Curriculum planning
Long-term curriculum plans are in place for every subject in the form of curriculum outlines.
These are published on our website and show:
The curriculum content in each half term across each year of study
The skills/knowledge that are developed through the study of the subject.
Medium-term curriculum plans are in the form of schemes of work for each subject. There is an agreed approach across all departments which follows this guidance:
A key test as to whether a scheme of work is fit for purpose is: would it clearly show a new/ inexperienced/ non-specialist member of staff how to teach the course effectively?
Schemes of work should be living documents, subject to regular discussion and review, which promote consistency and creativity in the teaching within a department.
Departments’ units of work do not need to adopt a specific design or use any particular template; instead, departments are free to set out their plans in the way they feel most appropriate.
To ensure that curriculum planning is consistently effective across the school, there are key features that are found in unit plans.
Content - Set out details of what is to be taught. In most cases this will be based on content already set out in the National Curriculum programme of study.
Duration / Timings - Give guidance on the number of lessons / weeks that need to be spent teaching the different elements of the unit of work.
Assessment - Ensure this is in line with department assessment policy, and detail which tasts must be done as common assessments (e.g. end of unit tests, past paper questions).
Suggested Teaching Approaches - Enable and encourage the sharing of good practices by listing possible learning activities to be used for the unit that have been proven to be successful, effective or motivating.
Key Vocabulary - In the teaching of each unit of work, students' vocabulary should be extended, both in understanding and active use - detail the key vocabulary to be taught to and used by students.
Links to Prior Knowledge - Identify any key concepts and knowledge previously taught that are necessary for successful learning in the unit, and opportunities for review.
Resources - Provide a list of resources recommended for the teaching of the unit, and any others that may be useful or available for teachers to use.
Skills Development - Detail and subject-specific skills that require development. Detail also cross-curricular skills that should be developed in the teaching of the unit; these could be core skills such as literacy, numeracy, computing or others like problem-solving and team-working.
Cross-Curricular Links - Details, as appropriate, how SMSC, British values and careers education are to be included in the delivery of the units of work.