It’s not an unreasonable question: why have we decided to teach this and why now?
There are a number of possible responses
We’ve taught it before and pupils enjoyed it
Students in key stage 3 need to get to grips with content at key stage 4
It’s part of our bought in scheme
There are problems with each of these responses:
It’s irrelevant whether pupils enjoy something. Did they learn anything? Enjoyment is often a by-product of learning, but should not be its aim. We’re not in the edutainment business.
Why do students need to be taught key stage 4 content when they are in key stage 3? Key stage 3 is its own phase of education. It has its own programmes of study. Some classes are being given GCSE English Language Paper 2 type questions in year 7 in the mistaken belief that this will help students achieve better results five years later. It won’t.
Instead, pupils in key stage 3 need to be exposed to and taught the concepts and big ideas that are the building blocks of the individual subjects. As they encounter these over the course of their time in school, their understanding of these big ideas will expand and deepen: big ideas like democracy in history, migration in geography, incarnation in religious education. There’s a short film on helping pupils learn the curriculum through concepts here (free access for 7 days)
There’s nothing wrong with bought-in schemes. A good scheme can save time, and can do much of
the heavy lifting in terms of resourcing. But however good a bought in scheme is, it is not a replacement for professional thinking. This is a leadership issue: if we’re going to buy in a scheme, we need to be satisfied that it is high quality.
And teachers need to be given time to understand how the scheme works, and what pupils will learn over time.
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: Almost full for the next cohort January - February 2023 More info here