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Seven curriculumquestions you need to consider before the summer


Comment by ALICE SHEPPERSON, Senior Product Manager: CurriculumServices, Pearson


At Pearson, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the results of the first inspections under the new Ofsted framework and talking with schools about how they are redesigning their curriculums.


Here are some key questions that we think school leaders should be asking.


The first part of the ‘quality of education’ measure looks at “intent” so this is something


you need to nail down early in your design process.What outcomes are you trying to secure for your students?Make sure you ask whether you are being ambitious for all. Think carefully before limiting the pathways available to your students including those with SEND.


Ofsted are looking for school leaders to build “strong, shared values, policies and practice”. Ask yourself, “is everyone on board with my curriculum?”. All teaching staff need to understand and implement the curriculum intent to create a coherent, joined-up learning experience. Parent and governor involvement in crafting the curriculum vision can help ensure everyone understands and agrees with it.


Having a broad and balanced curriculum means offering a range of academic and non-academic subjects for as long as possible. Primary leaders need to ask “have I thought beyond literacy and numeracy?” particularly at KS2. Secondaries need to ask “are students dropping


subjects unnecessarily early?” – this is likely to be viewed negatively. But ensuring breadth and balance needs to be weighed against the demand to increase uptake of Ebacc subjects, and the need to maintain strong literacy and numeracy strategies.


Tailoring your curriculum to your school’s context is not about including content that will resonate with your students because of their background - in fact, it’s almost the opposite! Think about the context of your intake. Then think about what knowledge and experiences they might have limited access to. Then ask, “is my curriculum filling gaps in local opportunities?” This is linked to the idea of “cultural capital” and ensuring those from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to essential knowledge.


Ofsted really don’t want to look at your internal progress data any more, but they are interested in assessment. The key question is, “is the progress data I collect being used to improve teaching and learning?” It’s essential to have a plan for how you will use the insight from your data, both to in tervene to help individual students, and to constantly improv e your curriculum. But make sure excessive work isn’t being created for teachers!


Carefully selecting key subject knowledge and cultural capital for your students only benefits them if they remember some of it. Is your curriculum structured to make sure that students remember more? Think about sequencing - does content build on prior learning? ‘Spiral’ curriculum structures are great for this. You could also consider using a mastery approach to ensure students have really understood the key learning.


Ofsted are interested in seeing your curriculum plans.Middle leaders and teachers may get grilled about content choices and sequencing - do staff have this information to hand? Can everyone in your school explai n the curriculum? Clear and consistent documentation of your curriculum is key.


A series of free Handy Guides toOfs fsted’s Inspection Framework are available to download at: go.pearson.com/curriculum


No wis the time f ormore female STEMM


AY ftw tware Solved The UK technology industry is


growing at a rapid rate and globally recognised for its pioneering


innovations in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and


medicine (STEMM). The UK currently stands as the third most innovative country for technology according to the 2019 KPMG report.


Technology might be at the


cutting-edge of growth and discovery, but the industry is famously less


advanced when it comes to gender diversity. Nationally, just 19%of tech workers are women and only 22%of these are tech directors. Research from Stem Graduates found that only 15%of Engineering graduates are women, and just 13%of the UK STEMMworkforce are female. It is clear that improving the routes for women into technology will help to see more female tech leaders.


There are various factors to blame for the under-representation of women in the industry, from the lack of STEMMopportunities and support for girls in schools to gender bias and stereotypes preventing women from advancing in the workforce. Promoting female


2 2 www .education-today.co.uk.co.uk www


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encouragement in schools Comment by LINDSAY LUCAS, Soft


participation in STEMM, dispelling the myths around tech careers and championing women’s achievements must begin as early as possible i n our educa on sys tem.


ti


Research has indicated that there is little to no difference in the average ability between boys and girls in STEMMsubjects. Therefore in order to attract more girls to study STEMMsubjects and enter STEMM careers, schools need to tackle the stereotypes that girls are exposed to at an early age.


Starting in schools and universities will help women who wish to study and work in the field with greater confidence. It should also make tech firms acknowledge that hiring the best qualified person for the role, regardless of gender or background, is most important.


A powerful way for girls to learn about the creative and impactful ways that STEMMand computer science knowledge is applied in the real world is to let them explore those applications first hand. Exposure to extracurricular STEMMactivities that are hands-on and practical can have a profound impact on how girls feel and what they know about STEMM subj


bjects and careers.


What makes activities like this effective is that they offer practical experience that brings STEMMto life in compelling ways. So, while not every school can offer a STEMMclub, schools and teachers can explore ways of teaching STEMMthat provide similar experiences.


Another important first step is to introduce girls and young women to positive female role models and ambassadors in these fields who are outside of the classroom. Girls who know a woman in a STEMM profession are substantially more likely to feel empowered when the y engage i n STEMMactivities.


Limiting certain groups from working in the industry is limiting what the technology sector can achieve. A diverse workforce is essential for innovation, it brings together different ways of thinking and allows creativity to flourish. For a sector which is also facing a skills gap, it is all the more reason to support women who want to work in the field.


Decembe r 2019 2019


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