ABSTRACT
The National Curriculum, introduced in the 1988 Education Reform Act, is the most radical and important Government initiative since the 1944 Education Act, or, as Moon asserts, 'one of the most significant education reforms of this century'. It is the first statutory curriculum in the history of British education. Religious Education was already a statutory requirement for all pupils in maintained schools. It is not one of the subjects that comprise the National Curriculum; instead, an 'agreed syllabus' is drawn up locally by the local education authorities rather than at the national level. The development of the National Curriculum needs to be placed in its political context. Since 1969 the Conservative Government has been in power for over 21 years and continuously since 1979. Schools have to teach a prescribed curriculum and maintain a testing schedule; money and resources appear to dominate educational debate; and the National Curriculum promotes individualism at the expense of cooperation.
