ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by outlining a snapshot of some key moments in the history of primary education, in order to illustrate how philosophical and practical questions about the purpose of the primary school and education have long been the subject of debate. It uses one case, that of the Cambridge Primary Review (CPR), to outline ways in which schools tackle the big questions about the purpose of primary education and how the choices schools make are reflected in practice. The chapter offers the reader an overview of the CPR’s main aims and objectives, before looking at the legacy of the work. It argues that one of the unique features of primary education is the nature of the relationship between the teacher and learner. The seminal text Imagination by Mary Warnock explores the tension between the aims of a primary curriculum that is overly concerned with the Standards agenda and the place of imagination.
