Year of theCurriculum

Custom design your curriculum for your learners

Free CPD modules to download atwww.teachers.org.uk/campaigns/curriculum

RECLAIMING OUR CURRICULUM

What is the Year of the Curriculum?The Year of the Curriculum is a professional developmentproject. It has been created to enable teachers to plan anddesign a bespoke whole school curriculum.

This guide introduces you to a series of units, called the Year ofthe Curriculum programme, which are designed to work forindividual teachers and to support whole school development.

If you work through the programme, you will start by setting theaims for the curriculum in your school. You will explore how toknit together all the various elements of the curriculum. You willconsider how to measure what is important and not just what iseasier to assess. You will also ensure that your school’s policies,routines and engagement with its community support yourexciting curriculum.

Whenever you pick up this guide, whatever year, I am confidentthat teachers in England and Wales will find it valuable.

I hope the units empower you. Teachers are time-poor andteaching is target heavy, so this programme has been designedto allow you to dip in flexibly, or to work through all eight units fordeeper professional development and reflection.

You can locate the units described in this guide at:www.teachers.org.uk/curriculum

Christine BlowerGeneral Secretary

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The Curriculum FoundationThe Curriculum Foundation is a not-for-profit social enterpriseorganisation, established to pursue our vision of a world classcurriculum for every teacher, everywhere. Our focus is curriculumdevelopment and design and we work with educators at everylevel from individual teachers and schools through to nationalgovernments.

The NUT recognises that successful curriculum change dependsupon colleagues having access to appropriate professionaldevelopment. They have shouldered the responsibility for makingthis freely available to teachers through the ‘Year of theCurriculum’ programme.

As a profession, we must claim back our responsibility for thecurriculum. It is not sufficient to be the deliverers of someoneelse’s programmes. It is not good for us as teachers andcertainly not good for learners.

The Foundation is proud to partner with the NUT in thisextraordinary collaboration. Together we have the potential tohave an impact on learning and the life experiences of so manyyoung people.

Dave PeckThe Curriculum Foundation

Designing the curriculum – make learning irresistibleThe most effective curriculum for learners in your school is onethat is custom-designed for them. No-one is better placed todesign this curriculum than you!

We need to remember that it is memorable learning experiencescreated by enthusiastic, talented teachers that brings learning tolife.

Most of us have at least one memory of irresistible learning fromour own time as students. Sometimes those experiences are life-changing, perhaps leading to a career choice or a lifelonglove of literature, art, sport, languages or nature.

• What is your most memorable learning experience?

• What was it about the experience that made the learningirresistible?

• How could we design experiences to include the elements thatmake learning irresistible?

See the next page for your eight part guide to help you developcurriculum design and development skills. These eight units takeyou on a journey from creating clear design principles andmeasuring what we value, through to designing a curriculum fordeep learning and, finally, to practical strategies for effectiveimplementation.

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The Year of the Curriculum units

All eight units available free atwww.teachers.org.uk/campaigns/curriculum

Modules Units (posted on NUT website)Unitnumber

Module 1What arewe trying toachieve?

• Laying the foundations for acurriculum that excites imaginations,inspires all learners and ensureshigh standards

Unit 1

• Creating clear, world class designprinciples developed withstakeholders

Unit 2

Module 2How shallweorganiselearning?

• Designing for deep learning thatbalances curriculum elements andmakes learning irresistible

Unit 3

• Meeting national requirements in alocal setting that is personal toteachers

Unit 4

Module 3How shallwe evaluatesuccess?

• Measuring what we value:knowledge, skills, understandingand personal development

Unit 5

• Evaluating the impact of curriculumchange Unit 6

Module 4How do wemake ithappen?

• Building for success: a strategicapproach to change and innovation Unit 7

• Involving the whole community incurriculum design andimplementation

Unit 8

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What do we mean by ‘the curriculum’?Teachers will give different answers if asked to define thecurriculum. Some of the possible answers that generally emergecan be grouped into the categories below.

UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education considers thesethree inter-related dimensions of the curriculum:

1. The intended or official curriculum as defined in guidelines,frameworks and guides that specify what students areexpected to learn and should be able to do.

2. The implemented curriculum that is actually taught in theclassroom, including how it is delivered and who teaches it.

3. The attained curriculum that represents what students haveactually learned.

UNESCO points out that the challenge is ensuring coherenceand congruence between curriculum policy documents, theactual pedagogical process and learning outcomes.

Throughout the Year of the Curriculum units, the word‘curriculum’ is used in its broadest sense. The school curriculumis everything that happens in school plus everything that takesplace through school. The national curriculum is a part of theschool curruculum. Does this definition feel right for your school?

Subject knowledge

Subject plus

All planned experiences

All-inclusive

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What do we mean by curriculum design?Units 1 and 2 enable you to consider the definition on page 6and to develop the confidence to pull all the seemingly disparateelements together to make one curriculum. Unit 2 explores thedistinction between curriculum planning and curriculum design.

Curriculum planning Planning can often mean simply making a list of all the things thatpupils should learn and making sure they are all in the rightorder.

Curriculum design Design is about constructing the learning experiences that youngpeople will need in order to learn these things. It is aboutensuring that those experiences are effective and compelling inthemselves and that the sum total of the experiences adds up toa coherent and worthwhile programme that meets the end thatwe seek.

Design is much more interesting than planning!A national curriculum is just one element of the education ofevery child and schools are free to choose how they organise theschool day. Schools can use these modules to gain confidencein how to design a flexible school curriculum. This curriculum willcover statutory requirements but will also inspire and ensure thatskills and competencies continue to be developed alongsideknowledge and understanding.

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Units 3, 4 and 5 introduce some of the ‘building blocks’ of thecurriculum.

These are the building blocks often considered but there areothers…

Competencies, explored in Unit 6, are the combination of knowledge,skills and attitudes that are acquired through the application ofknowledge in meaningful situations. They help deepen learning andturn knowledge into understanding. Competencies require thedevelopment of the right attitudes to apply the knowledge.

If values, attitudes, skills and competencies are to be routinelytaught in the same way as subject knowledge, they must besecurely transmitted through long and medium-term plans intolearning objectives and outcomes at lesson level.

Knowledge Possession of information

SkillsAbility to perform mental

or physical operation

UnderstandingDevelopment of a concept: putting

knowledge in a framework of meaning

ValuesSets of core beliefs and understanding

on which actions are based

AttitudesBehavioural tendencies

based on evaluations

Personal Development

Individual, social and emotional skills and well-being

Knowledge + + =Skill Attitude Competence

Building blocks

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Implementation: it’s all down to the learning experiences…

Teaching StrategiesClassroom management, pedagogy, teaching and

learning resources

ContentAims and

objectives,content, skills and

competencies,values andattitudes

AssessmentFormative and

summative

Source: Ministry of Education, Singapore

Students’ Learning

Experiences

Curriculum aims and values

What is the curriculum actually for?Underpinning the Year of the Curriculum modules is the beliefthat schools need aims and values for their school curriculum.Unit 1 explores curriculum aims, and subsequent units build onthose aims.

If a school is to be more than a group of individuals comingtogether under one roof, it needs:

• a unifying set of values which everyone shares and recognisesas important; and

• agreed aims so that everyone’s energy is channelled towardsachieving the same ends.

The curriculum should reflect these aims and values so that alllearning experiences contribute to a coherent, consistenteffective team pursuit of the best possible outcomes.

‘Equipped for Life’ – what are the curriculum aims in your school?A valuable approach to establishing clear, aspirational curriculumaims and values is to explore what you would provide if youcould equip all learners with everything they need to succeed in life.

With sufficient time and thought, the outcome of this process isa description of the ideal ‘product’ of education, a confidentyoung person, fully ‘equipped for life’.

In Unit 1, you will find a ‘stick figure’ worksheet. Use this with colleagues, parents or learners – ask what your learners will need to be equipped for life. Draw the answers on the stick figure.

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Equipped for life?

There is no right answer but your description will undoubtedlyinclude some of the above.

makes connections

confidenttakes risks

listens and reflects

makes a difference

persevering

critical

self- editing

communicateswell

self-esteem

curious

‘can do’ attitude

acts with integrity

thinks for themselves

learns from mistakes

respectful

skilled

creative

gets on wellwith others

generates ideas

literate

shows initiative

flexible

compassionate

willing to have a go

independentquestioning

thirst for knowledge

Setting your curriculum aims and values

What do we mean by ‘equipped for life’?It does not matter how you ask, or who you ask, everyone wantsthe same for their children. Educators and parents the world overtend to generate the same aspirations when using the exercisedescribed on pages 10 and 11.

Unit 1 explains the ways in which the stick figure exercise canallow your school to set or develop its curricular values and aims.

To what extent does your current curriculum deliver?Consider what you and your colleagues/parents/governors havewritten on your stick figure/list. Does your curriculum:

• Instil the values on your list?

• Develop the attitudes on your list?

• Teach the skills on your list?

• Prepare young people for the 21st century?

If we express curriculum aims simply in terms of knowledge, do you think we can prepare our learners properly for life in the modern world?

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Curriculum design – a job for teachersWho should design the curriculum? Do teachers solelyimplement or deliver the curriculum, or should they design it aswell?

This guide is for teachers, for it is teachers who are best placedto fit and adapt national requirements to a local setting andincorporate a national curriculum into a school curriculum that isright for students.

In Unit 5, different philosophical approaches to the curriculumare analysed. Debates about teacher professionalism are notnew. See this analysis by Jean Rudduck of the centrality ofteachers in Lawrence Stenhouse’s approach, written in 1975:

“He saw a curriculum development project not as aconvenient means of regimenting teachers in a differentset of routines, but as a way of extending their individualand communal powers.

A curriculum project was not a solution worked out byothers and offered to teachers, who had merely to applyit; it was a diagnostic and experimental tool, designed tohelp teachers examine some of the fundamental problemsof schooling. In its framework and materials, a curriculumproject gave support for trying out and evaluating newapproaches in a spirit of inquiry.

Teachers, not curriculum packages, are the agents ofchange, and the function of curriculum projects is toservice the professional learning of teachers by offeringspecifications teachers can evaluate by testing them intheir own classrooms.”

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Curriculum aims are changing around the worldWhen developing curriculum aims, many schools around theworld have national aims set by governments to take intoaccount.

The pre-2014 English National Curriculum aims were a source ofinspiration for other jurisdictions around the world. There isnothing to prevent you from utilising, adapting or applying thepre-2014 aims which were designed to enable all young peopleto become:

• successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress andachieve;

• confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy andfulfilling lives;

• responsible citizens who make a positive contribution tosociety.

Engaging stakeholders in developing shared aims is valuable inbuilding understanding of and commitment to the curriculum.

“Finland, Japan, Shanghai and Singapore … realise thathigh wages in the current global economy require not justsuperior knowledge of the subjects studied in school, butalso a set of social skills, personal habits and dispositionsand values that are essential to success.”

Mark S Tucker (2011) Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

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International perspectivesThis table sets out the national curriculum aims of five differentareas.

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Where? Curriculum aims

Australia hascommitted to…

…supporting all young Australians tobecome successful learners, confident andcreative individuals, and active and informedcitizens

Alberta,Canada

…students develop an interrelated set ofattitudes, skills and knowledge that can bedrawn upon and applied for successfullearning, work and living

New Zealand Confident, connected, actively involvedlifelong learners

Hong Kong

…essential lifelong learning experiences forwhole-person development in the domainsof ethics, intellect, physical development,social skills and aesthetics… all studentscan become active, responsible andcontributing members of society, the nationand the world

Singapore

…holistically nurturing students to becomewell-rounded persons – morally,intellectually, physically, socially andaesthetically

Pedagogy, curriculum and assessmentYou will be aware of how forms of assessment, the pressuresresulting from accountability measures or teaching methods candistort the curriculum. Aspirations for the curriculum that youwish to pursue can be undermined by demands for particularteaching methods or by assessment forms, as much as by thenational curriculum documents.

This is why setting curriculum aims and values is so vital – toagree aims for your school which enable teachers to collaboratetogether to shape a curriculum vision and stay on track.

Curriculum design checklist1. At the end of this learning experience, what will the students

have learned?

2. Is it really necessary to learn this at all? Is it something weneed to do?

3. If the students learn this, what level will they attain in termsof the subject?

4. What skills and competencies will students be developing?

5. Will the planned learning experiences actually bring aboutthis intended learning?

6. Where should it take place – classroom, school grounds,wider locality?

7. Who should be involved – teachers, parents, others?

8. Could we make it even more interesting?

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Examining current practice in your school

refle

ct

ing

understanding

implem

enting

pla

nnin

g

Improving Learningand Teaching

through Inquiry

ResearchingOur Classrooms

MakingDecisions

Examining CurrentPractice

Creating OptimalLearning Environments

Measuring what we valueUnit 5 explains the importance of being confident in the value ofteacher assessment over tests. We must remember howeffective teacher use of formative assessment can be. It is alsoimportant to consider all those aspects of development that wereally value.

Unit 6 explores assessment and evaluation. Some of the issuesexplored in the unit include:

• What is the difference between assessment and evaluation?

• What is the difference between assessment and testing?

• Do we always measure something when we assess it?

• What is the difference between ‘validity’ and ‘reliability’?

• How many different types of assessment are there?

Whatever approach taken by a school, it is important to assesswhat we value and not what is easy to assess.

AssessmentFinding out what or how much a person has learned.

EvaluationFinding out how effective a system is at delivering its goals.

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Learning from each otherThe units contain links to case studies from Professor MickWaters, who introduces a number of schools and situations andgives an insightful commentary on each.

In each case, there is an example of what can be achievedthrough teachers taking control of the curriculum and having theconfidence to design learning experiences that fit their pupils.This is the ‘personalisation’ of learning. Find them atwww.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/inspire-learning-video-clips

The focus of the Year of the Curriculum programme is, of course,curriculum development and design rather than pedagogy.However, curriculum implementation cannot be separated fromthe learning experiences that will make it happen.

Unit 6 provides pointers to some thought-provoking sourcesrelating to irresistible learning, including:

• High Tech High Schools (San Diego) on a project-basedapproach to learning;

• John Hattie’s illuminating meta-analysis regarding what reallyworks in the classroom; and

• Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: approaches to learningsection and its useful links.

We invite you to send examples of how you have used the Year of the Curriculum Programme to YOC@nut.org.uk

We hope that you find this guide and professional developmentinsightful and that you are empowered to reclaim yourcurriculum.

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CURRICULUM LEARNING TREE

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Targets

Typing Skills

FunctionalSkills

Forces Plastic Textiles

ClayMetalGlass

Materials

SuccessfulLearner

Confident

Resilient

Cinema world

Roald Dahl

History of choco late

MonitorsI C T

Theatre

ResearchSkills

Curious

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Eco Committee

Reading Buddies

ResponsibleCitizen

ThinkingSkills

Learning Skills

Enterprising

Compassionate

Principled

Physical Education

Librarians

School Councillors

Learning Partners

SocialSkills

ConfidentIndividual

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To get involved in the NUT go towww.teachers.org.uk/getinvolved

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AcknowledgementsThe Year of the Curriculum units are written by the CurriculumFoundation and the NUT is grateful for kind permission toreproduce some of the content in this guide.

With thanks to Dave Peck, Peter Hall-Jones, Brian Male, AlisonWillmott and Gareth Mills from the Curriculum Foundation.

Designed and published by The Strategy and Communications Department of The National Union of Teachers – www.teachers.org.ukOrigination by Paragraphics – www.paragraphics.co.uk Printed by Ruskin Press – www.ruskinpress.co.uk Cover photos © Jason Lock – 9625/08/14

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