ABSTRACT
Our purpose in this chapter is threefold. First, we shall try to show that the national curriculum model, as it was conceived, and as it has emerged over the period since 1987, offered the dream of substantial and much-needed improvement to curriculum practice in primary schools in England and Wales generally. Second, the model assumed six preconditions in the professional context within which primary teachers were working; five of these were not met, so that the full delivery of the national curriculum became impossible for normal teachers. Thirdly, we shall examine some of the policy options available, whereby the curriculum could be made more manageable for schools.
