The French Minister of Education has announced new primary school reforms, with a heavy emphasis on a return to basics and moral education.

The proposals develop a refrain the Government started last year when it announced that it wanted to reinforce the use of ‘traditional’ teaching techniques, with the objective of ensuring that all children left school with a basic core knowledge and competence.

This time around there are more specifics, with a heavy accent on ‘moral’ education, not present in the earlier plans. The Minister stated that the plans sought to make primary education 'plus courts, plus clairs et plus ambitieux' ("shorter, clearer and more ambitious").

The main proposals are:

School Hours – The primary school timetable is to drop from 26 to 24 hours per week. This comes about as a result of the previously announced end of Saturday morning schooling throughout France. The teaching hours that will be released by this change will go towards the special classes for those children in difficulty with their schooling.

French Language – A minimum of 10 hours of French language teaching in the first two years of primary school, (one-third of the curriculum) with a minimum of 8 hours per week in the next two years. The emphasis of the teaching will be on the basics of grammar.

Maths – All children to do 5 hours of maths each week, as opposed to the discretionary teaching of up to 6 hours per week. Once again, it is back to basics, with an emphasis on the fundamentals of arithmetic, including 10 minutes of mental arithmetic each day.

Sport – An increase in one hour of sport each week, from 3 to 4 hours.

Foreign Language – The teaching of a foreign language to remain at 1.5 hours per week.

History/Geography – A requirement for all pupils to learn the landmarks of French history from the Middle Ages, as well as an appreciation of European history. There is also to be teaching of the history of art, not previously on the curriculum

Civic Education – The teaching of civic education is to be replaced by a stronger emphasis on ‘moral’ education. The change reflects the desire of the President to create 'l'école du savoir et du respect.’

Accordingly, as part of the new civics curriculum, pupils will be required to learn the French national anthem by heart, and to stand whenever it is sung. They will also be required to learn the principles of morality, and the importance of right and wrong.

Apart from changes in the curriculum, there is also a greater emphasis on performance monitoring. Pupils will be tested more regularly, and there will be more information to parents on the overall performance of the school. It is also proposed to increase the frequency with which teachers are assessed, from once every four or five years, to every two years.

In general, the public and parents associations have welcomed the changes, although the teaching unions have attacked them as ‘simplistic’.

In particular, they have expressed concern that the proposals lack a proper understanding of how teaching currently takes place at schools, and argue that 'moral' education is already a fundamental part of that education. They question how it is going to be possible to increase the amount of education offered, whilst reducing the number of hours over which it is taught. They also criticise the strong emphasis on 'learning by rote' over problem solving and creative work.

More widely, there are sharper voices who argue that if France is to improve the mores of its young people, then that should start with an example being set by the country’s leaders. Against the backdrop of an incessant stream of revelations that provide ample evidence of the moral turpitude of the French political and business elite, they may have a point.

You can read more about schooling in France in our guide to French School Education.