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What Should Schools Teach? 2018 Edition

We’ve noticed that barely a week goes by without a well-meaning person or organisation insisting that something else is added to the curriculum, often without any consideration as to how it could be fitted into an already-squeezed school day. Obviously the curriculum needs to be updated and improved upon over time, and some of the topics proposed are incredibly important. However, there are only so many hours in the school week, and we believe that teachers and schools are the ones best placed to decide what their students need to know, and not have loads of additional things forced on them by government because of lobbying by others.

With all this in mind, we kept track of as many of these proposals as we could throughout 2018, up until Christmas Day – and are doing the same this year. In the end, we found 213 examples.

 

Title Date
Why We Should Teach School Aged Children About Baby Loss 03/01/2018
Make schools colder to improve learning 03/01/2018
Schools ‘should help children with social media risk’ 04/01/2018
Pupils should stand or squat at their desks, celebrity GP says 07/01/2018
MP’s call for national anthem teaching in schools to unite country 16/01/2018
It’s up to us: heads and teachers must model principled, appropriate and ethical online behaviour 18/01/2018
Primary school children need to learn about intellectual property, Government agency says 20/01/2018
Call for more sarcasm at school is no joke 20/01/2018
Schools should teach more ‘nuanced’ view of feminism, Girls’ School Association president says 21/01/2018
Schools ‘should teach children about the dangers of online sexual content’ 22/01/2018
Schools should teach children resilience to help them in the workplace, new Education Secretary says 22/01/2018
Government launches pack to teach pupils ‘importance of the Commonwealth’ 24/01/2018
Schools must not become like prisons in fight against knife crime, headteacher warns 30/01/2018
Schools should teach all pupils first aid, MPs say 07/02/2018
Call for agriculture GCSE to be introduced as UK prepares to leave the EU 08/02/2018
Councils call for compulsory mental health counselling in all secondary schools 08/02/2018
Advisers should teach finance to the young 09/02/2018
Set aside 15 minutes of dedicated reading time, secondary schools told 22/02/2018
Fight for your right to know all the facts 24/02/2018
Pupils must be taught about architecture, says Gokay Deveci 26/02/2018
A serious education on the consequences of obesity is needed for our most overweight generation 26/02/2018
Teach girls how to get pregnant, say doctors 02/03/2018
Start teaching children the real facts of life 05/03/2018
Schools where pupils share same cultural background must teach ‘pluralistic British values’ 07/03/2018
Rate schools on how they meet pupils’ mental health needs, care commission tells Ofsted 08/03/2018
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tells pupils to learn to fail if they want to succeed 08/03/2018
Teachers need to reach out to business 09/03/2018
Pupils should be taught that abstinence and celibacy are ‘positive life choices’, C of E says 13/03/2018
Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones looks to expand enterprise teaching to all schools 13/03/2018
Lessons about risks of gambling piloted in British schools 15/03/2018
Schools should teach critical thinking on celebrity culture – former Eton head 17/03/2018
Train all teachers in attachment issues, says trauma expert 17/03/2018
Pupils should spend as much time in PE as they do in English and maths – Darcey Bussell 18/03/2018
Next generation education 19/03/2018
Martha Lane Fox: Teenagers should think carefully and critically about the internet 19/03/2018
Call for litter picking to be in national curriculum is rubbished 21/03/2018
Kate says ‘teach teenagers parenting to help them raise resilient children’ 21/03/2018
Give lessons on appearance-related bullying 22/03/2018
Teaching Citizenship in our schools is more vital than ever 23/03/2018
View from the House: Why more schools should teach BSL 24/03/2018
BBC journalists to teach children how to identify fake news 26/03/2018
Teach pupils about knives in maths’, charity suggests 26/03/2018
Parents are raiding their kids’ savings to pay for everyday items 27/03/2018
Why schools need to tackle the myths about the hymen 29/03/2018
Why we need to talk about miscarriage 30/03/2018
We’re all responsible for teaching kids about finance 30/03/2018
Manchester Arena bombing: Compulsory first aid training call 30/03/2018
Why every school should have a team of mental health first aiders 02/04/2018
Liz Weston: How schools can teach kids to be smart consumers 02/04/2018
MP reveals plans for army schools to boost ‘life chances’ of kids in deprived areas 02/04/2018
Former gang member reveals how to stop teens launching acid attacks 03/04/2018
Obesity crisis: The UK must tackle this large problem right now 04/04/2018
Call for toothbrushing lessons to combat child dental health crisis 06/04/2018
Pupils should be given books on savings and debt, say Tories 08/04/2018
Children shouldn’t learn to code. Ultimately, machines will be better 09/04/2018
Promote social activism’ – and three other things schools can do to combat radicalisation 10/04/2018
Pupils should be given information on abortion, conference hears 11/04/2018
Teachers back calls to give kids lessons in money 11/04/2018
Financial education should be on the school curriculum 12/04/2018
Teach pupils how to be healthy parents, say experts 17/04/2018
Citizenship education in a ‘parlous state’ 18/04/2018
Artificial Intelligence Ethics Crucial says House of Lords 18/04/2018
Faith schools must teach Britishness, Lords report says 20/04/2018
Colleges should register students to vote, says Lords committee 20/04/2018
Do schools need to take the teaching of manners more seriously? 22/04/2018
Teach bushcraft skills to boost grades of poorest pupils, say Scouts 23/04/2018
Use CPD funding to boost pupil oracy, MPs told 24/04/2018
Should Kids Be Able To Tell The Time? 25/04/2018
If we want to tackle antisemitism in the modern world, then we need make GCSE history a compulsory subject in schools 28/04/2018
David Oakes: Schools should teach lesser known Shakespeare plays 29/04/2018
Business leader on Unity City: ‘We need schools to deliver skills – this can be one of them’ 29/04/2018
Mary Berry slams schools for failing to teach children simple cooking skills and says every pupil should learn 10 healthy recipes 30/04/2018
AI will soon beat pupils taught knowledge-based curriculum 02/05/2018
We can’t let the discrimination of confident women filter down to our classrooms 03/05/2018
Schools could be forced to weigh pupils for Ofsted obesity checks 03/05/2018
Many revenge porn victims consider suicide – why aren’t schools doing more to stop it? 07/05/2018
Girls should be taught how to breastfeed at school, urge medics as a new analysis reveals the UK still has one of the lowest rates in the world 11/05/2018
Top musicians unite in call for all pupils to have the right to learn an instrument 13/05/2018
Children should be taught the perils of gambling, a pro-betting Tory backbencher has suggested 15/05/2018
Schoolboy’s book sets out to teach children how to be young and mighty 15/05/2018
Does breastfeeding really belong on the school curriculum? 16/05/2018
Should children be taught how to grow food as part of their schooling? 18/05/2018
How bringing trampolines into schools could improve literacy results 18/05/2018
Teaching AI in schools could equip students for the future 23/05/2018
Schools should teach dangers of livestreaming 24/05/2018
Teaching students how to swear can help them to develop socially, scientist says 28/05/2018
Over 22,000 10 and 11-year-olds are severely obese, research finds 29/05/2018
Money worries start from age 26 30/05/2018
Educate children to tackle ethnic minority donor crisis, MPs say 01/06/2018
Call for law to make all primaries do daily mile 03/06/2018
Calls for schools to ban fruit juice 05/06/2018
Should we ban mobile phones in schools? After France takes decisive action, the debate rages on in UK 08/06/2018
Teacher launches petition to teach kids about dangers of using phone behind the wheel 08/06/2018
Taking children out of RE lessons should be banned, Charles Clarke says 09/06/2018
Children who learn thinking skills could improve their GCSE results by a whole grade 12/06/2018
Pupils ‘lack literacy skills to spot fake news’ 13/06/2018
New GCSEs are a poor preparation for the workplace 14/06/2018
Teachers need to talk about Love Island 19/06/2018
Mobile phones should be banned from school classrooms, says Culture Secretary 20/06/2018
Serena Williams: Young boys need domestic abuse education 21/06/2018
Teachers ‘should tell pupils about sadomasochism’ 22/06/2018
Police chief urges schools to tell pupils about knife crime danger 22/06/2018
Adopted children need better support at school 26/06/2018
Schools should make obese pupils thinner says MP 26/06/2018
John Treacy wants school PE to go extra mile 27/06/2018
Our culture is saturated with porn – which is why we need to talk about it in schools 27/06/2018
They need to be learning about it as soon as they hit puberty’: Sex writer says masturbation should be taught in SCHOOLS to kids as young as 11 28/06/2018
Teach primary school pupils about finance, say City firms 28/06/2018
Teaching kids about money works 28/06/2018
Dr Miriam: We must teach girls how to get pregnant 28/06/2018
We need lessons on knife perils 29/06/2018
Public accounts chair wants schools to publish clearer financial information online 29/06/2018
Children not prepared for working life 01/07/2018
Three Quarters Of The British Public Do Not Know The RAF Is 100 02/07/2018
Jayne Dowle: Children need money lessons – just ask my son 02/07/2018
Call for school trips to abattoirs 03/07/2018
Why we teach personal finance at KS1 03/07/2018
Germaine Greer Says ‘We Should Stop Teaching Art’ in Schools 03/07/2018
Give five-year-olds careers lessons, say teachers 05/07/2018
London school children named debating champions 05/07/2018
Should students teach students about knife crime? 06/07/2018
Secondary schools should teach students how to detect cancer symptoms, say MPs 10/07/2018
Jeremy Corbyn says school children should be taught about workers’ rights 14/07/2018
It’s not enough to ban mobile phones in schools – tech giants must also change their ways 16/07/2018
Teach with video games, schools told 25/07/2018
Relax uniform rules during heatwaves, heads told 26/07/2018
Sherlock’s Andrew Scott calls for better sex education in schools: ‘We need to talk about consent and desire’ 27/07/2018
21 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Try This Year 29/07/2018
Children should be taught in school about how to make marriage work, Prince of Wales’ divorce lawyer says 30/07/2018
CoppaFeel! founder’s goal to make cancer education a part of the school curriculum is even closer 30/07/2018
End this obsession with facts and focus on life skills 05/08/2018
Playground sex assaults ‘are becoming an epidemic’ 13/08/2018
Monica Lewinsky: Schools must help counter cyberbullying 13/08/2018
Opinion: Is it time for sign language to be taught in schools? 13/08/2018
Teachers ‘need more training on childhood trauma’ 14/08/2018
Death of teacher’s dog fuels campaign to rid schools of ‘toxic’ teaching 15/08/2018
Peterloo director calls for 1819 massacre to be taught in UK schools 16/08/2018
Prue Leith says her accidental Bake Off tweet “was very scary and horrible” 20/08/2018
From pasta to stir-fry: foods children should learn to cook in school 21/08/2018
Five environmental disasters that we should make sure children know about 23/08/2018
Schools can be the antidote to botox culture 25/08/2018
Stressed teenagers should think about Mars, not exams, says star physicist Brian Cox 26/08/2018
How to beat the Great British lending rip-off 03/09/2018
How Technology Education Needs To Change If Young People Are To Get The Skills They Need For The Future 04/09/2018
Why all pupils should learn migration history 04/09/2018
This Morning viewers ‘sickened’ by sex expert who wants to teach masturbation to 11-year-olds in schools 07/09/2018
Religious Education should be re-branded as ‘Religion and Worldviews’ to ensure survival, report says 09/09/2018
Putting cancer on the curriculum will save our daughters’ lives 10/09/2018
We can – and should – teach children to be funny 16/09/2018
Chris Packham: Twin primary schools with farms 19/09/2018
How to Train Your Dragon author: School is off-putting 19/09/2018
New University of Bath facility ‘will change how evolution is taught’ 24/09/2018
We need to teach pupils the importance of sleep 25/09/2018
Why we need to teach four-year-olds mindfulness 26/09/2018
Outdoor education opens pupils’ eyes to the world 29/09/2018
Ten to the dozen: teach children to count in 12s, campaigners say 01/10/2018
Rising debt: Why we need more financial education in schools 02/10/2018
V&A boss: ‘Don’t cram children – let them play’ 04/10/2018
This Black History Month, let’s teach young people how slavery interrupted a rich and powerful black history 06/10/2018
The key to unlocking cyber-skills starts at school 08/10/2018
School CPR lessons ‘could triple survival rate’ 08/10/2018
Teach children that obesity is not inevitable, say doctors 11/10/2018
Schools should educate children about colonialism and legacy of slave trade, says Jeremy Corbyn 11/10/2018
Teach children that obesity is not inevitable, say doctors 11/10/2018
Internet should be a formal subject in schools 12/10/2018
Young People Want And Need LGBTQ-Specific Sex Education – The Government Must Listen 12/10/2018
Black History Month: Are history lessons truly diverse? 13/10/2018
The RSPCA launches Generation Kind, calling for animal welfare to be taught in all schools 16/10/2018
Teach children how to avoid dog bites, say MPs 17/10/2018
Sir Ben Ainslie and wife call for oceans to feature in National Curriculum 17/10/2018
Teaching linguistics improves language skills 19/10/2018
Why remember the First World War if we don’t learn from it? 21/10/2018
My first home: Melvin Odoom 23/10/2018
Teach Chinese instead of French, schools are urged 24/10/2018
Educate all pupils about menstrual wellbeing, MPs say 24/10/2018
Children are developing a nature deficit disorder 25/10/2018
Dragons’ Den’s Peter Jones: ‘Teach school kids how to set up a business’ 29/10/2018
Hospital worker in Wrexham teaches life-saving CPR skills to pupils across the region 30/10/2018
Financial education still lacking in schools 07/11/2018
First-ever financial education textbook lands in schools – funded by Martin 07/11/2018
Jess Phillips MP: Teach girls about the orgasm 08/11/2018
Teach children safe gay sex, says National Secular Society 10/11/2018
It’s time to tackle the racism that lurks in our classrooms, starting with the map of the world 11/11/2018
Boy who helped save mother’s life backs campaign to teach first aid in schools 12/11/2018
Primary school pupils should be taught what it means to be LGBT, Royal College of Paediatricians says 12/11/2018
Three quarters wish they received financial education 12/11/2018
Schools should ‘take the lead’ on curbing pupils’ social media use 13/11/2018
Call for debates to be compulsory for all secondary pupils 15/11/2018
Can the games industry be supported by UK-educated talent after Brexit? 15/11/2018
Wellbeing should be timetabled alongside English and maths, study suggests 19/11/2018
Compulsory’ mental health education call to tackle suicide in Wales 21/11/2018
Exclusive: Damian Hinds tells schools to ‘get kids climbing trees’ to build character 21/11/2018
Lipreading campaign supported by Turner Prize winner 22/11/2018
Should enterprise be taught in schools? 23/11/2018
Teach kids to debate, and you teach them not to be ignored 26/11/2018
Pornography and LGBT issues missed out in sex education, poll finds 27/11/2018
Boys less inhibited than girls, says Strictly judge 27/11/2018
Schools Must Start Teaching Girls About Sexual Pleasure 28/11/2018
55,000 UK children are problem gamblers – schools should step in to help, campaigners believe 30/11/2018
Megan Barton Hanson lifts the lid on her plans to TEACH sex education in schools as ex stripper enthuses she’d be a ‘brilliant role model’ 01/12/2018
London schools teach self-defence and first aid to protect pupils from knife crime 02/12/2018
Children need to be taught that consent is about so much more than sex 03/12/2018
Every child should be taught joined-up writing 09/12/2018
Let pupils help design our school systems, says Unesco envoy 10/12/2018
Shortage of science-savvy primary teachers ‘a disaster’ 10/12/2018
Sir Lenny Henry: Schools should teach colonial Britain’s complicity in slave trade 12/12/2018
We Need To Make Climate Change Part Of The Curriculum If We Are To Prevent The ‘Collapse Of Civilisation’ 13/12/2018
Majority of British people think children should be taught about orgasms in schools 13/12/2018
We should train teachers to spot the first signs of forced marriage 15/12/2018
Let’s get gardening onto the National Curriculum – it’ll inspire a whole new generation 18/12/2018
Making it easy to close the economics knowledge gap 19/12/2018
Schools should teach ‘Muslim and feminist views of Jesus’ 19/12/2018
Parents and Schools Have A Responsibility To Teach Children About Feminism 19/12/2018
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