ABSTRACT
John White describes schools as being ‘in the grip of custom’ and ends by suggesting a number of ‘general lessons for the curriculum as a whole'. Despite the constraints of the national curriculum, the inspection framework and the government’s performance tables, there is still room for innovation, and good school leadership must involve regular scrutiny of the curriculum. A head teacher new to a school would be strongly advised to take a careful look at the curriculum to see if it was really meeting the needs of the pupils in the school, as well as making the most effective use of teaching staff. In reality, a broad and balanced curriculum is one which seeks to satisfy the needs of pupils in a heavily circumscribed environment. There are numerous examples of schools with highly developed vocational offers, which genuinely met the needs of pupils, forced into adopting much more academic curriculums.
