Member

Amendment 444, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Storey, seeks to ensure that schools have flexibility to take account of local circumstances in their delivery of the national curriculum while also requiring any changes to the national curriculum to be made under the affirmative procedure. Ensuring that schools have the flexibility to adapt teaching to their specific circumstances is crucial, and the current curriculum framework provides this. The programmes of study already allow schools to meet the needs of students by tailoring their local curriculum content and delivery. The proposed framework in the amendment would add unnecessary complexity to the national curriculum, which already has core and foundation subjects, and could create confusion for schools. The current process for making changes to the national curriculum has worked well over the years, with appropriate consultation requirements and parliamentary scrutiny. There is no intention to change that process in this legislation. Requiring affirmative parliamentary approval of any changes, which might be minor, would risk being a disproportionate use of parliamentary time and could cause delays and uncertainty for schools.