Look how far we've come!

Hello Colleague

As we start the new year, I thought it would be good to reflect on the gains in curriculum thinking and implementation in recent years.

We can often feel that there is so much more to do.

This can be overwhelming.

Yet, we neglect to clock the gains we’ve made, and just how far we’ve come.

When we do give ourselves a pat on the back for what we’ve achieved, it does two things:

1. It gives us a sense of pride in what can be achieved over time

2. It gives us the energy to carry on.

So, here are my observations:

There has been a marked shift in discussion of and appreciation for the curriculum across all parts of the sector in the last few years. This has partly, but not solely been driven by the Education Inspection Framework.

Prior to this, the quality of discourse about the curriculum was frequently muddled:

• Privileging of skills over knowledge, particularly in primary

• Thematic topics with no underlying coherent curriculum principles

• Focus on KS4 at the expense of KS3 in secondary, with the latter often framed as a mini KS4

• A lack of ambition, particularly for pupils with lower starting points

For more on the many strides that have been made, I have made a short recording which you can watch here and also listen on the app!

Until next time

Mary