The curriculum conversation starts with this contribution from Prime Minister James Callaghan – then Prime Minister – taken from a speech at Ruskin College, Oxford on 18 October 1976. “We spend £6bn a year on education,” he said, “so there will be discussion.” He started a conversation – the Great Debate – that would ultimately lead to the National Curriculum in 1989. It therefore seems a fitting time for us to start our conversation on curriculum.

As we plan our new curriculum (that will see a Trust-wide approach to teaching that will utilise metacognition, effective assessment practices, technology such as virtual reality to engage pupils as well as school visits and fieldwork) our focus has been knowledge. What will children need to know each year – and what changes as they progress? To do this we have worked in subject teams to plan, tracking each skill area of each subject to determine the requisite knowledge at each stage. As a Trust our primary curriculum for Geography follows Cornerstones – it is an excellent curriculum because of the level of thought and care that has gone into mapping progression as children move through primary. It also provides an ambitious, challenging endpoint to Year 6 that allows an excellent foundation for Key Stage 3.

The key goal in planning a curriculum coherently in this way is to allow teachers to see the shape of knowledge from the year before and to use this as a foundation to add the new content – picking up the knowledge from the teacher that came before. Then, as they look ahead, seeing which aspects of their work will form the next layer and passing the knowledge forward.

Gareth Davies, Trust Head of Curriculum and Assessment

To read the full article: The Curriculum Conversation