What would you add to National Curriculum ?

Lizbethann55, yes, absolutely agree with everything you said. Like others, I'd add how to manage your finances and how to converse. I'd also add how to be polite and how to behave and dress for an interview.

Teach children 'how to think' and 'not what to think'.

I think that the national curriculum must have changed in the last twenty years to allow for the huge change in the way we all communicate - on line and with mobile phones.

Our grandchildren are living in quite a different world from the world of our children's schooldays, let alone ours, and I hope that schools have been given the resources to keep pace.

As an ex teacher and now a tutor, I second what Lizbethann55 has said completely. Communication by word of mouth is a must versus discussions. Role play - sitting in a coffee shop having a drink or something with one or two people, without your phones. More improvised drama. More question time for the students to teachers. I could go on. Karen

Goodness, the things teachers are supposed to be undertaking now. They ought to stay at school for 18 hours a day, perhaps we should allow them 6 hours to go home and sleep.

Whatever happened to parental responsibility, learning from the parents?
Of course manners are taught in school but not always backed up by the parents.

Of course, they could teach all these things but there may not be any time for the essentials.
The DGC's schools do seem to do a good job of teaching the curriculum as well as managing to do many of the things mentioned such as gardening, swimming, presentation skills etc.
However, I think there is a lot of parental backup and a good PTA too.

Nothing, I think the curriculum is already overloaded and needs to be reduced.

“I would like the children to be taught good manners and to be respectful.”
Every morning I or the other senior managers would stand at the school doors to welcome the children into school. We would wish the parents “ good morning” and then each child, by name. They were taught to respond in the same way. If they did not say “good morning, “ use the teacher’s name, use eye contact, or if they ran down the corridor without responding, they had to come back and were, gently but firmly, reminded how to behave. The parents? Most were polite, but some were on their phones, ignored us, or, sometimes, leaned in with a complaint. It was surprising how pleasant and polite some children were in school, and how badly behaved when we saw them after school or out with their parents.

It is amazing how many people don't actually know what is being taught but think they know what ought to be taught. Can you imagine going to your doctor and saying these are my symptoms and when he tells you you have measles informing him that in your opinion it's scarlet fever? This thread is the educational equivalent.
varian literacy is taught in every school. Looking at different sorts of text (story, information etc) starts in Yr1 and by Yr 6 age 10-11 children are looking at real newspaper articles, identifying fact and opinion and discussing bias.

Basic first aid and swimming

I would like the children to be taught good manners and to be respectful.

Staffing would be the main stumbling block. You can’t magic up teachers to teach all of those things, laudable and eminently useful though they are.

What would you take out of the curriculum to replace with the things you want?

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the school day finishes early. Staff meetings, department meetings, year meetings, homework club, sports clubs, fixtures, outside agency meetings, all have to be fitted in and then the children will have homework to do and the teachers will have planning and preparation.

I wonder how many posters on here actually know what is taught in schools today? I was married to a secondary school teacher, have teachers in the family and it’s not that long ago that my own children were at school, so I know what was taught then, and what is being taught now. Money management is taught during maths and civics/ general studies lessons. All children learn the art of expressing themselves clearly, cogent argument and debate as part of the English Language curriculum, and another part of the curriculum deals with critical thinking: evaluating news reports etc. (The much- maligned media studies does this in depth.)Personal and social education deals with how to manage emotions, healthy living, mindfulness etc. Physical Education involves sports, games and keeping fit, and the effects of exercise on the body. Politeness cannot be taught, it is an attitude which is constantly stressed. Girls and boy can learn woodwork, textiles, including sewing and repairs, and home economics: not just cooking, but healthy eating and budgeting. (The reason why pizza mix is used is because the length of a lesson would not allow for complete preparation including proving.)
Here is a link to the English National Curriculum site:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum
And the Scottish:
www.gov.scot/policies/schools/school-curriculum/
And Welsh:
gov.wales/curriculum-and-assessment

Budgeting

Preparation of meals

First aid

Conversation

keep fit

Stress management

Human biology for starters. I thought sex education involving contraception info was already included but given the number of unplanned pregnancies being mentioned in social media sites the subject surely isn't.
A lot of the subjects already mentioned should be undertaken by parents but again are not. An assessment of "lifeskills" should be undertaken and those lacking should be addressed on a compulsory basis out with school hours by voluntary organisations with gov. funding. Diction/elecution lessons too would be useful but not to the old BBC standard, as I am tired listening to nothing but mumbling coming from teenagers.

MINDFULNESS - if kids were taught how to unwind and cope with stress, anxiety maybe there would be less need to turn to drugs/drink etc if they had the correct tools to help with their mental wellbeing.
BSL - British Sign Language, so useful for communication with deaf/HoH, disabled, even babies are having sign language classes now, should be on the national curriculum.

The National Curriculum is on line so you may access it to discover which years these ideas are introduced and also repeated.

I am glad to hear that Chardy but I question whether this happens at every school. If it is part of the national curriculum, what age are children introduced to these ideas?

More useful lessons like the ones suggested here could replace idiotic ones like learning about Bob Marley like my grandson is doing at the moment. What possible use is that going to be in his future? Most certainly they should learn how to 'make do and mend' (environmentally friendly after all) and make nutritionally sound meals, not cakes that they practically have to do all the preparation for at home anyway.

Definitely bring back proper cookery lessons. Preparing and cooking food from scratch.

Also, needlework lessons.
I remember having to sew and make my own apron and hat before I was allowed in the school kitchen. It took me a while, but got there in the end.
What happened to woodwork classes I wonder.
A bit sexist I guess, as boys in my day did that, and girls did needlework and cookery.
Let’s revise the curriculum and have all pupils learning this stuff.
The emphasis is too much on academia. Not enough on the practicalities needed in life.

Varian
Pupils are taught in English lessons (and in Media, but not all take that)
how to evaluate sources of news and tell news from fake news
to compare newspapers, tv and radio, online news websites and social media, to look at what they report the different ways they might cover the same story.

In maths
they discuss the question of bias
how to read surveys and statistics, to question sources, look for loaded questions, random sampling and the importance of the size of the sample

Or stress management x

I would add more sensory time for all children. Let them get their hands dirty and play with different materials. I would also like to see more 1:1 time with children, just time to actually talk to them and see if they are struggling with anything. More stress relief in the curriculum basically x

I'd like to add critical thinking.

Children should be taught how to evaluate sources of news and tell news from fake news. They should compare newspapers, tv and radio, online news websites and social media, looking at what they report the different ways they might cover the same story.

They need to be taught to question news sources and tell fact from opinion. They should learn to ask who or what is behind the way a story is told and what is the agenda of the people or organisations with money, power and influence.

They should discuss the question of bias. For instance the fact that both right wing and left wing politicians and their supporters accuses the BBC of being biased in the opposite direction does not prove that the BBC is unbiased.

Above all they need to understand how to read surveys and statistics. They do not need to study mathematical statistics and probability theory in depth but they ought to question sources, look for loaded questions and understand that a properly conducted survey of a large random sample of a population will yield information which is much more reliable than selective anecdotal accounts.

Politicians have found they can manipulate voters far more effectively by playing on emotions, especially negative emotions, rather than arguing for evidence based policies and this is all the more dangerous if voters have never been taught critical thinking.

Id start in year 2 Primary School with Critial Thinking / Cooking / First Aid / Basic DIY using real tools

Yes, they could teach them not to scream magshard!