Synoptic Briefings

The 13 synoptic briefings mark key moments in the progress of the Cambridge Primary Review from October 2007, when it started publishing its findings, to the final report and the May 2010 general election. All the synoptic briefings may be downloaded.

The story starts with the briefing on the community soundings – a report on 87 sessions in different parts of the country with children, teachers, parents and a wide range of community representatives. This report provoked a considerable media and public response which was sustained during the months that followed. Then follow the overview briefings on each group of research surveys, released between November 2007 and May 2008 which are available on Research Briefings and Interim Reports pages.

Next comes a summary of the Review’s initial report and proposals on the primary curriculum, brought forward to contribute to the ill-fated Rose Review in February 2009 and subsequently revised for the final CPR report. Then a four-page briefing on the 600-page final report itself, published in October 2009 and the most important of all the CPR’s publications. The report draws on and discusses the full range of the CPR’s evidence – not only the 28 research surveys but also the 250 community and national soundings, the 1052 formal written submissions and thousands of emails, and the searches and reassessments of official data. The report ends with 78 formal conclusions and 75 recommendations. Finally, distilled from all the post-report dissemination conferences, we have eleven policy priorities for the new government, presented to leaders of the main political parties just before the May 2010 general election.