ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at practical issues involved in teaching and learning, those aspects of the National Curriculum which may present particular challenges in faith-based schools. It discusses the nature of the National Curriculum, and the issue of assessment of learning, before exploring potential areas of controversy in the school timetable. The chapter describes assessment issues in the curriculum and how faith-based schools assess success beyond a narrow, academic definition of achievement. The National Curriculum provides a framework to assess pupils' learning as well as to evaluate schools' performance with respect to academic attainment. Inclusive educational practices are more widely implemented, and differentiation has become an important aspect of the National Curriculum. The final area of the curriculum for discussion with regard to faith-based schooling is the newest addition to the National Curriculum, that of 'citizenship education' at secondary school level. One of the basic features of the curriculum is that of literacy and its pivotal place in learning and teaching.
