Remember the class topic – it’s making a comeback. Some of you may remember your days in primary school and still have a project, or topic, that you did hidden away in the loft. Topics all but disappeared with the onset of the National Curriculum in 1988 and subject based teaching being strongly recommended in reports in the 1990s. But the Times Educational Supplement reports today that the topic has made a comeback.
According to a TES poll four out of five primary schools are abandoning subject teaching in favour of topic based or theme based lessons. It takes a lot more planning but leads to far a more interesting curriculum. At the moment only 16% of schools are teaching maths within their topics but it is a subject which can be given far more meaning when taught within a topic. I fully support this move and Ofsted are praising those schools that have adopted the approach. Welcome back all those lovely projects: the Egyptians, food, transport and the rest!