Primaryschoolscouldbetoldtoremovesometraditionalsubject-basedlessonsandreplacethemwith"personaldevelopment"classestoencouragechildrentoimprovetheirsocialandpracticalskill．Parents，teachersandpupils，whotookp

　　Primary schools could be told to remove some traditional subject-based lessons and replace them with"personal development"classes to encourage children to improve their social and practical skill．Parents，teachers and pupils，who took part in the investigation carried out for the biggest ever official review of the primary curriculum，argued that the number of subjects taught to very young people should be reduced．

　　The review，being conducted by the government's school's director Sir Jim Rose，will consider how to redesign the primary school day to handle concerns that too many pupils leave primary school unable to read，write and do maths at the level expected of them．It will also address criticisms that pupils are expected to study so many subjects there is little time for creative learning．

　　The 60focus groups brought together 1，500parents，pupils and school staff and is expected to heavily influence the thinking of the Rose review，which the government is promising to back．Instead of a broad range of subjects，pupils should study in-depth literacy and maths lessons alongside a more creative curriculum that encourages pupils to develop personal，learning and thinking skills，they say．Such lessons might include"healthy lifestyles，sex and relationships education，drugs and alcohol education"．

　　"Child and personal development as priorities have been shamefully neglected in recent years in the rush to hit targets in the basics．"John Bangs，head of education at the National Union of Teachers，said，"The worst thing would be to evaluate child development through the current high stakes testing system．That would weaken the capacity of teachers to meet children's unique needs．"

　　However，the shadow schools minister，Nick Gibb，said，"If lessons on lifestyle are given the same status as traditional subjects，it is the most disadvantaged children who will be worst affected．""Children are not able to p