One of the reasons why the curriculum has gone further up the agenda is that priorities, in some parts of the sector became distorted.
What sometimes happened was that with an eye on SATs, some primary schools provided pupils with a diet of SATs practice in year 6. And this sometimes drifted into year 5 in the mistaken belief that this would get better results. Now, while pupils obviously need some test practice, any more and it can be counter-productive.
And if we consider the pupils who don’t do so well in the reading papers at the end of year 6, it tends to be a lack of vocabulary. So how do we develop pupils’ vocabulary? Well, it’s through a broad a balanced curriculum.
Again, with an eye on results at the end of key stage 4, many secondary schools took the decision to take three years to teach the courses. This was understandable, given that the revised specifications were more demanding and had increased content. And yet, pupils are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum until the end of key stage 3, which is the end of year 9.
One way to address this is to think of key stage 3 as the intellectual powerhouse of the secondary school.
This does two things: it prepares the groundwork for subjects at key stage 4 where students will be taking these either because they are core subjects or as options. And just as importantly, it means that those students who are not taking a subject after key stage 3 have will have had a proper entitlement.
Until next time
Mary
And when you’re ready, you might find these helpful for curriculum development in your school
Huh Curriculum Leaders Course: UPDATE: Bookings now open for the next cohort January - February 2023 More info here
Primary Subject Networks, live and recorded.