does not become purely mechanical and repetitive. 5.93 Drawing and modelling techniques were employed in mathematics in about two thirds of the classes, for example, in the telling presentation of block graphs, the delineation of patterns or the accurate construction of three-dimensional shapes. Drawings and coloured line illustrations were used to record work in geography, history, religious education and science. Three-dimensional construction was most often associated with geography and history; the link between constructional work and the study of artefacts and mechanical actions in science was seldom exploited. 5.94 While almost all the classes undertook some practical work in art and some crafts, there is a need for children to be taught to observe more carefully and to record faithfully what they see and know. The emphasis which has been placed on children using a wide variety of materials has in some cases resulted in children working in a superficial way. Children need time to familiarise themselves with the characteristics of particular materials and to acquire some degree of mastery over essential skills and techniques. A more carefully selected range of art and craft activities, worked at more thoroughly, would enable children to reach higher standards in the execution of their work and obtain more satisfaction from it. 5.95 In about a tenth of 9 and 11 year old classes boys and girls were separated for craft activities. On these occasions girls often undertook needlecraft while boys did some form of constructional work. The comparative neglect of three-dimensional construction is disappointing; opportunities should be provided for the older children, both boys and girls, to undertake some work with wood and other resistant materials and to learn to handle the tools and techniques associated with them. The standard of two and three-dimensional work in 7 year old classes was generally more satisfactory than in the older classes and was consistently better matched to the children's abilities. (18) Music 5.96 In music, as with art and crafts, children in every class in the survey had some experience of this subject. Heads' comments about what their schools set out to achieve in music were generally practical and precise. The following is typical of many comments: 'Children should have experience of sound and rhythm in music through listening and through participation. They should have the opportunity to experience music through movement, singing and the use of tuned and untuned percussion instruments'. Another head wrote: 'Children should have the opportunity to take part in music-making and have the experience of playing an instrument. Opportunities should be provided for children to listen to and enjoy a range of good music'. 5.97 The teaching of music was supported in a variety of ways to ensure that all the classes received some teaching in this subject. Music was the subject most frequently taught by a teacher other than the class teacher and, in 11 year old classes, the subject for which peripatetic teachers were most often employed. (19) In addition, particular responsibility for music was allocated more frequently than for any other subject. (20) Peripatetic teachers generally undertook the teaching of stringed instruments, and occasionally brass and woodwind, to individuals or small groups of children. Some peripatetic music teachers worked with the whole class but this was less common. 5.98 Radio programmes in particular were used for music teaching in three fifths of the classes and made a significant contribution to the music curriculum. In part this is a tribute to well established programmes which have won the confidence of many teachers. It was noticeable that the introduction of songs and simple accompaniments during the course of these programmes was frequently followed up by teachers who made no claim to musicianship but felt it important that their classes should have the opportunity for this kind of work. Also most schools now have equipment providing a reasonable quality of sound reproduction and recorded music was introduced to children in four fifths of the classes. 5.99 The use of tuned and untuned percussion instruments provided a simple and enjoyable introduction to music-making for many children. They were used for accompaniment in nearly all 7 year old classes and in four fifths of the 9 and 11 year old classes. Improvisation or 'creative' music-making was encouraged in half of the classes. In some cases children composed their own tunes or sound pictures and made their own arrangements with instruments such as recorders, glockenspiels, chime bars, xylophones, triangles, drums and cymbals. The reading of musical notation was introduced in nearly two fifths of 7 year old classes, two thirds of 9 year old and three quarters of 11 year old classes. 5.100 The quality of the musical experience provided for children varied, not surprisingly, according to the talents and expertise of the teachers and the availability of peripatetic teaching in different areas of the country. There were some schools where heads and teachers, over a period of time, had built up a strong tradition of music-making involving choirs, orchestras and instrumental groups. Individual teachers who were able to play instruments were often willing to play alongside children and to teach groups of children who were interested to learn, sometimes on a voluntary basis in the lunch hour or after school. 5.101 Music played an important part in the school assembly. In some cases children were able to accompany hymns and songs with recorders, percussion instruments, guitars and occasionally the violin or piano. The school assembly also provided an opportunity for the introduction of recorded music and some schools made a feature of this, introducing a different composer or theme each week. 5.102 Movement with music was undertaken in four fifths of the 7 year old classes and about half of the older classes. School plays or other special performances often involved music; one school was engaged in a production of The Owl and the Pussycat with music specially written by the peripatetic music teacher who taught general class music and the guitar. In the relatively few classes where French was taught, songs were used to extend children's vocabulary and to introduce variety and enjoyment. 5.103 Singing was taught in all the classes and the quality of the songs chosen was generally good. Particularly for the younger children, well chosen songs often provided an important extension of their experience of language. In learning to read children require the ability to make quite fine aural discriminations between different sounds; rhymes, singing games and well chosen songs can often assist in this process and generally encourage aural awareness. 5.104 The special provision made for the teaching of music ensured that children in all the classes had some experience of work in music. While the quality of work varied greatly among schools according to the level of musicianship available, the services of specialist and peripatetic teachers made a valuable contribution to the music education received by children. This support was generally directed towards those children who showed some ability in music and for whom instrumental teaching was provided. In the general class work, levels of achievement were considerably more modest and although children generally appeared to enjoy their music-making, the quality of the work inevitably reflected the teacher's competence as a musician. Physical education 5.105 Every class in the survey undertook some form of physical activity, although the emphasis given to games, gymnastics, dance or swimming differed according to the facilities and opportunities available in a particular school and according to the age of the children. It was not usual for boys and girls to be separated for their work in physical education; such separation occurred in only just over one in twenty 9 and 11 year old classes. One head, typical of many, commented that in his school the intention in physical education was to encourage 'experience of body movement through dance, drama and large physical movements such as climbing, balancing and swimming'. 5.106 Gymnastics was included in the curriculum of well over four fifths of all the classes. Opportunities for swimming increased with the age of the children: only a quarter of 7 year old classes were taught swimming compared with two thirds of 9 year old and nine out of ten 11 year old classes. 5.107 Some form of equipment for gymnastics was available to about nine out of ten classes, while games equipment and other small apparatus was used by almost every class. The high incidence of swimming for the 11 year old classes reflects local education authority policies. Where a pool was not available on the school premises, most authorities arranged for children to make use of the local baths. Where necessary, transport was provided and swimming instruction given at the baths. In many areas it was only possible to provide this facility for the older pupils, although occasionally younger children were able to take advantage of such provision, particularly in the summer term. 5.108 Comment on the quality of the work in physical education has to be treated with caution since, quite reasonably, in about a quarter of the classes not all the relevant activities took place during the period of the inspection. No attempt was made to assess the quality of the swimming instruction for the purposes of this survey because of the time that would have been required for visits away from the school premises. 5.109 In 9 and 11 year old classes team games were played in almost all the classes, often with considerable enthusiasm on the children's part. Not surprisingly, this was the aspect of physical education in which these older children achieved the greatest degree of skill. In dance, even in the 7 year old classes where this activity was most often encouraged, sensitivity in the use of movement was seldom achieved. About three fifths of the 7 year old classes used radio programmes to supplement the work in movement and where these were followed up with appropriate practice and extension of the ideas presented, they made a useful contribution to their work. There were also opportunities to link the experience of music and movement to work in language and art. 5.110 The work in gymnastics was very uneven in quality. This was undoubtedly in part due to considerable discrepancies in the nature of the facilities available. In some schools, particularly those with few children on roll, often in rural areas, no hall was available for gymnastics and this made it necessary either to clear classrooms of furniture or to work outside whenever the weather was suitable. In almost all schools that had a hall it was necessary to use it for a variety of purposes, including assemblies, music and drama and, in some cases, the midday meal. 5.111 The type of work undertaken in gymnastics also varied. Some schools continued to pursue a programme of traditional educational gymnastics with the emphasis on sensitivity and the ability to invent sustained sequences of movement, while others had clearly been strongly influenced by the British Amateur Gymnastic Association's award scheme. Some teachers were qualified coaches and others had been influenced by the coaching schemes. A number of schools organised voluntary clubs, particularly in association with the BAGA scheme, which were enthusiastically supported by the children. When expert coaching of this sort was available this was often reflected in the quality of the general class work, where children showed increasing versatility and confidence in their own physical abilities. 5.112 The stage at which children were introduced to major team games such as football and netball varied according to the circumstances of the school. Many schools were able to make use of local parks or sports centres for the older children. In the 7 year old classes children mainly worked in small groups practising various skills such as throwing, catching or kicking. Older children were generally eager to take part in team games and in many schools there were teachers who voluntarily devoted much extra time to organising inter-school matches and practice sessions. 5.113 In 11 year old classes, next to music, physical education was the subject most frequently taught by a teacher other than the normal class teacher. (21) This would seem to be reflected in the quality of the teaching as, after reading and mathematics, the work in physical education was most frequently suitably matched to the children's abilities at all ages. (22) 5.114 All children were offered the opportunity to participate in some form of physical education, although schools placed different emphasis on the relative importance of individual sporting activities, team games, gymnastics, dance or swimming. The type of facilities available and the interests and skills of individual teachers undoubtedly played a large part in influencing the balance of the programme in physical education. As a consequence, the extent and quality of work differed considerably from school to school; however it is evident that most schools thought it important to provide as good a range of physical activities as was possible with the resources and facilities available. vi. SOCIAL STUDIES 5.115 Many primary schools used a thematic approach to the work in social studies and a wide variety of topics were introduced at each age level. Often the environment of the school, or a place within easy reach of it, was the focus of this kind of work, although children also studied other countries and other times. In the course of these studies material was most often drawn from historical and geographical sources, although some schools also, on occasion, chose topics with a religious dimension. Religious education 5.116 The place of religious education in schools is supported by the statutory requirements of the 1944 Education Act and, for all county and voluntary controlled schools, by agreed syllabuses which have been produced or adopted by the local education authorities. Almost three quarters of all schools - county, voluntary controlled and aided - made an explicit reference to using an agreed syllabus. 5.117 Nearly a quarter of all heads referred specifically to Christian teaching. Other heads, not exclusively from denominational schools, emphasised equally strongly the particular Christian commitment of their schools. Both heads' written comments and the work in the classes indicated that Christian precepts were seen as important ideas to be taught and put into practice. 5.118 Teaching of this kind was often associated with work on a general topic such as 'helping other people' which could be related to the children's everyday experience or to geographical or historical contexts. Religious themes associated with work in history and geography were introduced in about a fifth of the 7 year old classes and almost two thirds of the older classes. A few schools had also introduced work on other faiths which often included reference to other countries and to the historical origins of these faiths. 5.119 In four fifths of the classes children were learning about man's attempt to frame religious and moral values and the Bible was the most common source of material used. For example, in some classes both the New and Old Testaments were being used to illuminate or provoke consideration of ideas such as forgiveness or to give instruction in specifically religious ideas or practices, including those associated with the church calendar. Sometimes the Bible was used to provide a story from which children might gain some understanding of man's spiritual dilemmas. Assemblies 5.120 In nearly all the assemblies taking place in schools there was a religious content. Various forms of assembly took place, often within the same school. Some were led by the head or another teacher and some were taken by the children. There were the simple occasions consisting of a hymn and a prayer, perhaps with some comment from the head or with readings from the Bible or other religious literature. Some assemblies were based on a theme such as 'honesty', or on a story such as 'the good Samaritan'. 5.121 Assemblies presented by the children involved careful preparation and often fostered a sense of community and participation. Drama was associated with religious education in about a third of the classes and the dramatisation of a bible story or other kind of story was often introduced into the assembly. Music was an important feature of most assemblies and children were sometimes able to accompany the hymn singing with a variety of instruments including recorders and percussion instruments. 5.122 The survey was not designed to provide a close study of religious education in schools but the evidence indicates that primary schools were generally concerned to provide children with a religious education based on the Bible and on Christian beliefs and values. However, in practice it does appear that in many schools the curriculum in religious education was somewhat restricted. Consideration might usefully be given to ways in which the range of work in the subject could be expanded to respond more fully to the challenge of living in a multi-faith society. History 5.123 Some attention was given to the study of the past in three fifths of the 7 year old classes, nine out of ten 9 year old classes and almost all 11 year old classes. Often the work was part of a general topic such as 'ships' or related to a current event. For example, the preparations for the Queen's Silver Jubilee prompted a number of classes to look back to the events of coronation year and in some cases to compare the present times with those of Elizabeth I. In the younger classes historical reference tended to be rather incidental, although by the age of eleven the work was more recognisably historical. Some classes were studying periods of English history, often with a bias towards work on buildings and costumes. This kind of work was frequently stimulated by a visit to a nearby castle or other building or a site of historical significance. 5.124 Collections of artefacts and documents were occasionally used, often being provided by a local museum. This practice tended to increase with the age of the children. The 11 year old classes more often drew on accounts of past events which people known to the children could recall, although this source was also occasionally used by younger children. In one 11 year old class grandparents had been invited to the school to talk about their experience of unemployment in the 1930s and the children were able to draw comparisons with the present day, particularly since their school was situated in an area of high unemployment. 5.125 Television programmes provided the basis for work in history in about a quarter of the 7 year old classes and two fifths of the 11 year old classes. For most children the programmes were a useful source of information and occasionally they formed an integral part of a well planned scheme of work with careful preparation before viewing and thorough follow-up afterwards. 5.126 Most 9 and 11 year old classes used history reference books, the quality of which was reasonably good in about three quarters of the classes. The history reference books in 7 year old classes were less likely to be satisfactory. Stories with a historical setting were used to initiate work in about half the 9 year old classes and two thirds of the 11 year old classes. History text books and published work cards were used in three fifths of the 9 and 11 year old classes but only rarely in the 7 year old classes, 5.127 Taken as a whole in four out of five of ail the classes which studied history the work was superficial. In many cases it involved little more than copying from reference books and often the themes chosen had very little historical content. In some classes children moved from one assignment to another in a fairly random way so that work on Ancient Greece might immediately precede or even follow a study of 'travel in Stuart times'. It was rare to find classes where the work, even in a simple way, was leading the children towards an understanding of historical change and the causal factors involved, or where children were becoming aware of the nature of historical evidence. 5.128 A factor contributing to this situation was undoubtedly a lack of planning in the work. Few schools had schemes of work in history, or teachers who were responsible for the planning and implementation of work in this field. (23) While it is true that an appreciation of the perspective of time develops only slowly in children, it is liable to remain rudimentary unless a coherent approach to helping children acquire an understanding of the past is adopted. Where history was taught through topics of general interest there was the danger of a fragmented approach. A framework is required to provide some ordering of the content being taught. This may be a single path through a chronological sequence or a more complex series of historical topics which, while not necessarily taught in chronological order, should give a perspective in terms of the ordering of events or by means of comparison with the present day. Geography 5.129 Some work of a geographical nature was undertaken in three fifths of the 7 year old classes and nine out of ten 9 and 11 year old classes. The 7 year olds learned about the immediate environment and more distant places to the same extent. Similar topics, for example, 'homes', or 'life on the farm' or 'children of other lands' tended to appear in classes of all ages. This practice can lead to unnecessary repetition unless considerable care is taken to ensure there is progression in the work which children do. 5.130 Two fifths of the 7 year old classes and two thirds of the 11 year old classes carried out geographical studies in the local environment. Some work relating to local population, agriculture, industry, transport, land features or resources took place in nearly half of the older classes although work relating to other countries was also more common in these classes. 5.131 Some of the most successful work was based on the locality of the school, as in a 9 year old class where a proposed new road to by-pass the town stimulated work which involved consideration of the local amenities and transport links. The children studied local maps and illustrations and carried out a traffic and pedestrian survey as well as considering alternative routes for the proposed new road. 5.132 Local features such as a woodland or river were sometimes used to stimulate consideration of land formation. More use could have been made of work based on local industries, as in an 11 year old class which visited a local timber yard and subsequently traced the origins of the timber, both imported and local, and the destinations and use of the products. 5.133 Reference books were frequently used for work in geography and about three fifths of the 11 year old classes made use of textbooks and work-cards. Atlases were used in about three quarters of the 11 year old classes but globes were introduced in only three fifths of these classes and much less frequently in the younger classes. Maps of the locality were used in only about a quarter of the 9 year old classes and in about two fifths of the 11 year old classes. 5.134 Television was used to introduce or reinforce work in about a quarter of the classes and usually made a positive contribution to the children's understanding of some of the geographical influences on people's lives. Radio was used to a lesser extent but made an equally useful contribution when it was. 5.135 To a limited extent children were being helped to acquire an appreciation of man's dependence on natural phenomena and resources in a quarter of the 7 year old classes and in about three fifths of the older classes. However, as with history, much of the work tended to be superficial and there was often little evidence of progression. For example the observation and recording of weather conditions which was common in 7 year old classes rarely developed into a more wide ranging study of climate for the older pupils. 5.136 There were substantial numbers of classes where no use was made of atlases, maps or globes. Even where work centred on the neighbourhood of the school, maps of the locality were introduced relatively infrequently. Though good work was being done in some classes, in the majority essential skills and ideas were seldom given sufficient attention; work in geography cannot be soundly based if children are not introduced to the essential skills of the subject. Footnotes (1) See Annex to Chapter 3, Table 13 (2) See Chapter 6 iii (3) See Appendix I (4) See Annex to Chapter 6 Tables 30-32 (5) A language for life Paragraph 10.19. HMSO (6) See paragraph 5.47 (7) See Annex to Chapter 3, Table 17 (8) See Annex to Chapter 6, Table 32 (9) A language for life p393, HMSO (10) A language for life p163, HMSO (11) A language for life Principal Recommendations 5, HMSO (12) Chapter 6 iii; Appendix I (13) See Annex to Chapter 3, Table 14 (14) See Annex to Chapter 3, Table 15 (15) See Chapter 6 ii and Annex to Chapter 6, Tables 30-32. (16) See Annex to Chapter 6, Table 32. (17) See Chapter 6 ii and Annex to Chapter 6, Tables 30-32. (18) See Annex to Chapter 6, Tabies 30-32. (19) See Annex to Chapter 3, Tables 19 and 20. (20) See Annex to Chapter 4, Table 24. (21) See Annex to Chapter 3 Table 20. (22) See Annex to Chapter 6, Tables 30-32. (23) See Annex to Chapter 4, Tables 24 and 25. 
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