Unless you’ve been hiding away for the last few years, you’ll most definitely have heard the phrase ‘curriculum intent’ by now. To its credit, the inspectorate has certainly done much to clarify the term and debunk myths around what they expect when it comes to the design and development of your curriculum.
What Ofsted say
In the blog, Busting the ‘intent’ myth by Heather Fearn (Ofsted) 2019, it is clear that curriculum intent is nothing new. It is, says Fearn, ‘all the curriculum planning that happens before a teacher teaches the knowledge that pupils need to learn the next thing in the curriculum.’
Thankfully, it appears that in the 2019 framework, Ofsted is more likely to engage in discussions with senior leaders than ask for copious amounts of paperwork. You may not even be expected to use the word ‘intent’ and it’s certainly advisable to be clear on the ‘why, what and how’ of your curriculum. Being clear about the intent of your curriculum, whether it’s for Ofsted or not, is the only way to make sure you have a clear, coherent and well-sequenced curriculum that children deserve.
Developing your curriculum intent
So with all of this in mind, what do you need in place to clarify your curriculum intent for Ofsted and, more importantly, for all the stakeholders? Here are three steps to help you get to grips with the intent of your curriculum.
Step one: Consider the purpose of your curriculum
The best curriculums are driven by the strong educational principles of those who lead and live them. This means being secure as a school about the purpose of your curriculum. Before thinking of what your curriculum will include, you’ll need to think about your ‘why’ – asking important questions, such as ‘What do we want our curriculum to achieve? What do we want our children to be? What do we believe is right for our children?’ We advise some deep thinking about your educational principles, using these as a guide for discussions around shaping your curriculum. How you present this is up to you, but it’s worth having some record or documentation. A simple curriculum statement or policy is an effective way of doing this and means there is something in place on which to build the content of your curriculum.
You’ll need to consider the place of national requirements in your design, but don’t be tempted to follow every trend or initiative. Trends and initiatives can provide interesting food for thought, but don’t let them pull you off course from the real purpose of your curriculum. Learn more about Curriculum Simplexity in Melanie Moore’s new book, which is available now.
Step two: Establish your curriculum goals and outcomes
It’s crucial to think about and identify the broad areas of learning you want children to learn as they study your curriculum. At Cornerstones, we call these ‘big ideas’ – macro concepts that both establish the goals for our curriculum and the learning outcomes. For example, by the end of their primary experience we want our children to understand global concepts such as nature, creativity, processes, investigation and so on. We have ten big ideas, which is a sensible number and doesn’t make the curriculum too overcrowded or complex. If you want to know more about creating your own big ideas, see Curriculum Simplexity by our founder, Melanie Moore.
Step three: Creating a clear progression framework
When you are clear on the big ideas of your curriculum, you’ll need to break it down into smaller steps. These normally include subject concepts, skills and knowledge which help children understand the big ideas of your curriculum. Schools that follow a national curriculum can often start with these programmes of study but to make sure your intent is clear, it is vital that further work is done to break down these down into a clear progression framework.
This process requires some hard thinking and good subject knowledge, but it is well worth investing the time to get it right. You’ll need to consider how each skill and knowledge statement connects and builds over time. Getting this right can often take schools many years to complete and requires regular reflection, trial and improvement. In our experience, it’s worth investing, or considering investing, in a published scheme such as Cornerstones where this work has been done for you, then all you have to do is make sure that the intent in taught in the classroom.
Final words
Curriculum intent is just that – what you intend to teach. However, the intent for your curriculum is multi-faceted and layered. Make sure you have systems in place to check how well and to what extent it is taught, and ensure what you intended children to learn is reflected in the curriculum, in what children say and do and what is shown in their books.
To find out what the Cornerstones Curriculum is and how you can adapt and manage it using our platform Maestro, book a free, consultation with one of our experienced curriculum advisers.
