The role of the humanities in a balanced and broadly based primary curriculum

There is increasing concern within and beyond the teaching profession at how the primary curriculum in England in recent years has become unbalanced, with the emphasis on decontextualised literacy and numeracy skills and measurable outcomes. This was a major concern of the Cambridge Primary Review (Alexander, 2010), which critiqued and provided direction for practice in England’s primary school curriculum. Its analysis remains highly relevant today. In particular, it highlighted that Curriculum 1 – ‘the basics’, now usually associated with those aspects of English and mathematics most easily tested – has consistently dominated the primary curriculum at the expense of Curriculum 2 – ‘the rest’, including the humanities and the arts. The primary curriculum continues frequently to be narrow and unmotivating for many children, with the humanities given so little time that teaching is sometimes superficial and focused on children acquiring factual knowledge. This critique