Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 907

The Education (National Curriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in English) Order 1989

---

© Crown Copyright 1989

Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament.

The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. It may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately and that the source and copyright status of the material is made evident to users.

It should be noted that the right to reproduce the text of Statutory Instruments does not extend to the Queen's Printer imprints which should be removed from any copies of the Statutory Instrument which are issued or made available to the public. This includes reproduction of the Statutory Instrument on the Internet and on intranet sites. The Royal Arms may be reproduced only where they are an integral part of the original document.

The text of this Internet version of the Statutory Instrument which is published by the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament has been prepared to reflect the text as it was Made. A print version is also available and is published by The Stationery Office Limited as the The Education (National Curriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in English) Order 1989, ISBN 0110969073. The print version may be purchased by clicking here. Braille copies of this Statutory Instrument can also be purchased at the same price as the print edition by contacting TSO Customer Services on 0870 600 5522 or e-mail:customer.services@tso.co.uk.

Further information about the publication of legislation on this website can be found by referring to the Frequently Asked Questions.

To ensure fast access over slow connections, large documents have been segmented into "chunks". Where you see a "continue" button at the bottom of the page of text, this indicates that there is another chunk of text available.

1989 No. 907

EDUCATION, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Education (National Curriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in English) Order 1989

Whereas the National Curriculum Council, after due consultation, submitted to the Secretary of State and published its report on a proposal to make this Order which he had referred to it, in accordance with section 20(2) to (4) of the Education Reform Act 1988^[1] ;

And whereas the Secretary of State had given notice of the said proposal to the Curriculum Council for Wales and to all other persons with whom consultation appeared to him desirable, in accordance with section 21(2) of the said Act;

And whereas the Secretary of State, in accordance with subsection (5) of the said section 20, and subsection (3) of the said section 21, duly published a draft of this Order and the other documents mentioned in those subsections (including a statement of his reasons for his failure to give effect to certain recommendations of the said National Curriculum Council) and sent copies of them to the said Councils and to each of the persons consulted by them, and allowed a period of not less than one month for the submission of evidence and representations;

And whereas that period has now expired;

Now therefore the Secretary of State for Education and Science, as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by section 4(2)(a) and (b) and (4) of the Education Reform Act 1988 hereby make the following Order in the terms of the said draft with modifications^[2] :

Citation, commencement and interpretation
    1.—(1)  This Order may be cited as the Education (National Curriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in English) Order 1989 and shall come into force in accordance with article 2.

    (2)  In this Order-
"the Document" means the document published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office entitled "English in the National Curriculum"^[2] ;
references to the first key stage are references to the period set out in paragraph (a) of section 3(3) of the Education Reform Act 1988; and
references to levels of attainment are references to the levels set out in the Document in relation to each attainment target.

    2.    This Order shall come into force-
 (a) on 1st August 1989 in respect of pupils in the first year of the first key stage who have attained or will attain the age of five years on or before the first day of the school term beginning on or next after that date and who do not have a statement of special educational needs; and
 (b) on 1st August 1990 in respect of all other pupils in that key stage.

Specification of attainment targets and programmes of study
    3.    It is hereby directed that the provisions relating to attainment targets and programmes of study set out in the Document shall have effect as provided in articles 4 to 6 hereof for the purpose of specifying in relation to English-
 (a) attainment targets; and
 (b) programmes of study.

    4.—(1)  The attainment targets described in the Document and set out in paragraph (2) below are specified in relation to the first key stage, the levels of attainment applicable being those appropriate to the different abilities and maturities of the pupils being taught.

    (2)  The attainment targets referred to in paragraph (1) above are attainment targets 1-5 at levels of attainment 1-3.

    5.    The programmes of study described in the Document (which relate to the attainment targets referred to in article 4 above) are specified in relation to the first key stage.

    6.    The examples printed in italics in the Document (which serve to illustrate the attainment targets and programmes of study therein described) do not form part of the provision made by this Order.

Kenneth Baker

Secretary of State for Education and Science

31st May 1989

Peter Walker

Secretary of State for Wales

30th May 1989

Section 4(2) of the Education Reform Act 1988 places a duty on the Secretary of State to establish the National Curriculum by specifying as appropriate attainment targets, programmes of study and assessment arrangements for each of the foundation subjects.

Section 4(4) allows for such an Order, instead of containing the provisions to be made, to refer to provisions in a Document published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office and to direct that those provisions shall have effect according to the Order.

This Order accordingly refers to "English in the National Curriculum" and provides for the attainment targets and programmes of study set out in it to have effect for the first key stage of a pupil's compulsory schooling (that is to say, the period beginning with his becoming of compulsory school age and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of seven). The Document sets out three levels in respect of attainment targets to cover the full range of abilities and maturities of pupils in the first key stage.

The Order further provides that any examples printed in italics in the Document are for illustrative purposes only, and do not form part of the Order.

[1] 1988 c. 40. back

[2] The modifications are to the commencement provisions. back