ABSTRACT
The National Curriculum has established an overall framework for children's learning. By setting out the levels of knowledge, skills and understanding for children in all subjects in the curriculum at each stage of their education, the National Curriculum provides a ‘map’ which schools and teachers can use when planning for pupils in different age ranges or at different stages in their learning. This makes it easier for teachers to plan for children with precocious levels of attainment, since the higher levels of working have been set out in some detail, providing teachers with a clear indication of the goals children can work towards. The 1999 revision to the National Curriculum Orders allows teachers to respond with more flexibility to the needs of pupils with different levels of ability. It increases the scope for teachers to provide children with appropriately challenging content and materials that can, if necessary, be selected from earlier or later Key Stages. Adaptations to the programmes of study can ensure that more able children can progress at their own pace and do not have to be held back by limitations within the curriculum.
