This episode of Need to Know explores the coalition government's policy on the National Curriculum, and what this means for secondary schools who have been promised greater freedoms from the current National Curriculum and a new flexibility in their choice of exams. The government has announced a commitment to slimming down the curriculum, but it is unclear how they propose to do so. Chris Husbands from the Institute of Education's Department of Learning, Curriculum and Communication explains the ways that this could be achieved. Freedom from the curriculum could also mean a greater choice in the qualifications that schools offer, such as the IGCSE which is not currently offered by state schools as it was not been approved for funding by the DCSF, despite having been approved by Ofqual. Mike visits Parkside Community School in Cambridge who previously offered their students the IGCSE and are planning to re-introduce the qualification under the new proposals.

Video Series: Need To Know
Release Date 2010