ABSTRACT
The Guardian, which during similar debates in the 1980s had defended primary teaching, strongly endorsed the report, and continued to attack Professor Alexander, arguing that he, should read yesterday's accompanying feature by Chris Woodhead, another of the holy trio, who was much more frank about the weaknesses as well as the strengths, of present primary teaching force. In 1985 Leeds City Council established the Primary Needs Programme (PNP). PNP sought to meet the needs of every child in the city's primary schools, improve practice and enhance the relationships between the school, home and the community. The stated purpose of the discussion paper, Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools, was to 'review available evidence about the delivery of education in primary schools' in order to 'make recommendations about curriculum organisation, teaching methods and classroom practice appropriate for the successful implementation of the National Curriculum, particularly in Key Stage 2'.
