GL Assessments Survey Report asks several key questions. The say their research, “… makes for sobering reading.”

They  comment:

“It is hard to find anyone – teacher, employer, parent,
politician or policymaker – who isn’t in favour of a broad and
balanced curriculum.”

One answer:

“In England the accountability system wags everything else,”
says Stephen Tierney, CEO of the Blessed Edward Bamber Multi Academy Trust.

In its conclusion, the survey report states:

“There are, too, widespread fears about the immediate and
negative effects exam pressure is having on student wellbeing
and behaviour… The responsibility for that they lay firmly at the door of school accountability.”

The report notes that some secondary schools are starting work on GCSE programmes in Year 7 and that there are similar pressures in the run up to KS2  national tests.

Here are some of the Key Findings:

• 71 % of teachers are concerned that teaching a more restricted curriculum has a negative impact on classroom behaviour.
• 65% said parents ought to be worried about children being
  moved onto a so-called “GCSE flight path” too early,  61% of parents agreed.
• 87% of teachers believe teaching pupils a more rounded curriculum from a younger age would better prepare children for later academic success. 76 % of parents  agreed.
• 91%  of teachers and  believe teaching pupils a more
  rounded curriculum from a younger age would better prepare children for life after school. 78 % of parents agreed
• 78 % think a restricted curriculum does not address children who
  develop at a later stage than their peers.
• 72% think that students have switched off from school because of earlier experiences of exams