A new statutory curriculum for years 1 to 6 in September 2014, with less than a year to prepare, could have been be a major distraction for schools this year. The government’s curriculum subjects and Programmes of Study (PoS) are the separate considerations of subject groups, improved through consultation, but not mapped together for coherence across subjects.
For schools that want a balanced integrated curriculum, bringing subjects together beyond superficial links, to transfer and apply skills and knowledge, this mapping exercise requires mammoth effort and significant time and thought.
By bringing schools and local authority consultants together, we are sharing our expertise and time, reducing stress while planning and creating an adaptable quality worked example that can save time for other schools. We reduced the workload for everyone and strengthened the quality of the planning.
School-based writers, pilot schools for both the whole curriculum and for mixed age adaptations, consultant subject editors and writers were all identified to join the design team, which also includes national trainers and Ofsted inspectors. The team has now been working for more than a year bringing all our expertise together and the Inspire Curriculum has been born.
Volunteering as a pilot school was not an easy option because it would not be stress free. We had agreed to pilot from September 2013 and the final draft came out after term had started.
This meant some rewrites on the first units and starting again on the first year 5 unit because of the history changes. We knew we would be getting all the materials last minute, as they were created, and not as the September 2014 schools would get them, two terms in advance of delivery with progression guidance.
Working with schools within two completely different settings and demographics would test the curriculum as adaptable. The pilot stage one was for single age classes, and once the format was working, stage two brought mixed aged pilot schools on board.
For Prince Avenue Academy Nursery and Children’s Centre in Southend, having a curriculum that was based on first-hand experience, tying together themes so children can make sense of what they are learning and can see the connections, was exciting. At Wadebridge Primary Academy in Cornwall, the offer to help pilot and influence the construction of a new curriculum was accepted with alacrity. With a large two-form entry school it would take a great deal of work to find an acceptable solution.
Our pilots shaped and tested the content so that it was developed in a form that was easy to adapt and customise so that teachers could take ownership and children could enjoy.
Scoping the themed units
Two intensive days with schools and consultants scrutinising the PoS and debating the best way to combine subjects with a thousand sticky notes and walls covered in magic whiteboards created an unexpected outcome.
We had started with half-termly units in mind, but the subject combinations worked much better in monthly units. Maths would be standalone but then applied in the themes and English would also be mapped into the themes, while spelling, punctuation and grammar, phonics and guided reading would still have their separate identities.
PE needed its standalone space with opportunities to bring elements into the theme and RE would be dictated by the local agreed syllabus and would need mapping by region.
In addition to the mapping of the PoS, the philosophy of the integrated curriculum needed agreement. To a degree this could be adapted to each school, but the principles on which the curriculum was developed were not controversial and a keynote speech delivered by Sir Robin Alexander from the Cambridge Education Trust on Curriculum in Cornwall reminded us to ensure we preserved the distinct primary phase and the present needs of the child. He reminded us that progress in everything matters, not just what is part of statutory assessment. We are incorporating the same concepts as endorsed by Sir Robin:
- Applied, coherent, essential knowledge.
- Transferred learning.
- Broad and balanced content.
- Importance of spoken language.
- Progress in everything matters.
- Links to the wider world and the locality.
- Exciting the imagination.
- Personality and talents developed.
- Purpose for learning.
- Embodies knowledge and skills.
Planning and mapping progression
We started the project not knowing the expectations on progression and assessment but quickly learned that levels were going. We decided to continue with levels as far as possible through the pilot while preparing for next year while we waited for a clearer government steer, and considering the possibilities. We have since developed tests and started a progression framework with Rising Stars and Classroom Monitor for schools using any curriculum.
As a direct result of the teacher input on what they needed, breaking down the PoS into progressive lesson objectives, learning outcomes and success criteria is helping in a world without levels, and we were ready to develop the progression support materials which we will be using next year.
There is a reminder on every page of planning that objectives will need to be modified for the children in every class. The language of the objectives, outcomes and success criteria is behavioural, designed to be able to assess whether learning is taking place.
Mixed age planning is almost non-existent and we will be providing examples of how to do this. Although this demand lengthened the writing time of the units, it has proved to be invaluable to teachers seeing how they can use and adapt the units.
Each unit is designed to be adapted to the class and the locality of the school. All PoS coverage in the unit is at the start of the unit for reference. The aims of the subject from the framework are embedded in the units. There is a reminder to differentiate the objectives on every page of planning to stretch and challenge the most able through depth and breadth and to support those needing extra help to stay on track. This is something we are now working more intensely on with the progression guidelines.
The format of four-week units was very much an experiment. Initially we wrote too much into a four-week unit, but through practice the teachers in the pilot helped us to create the right amount of content. There are still choices to be made by teachers about where to take the content, based on the interests of the children but as long as they refer back to the PoS for that unit they will be ensuring coverage.
Into the third term of the pilot
Will Hill, headteacher at Prince Avenue Academy, said: “Our curriculum had become stale and boring and we were following too many pre-generated learning objectives of poor quality and there was limited understanding of how success criteria contributed to children’s learning.
“A very positive real benefit is having a structure and framework on which our teachers can build upon and mould. It has given us the freedom to concentrate on teaching and learning and helped to refocus our attention on learning objectives and success criteria.”
Adrian Massey, headteacher at Wadebridge Primary Academy, added: “We are now ready to run in September 2014. What a great feeling that is to be able to say that! In piloting high quality written materials we have helped Cornwall Learning with the formatting and style of content enabling teachers to access materials quickly and easily.
“In the process we now have a curriculum fit for purpose which meets all the new requirements. The ethos of the units give us first hand, practical and engaging experiences which allow children to see their potential to grow their own personalised learning.
“Teachers are confident of coverage and concentrate planning, preparation and assessment time on delivery and using resources. I have a happy staff team empowered with a superior resource and children who thrive within a newly invigorated curriculum.”
• Sally Griffin is senior manager for Cornwall Learning at Cornwall Council. Cornwall Learning works to improve standards, aspirations and skills of children, young people and those working with them.