{"id":5599,"date":"2021-05-17T11:02:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T10:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cornerstoneseducation.co.uk\/?p=5599"},"modified":"2024-10-31T12:07:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T12:07:35","slug":"what-are-curriculum-principles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cornerstoneseducation.co.uk\/what-are-curriculum-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"What are curriculum principles?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why do you have the curriculum<\/a> you have? Why do you make the choices you do? How do your educational principles impact your curriculum? In this blog, Melanie Moore, Cornerstones\u2019 Curriculum Director, looks at how to identify your curriculum principles and why knowing your principles well is crucial for an authentic curriculum.<\/p>

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What are principles?<\/strong><\/h3>

There is little doubt that as a primary teacher or senior leader, you\u2019ll be asked to make many critical daily decisions that can form a large part of the workload in any primary school. You are often expected to make your choices quickly.<\/p>

Sometimes we make our choices based on a gut feeling, but when judgements are more substantial, we often need to dig deep within ourselves to find the answer. Although we may not always realise it, when we make a decision on any scale, it is our principles, or core values, that provide us with the internal compass by which we navigate.<\/p>

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Why curriculum principles are so important in your primary school<\/strong><\/h3>

Just as we use our personal principles to help us make important decisions about how we act and what we do, having a clear set of curriculum principles can help you to build an authentic curriculum that meets the needs of your school and learners.<\/p>

Trying to build your curriculum<\/a> on goals that aren\u2019t derived from your principles and core values is like building a house on sand. With clear and well-defined principles, you will have firm foundations on which to build.<\/p>

Schools can often feel pressured to set curriculum goals that derive from educational trends or governmental pressures. While some ideas and initiatives can be helpful for curriculum improvement, many are not and simply crank up the pressure of \u2018things to do\u2019. The result of this can be schools losing confidence in doing what they believe to be right for them, despite knowing their children best.<\/p>

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Establishing your curriculum principles<\/strong><\/h3>

In Principled curriculum design<\/a><\/em>, Professor Dylan Wiliam sets out the principles he feels are most important in designing a curriculum. These are:<\/p>