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Plowden (1967) Notes on the text Volume 1 (page numbers in brackets) Preliminary pages (i-xxii)
Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 The growth of the child
Part 3 The home, school and neighbourhood
Part 4 The structure of primary education
Part 5 The children in the schools: curriculum and internal organisation
Part 6 The adults in the schools
Part 7 Independent schools
Part 8 Primary school buildings and equipment; status; and research
Part 9 Conclusions and recommendations
Notes (486-495)
Research and Surveys about Plowden |
The Plowden Report (1967)
A Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England) London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1967
[page 497 (unnumbered)]
[page 499] We were greatly helped by the evidence submitted to us by the teacher and local authority associations and by several hundred individual witnesses. Those who gave evidence are listed in Annex B. At the beginning of our enquiry we prepared a questionnaire which was sent to all witnesses as a guide to the main issues that the Council were to consider. The questionnaire is reproduced below. We also decided to send a questionnaire to a random sample of some 2,500 primary and secondary school teachers in the hope of getting their views on some of the major issues. Many of their replies proved illuminating and have been referred to in the report. We reproduce as Appendix 1, (Volume 2) the questionnaire sent to them and the tables of their replies that proved to be of most interest. [page 500]
12th November, 1963. I am writing to invite your Association/Union/Council/you/to give evidence to the Central Advisory Council for Education (England). As you know, the Council was reconstituted on 7th August, 1963, under the chairmanship of Lady Plowden with the following terms of reference:
The Council will be grateful for a statement of your views on any matters pertinent to their enquiry. They have, however, prepared a list of questions which seem, at this early stage in their work, to be particularly relevant and upon which you may care to base evidence. The Council ask me to emphasise, however, that they will be most happy to receive evidence in any form which you consider convenient, and that either part or the whole of the questionnaire can be ignored if you so wish. Some of those receiving this letter may wish to concentrate on one or two questions only; detailed evidence on any single question will be welcomed. In order that a full range of teacher opinion can be taken into account by the Council copies of this questionnaire* are also to be sent to a large number of teachers, mainly chosen on a random sample basis. At the same time the Council will make it known that they will be willing to receive evidence from members of the general public. It will be helpful if evidence can be submitted in writing so that the taking of oral evidence can be directed towards issues of special importance. I should be most grateful if 40 copies of your reply can be sent to me not later than 1st May, 1964. It will be helpful if some replies can be sent well before that. Obviously, you will wish to have a reasonable period in which to consider your reply but we should be glad to know when it will be ready so that the Council's programme of work can be planned. I am enclosing 12 copies of this letter and its Appendix. Further copies can be supplied on request. Yours sincerely,
*in an abbreviated version. [page 501] 1. The stages of primary education (a) How far do you think chronological age is a satisfactory criterion for entry and transfer within and from primary education? How much flexibility should there be at various stages? In particular, how far does lack of flexibility in entry and promotion prejudice the future of children born in the spring and summer? (b) At what age should nursery or infant education become available, and its provision an obligation on the LEA, for children other than those with very exceptional problems? (c) At what age should education, whether part-time or full-time, be made compulsory? (d) From what age should full-time (morning and afternoon) education be: (i) available(e) How long should the school day be at various stages, and should any changes be made in the arrangement of the school holidays? (f) Are breaks desirable within primary education and if so at what ages? (g) What is the balance of gain and loss in: (i) separate nursery and infant schools as compared with infant schools with nursery classes or nursery/infant schools?(h) Is there sufficient contact and consistency between: (i) infant schools and contributory nursery schools.(i) What suggestions, if any, would you make for strengthening contacts and continuing development at: (i) the nursery/infant transition?2. The transition from primary to secondary education (a) At what age should children transfer from primary to secondary education? (b) What are the effects of present methods of selection on the work and organisation of: (i) the primary schools.(c) Assuming the continued existence of selective secondary education, what are the most desirable methods of selection from the point of view of the placing of children in appropriate courses, possible strain on children and parents, and the effects on the schools? (d) Is selective secondary education desirable at all? If not, how should pupils be guided into the secondary school courses most suitable for them? (e) Should more transfer between the maintained and independent schools be encouraged and provided for? If so, are there any special implications for the age of transfer from primary to secondary education? (f) Is there sufficient contact and continuity of development between primary and secondary schools? If not, what suggestions might be made for improvement? 3. The work of the primary schools (a) What do you consider should be the main aims of primary education and how ought they to be distinguished from those of secondary education? (b) Do the life and work of the primary schools favour the achievement of these aims? (c) Are the content of the curriculum and teaching methods which are commonly found well suited to present needs? (d) Are satisfactory standards of attainment being reached with children of varying levels of ability? (e) Are the needs of children of exceptional ability satisfactorily met? (f) Do present teaching and discipline in primary schools prepare children adequately for secondary education and lay the right foundations for life and work increasingly requiring high degrees of skill? [page 502] (g) What influence has the emphasis on active learning in the 1931 Hadow Report had on schools, and how far has it been beneficial? (h) Have there been significant improvements in primary education since the publication of the Hadow reports (1931 and 1933)? If so, what are the most striking advances you would wish to bring to the attention of the Council? 4. Size and organisation of primary schools (a) What is the smallest and largest suitable size of school for various age groups and in urban and rural settings? (b) What size of class for various ages should be adopted as an aim to be achieved over the next 20 year period? For what teaching purposes and in what circumstances would (i) larger groups (ii) smaller groups be profitable? (c) What age-range within a class is: (i) desirable(d) To what extent is: (i) classification by ability(e) How far should the organisation of the primary school at various stages be based on the class and the class teacher? (f) Is there any advantage in linking classes and regrouping children possibly in units of different size, for various activities and according to teachers' strengths? (One example is the American concept of 'team teaching'). (g) What use can be made of teachers' specialist knowledge and skill in the primary school? (h) Are the present rates of turnover of teachers harmful to pupils and, if so, how can the ill effects be reduced? (i) How far are the answers to the questions in this section applicable to the first two years of the secondary school? 5. Teachers and their training (a) How well do: (i) training courses(b) How adequate are in-service training arrangements, and how adequate are the other opportunities and facilities for teachers to reappraise their professional work? How far do teachers take advantage of them? (c) Do teachers receive too little help, or conversely too much guidance from sources outside the school such as Institutes of Education, teacher training colleges, inspectors, advisers, administrators, professional organisations and educational publishers? (d) Is enough care taken in placing teachers in their first posts and is sufficient guidance available to them? To what extent do young teachers leave the profession because their special needs are not met? (e) Is the present staffing structure of head, deputy head and holders of posts of responsibility helpful to the primary school? (f) What proportion of men to women teachers is appropriate at various stages in the primary school? Should more men be encouraged to teach infants? (g) What use can be made of part-time trained teachers and full-time and part-time helpers at various stages in the primary school? If helpers are to be used what training or qualifications should they have? Have you any further suggestions for meeting the present deficiency of teachers in the primary schools? [page 503] 6. Handicapped children (a) To what extent is it in the interest of: (i) the children concerned(b) If these children are taught in ordinary primary schools should special provision be made for them by: (i) concentrating a group of children with a special handicap in a particular school7. The relationship of home, school and community (a) How far are present contacts between home, school and community effective, and what improvements to them could be suggested? (b) Is collaboration between home and school best achieved by formal means (for example, parent-teacher associations) or by informal means? (c) Should parents have more freedom than they do at present in their choice of schools for their children, and is sufficient information and guidance available to them about educational facilities? (d) Does educational planning take enough into account, particularly in policy on buildings, equipment and supply of teachers, existing inequalities in primary provision and the special needs of children from poor backgrounds? (e) Is residential experience valuable or necessary for children of primary school age, and is there adequate boarding provision? (f) How effective is existing machinery in dealing with such social and educational problems as truancy? 8. General questions (a) Do (i) head teachers, (ii) assistant teachers enjoy too much freedom or too little in organising their work? Is the traditional freedom of the schools appropriate in modern circumstances? (b) Are there any issues not sufficiently covered by the questions above on which you wish to state your views? (c) What major problems remain to be solved, and in what order of priority should they be placed in relation to each other and the needs of the educational service as a whole? 
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