A clear set of aims, focusing on the qualities and skills learners need
to succeed in school and beyond, should be the starting point for any curriculum
design. The national curriculum aims below should inform all aspects of
curriculum planning and teaching and learning at whole-school and subject
levels.
Aims of the national curriculum
The curriculum should enable all young people to become:
- successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve
- confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling
lives
- responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.
Successful learners who:
- have the essential learning skills of literacy, numeracy and information
and communication technology
- are creative, resourceful and able to solve problems
- have enquiring minds and think for themselves to process information,
reason, question and evaluate
- communicate well in a range of ways
- understand how they learn and learn from their mistakes
- are able to learn independently and with others
- know about big ideas and events that shape our world
- enjoy learning and are motivated to achieve the best they can now and
in the future.
Confident individuals who:
- have a sense of self-worth and personal identity
- relate well to others and form good relationships
- are self-aware and deal well with their emotions
- have secure values and beliefs, and have principles to distinguish right
from wrong
- become increasingly independent, are able to take the initiative and
organise themselves
- make healthy lifestyle choices
- are physically competent and confident
- take managed risks and stay safe
- recognise their talents and have ambitions
- are willing to try new things and make the most of opportunities
- are open to the excitement and inspiration offered by the natural world
and human achievements.
Responsible citizens who:
- are well prepared for life and work
- are enterprising
- are able to work cooperatively with others
- respect others and act with integrity
- understand their own and others' cultures and traditions, within the
context of British heritage, and have a strong sense of their own place
in the world
- appreciate the benefits of diversity
- challenge injustice, are committed to human rights and strive to live
peaceably with others
- sustain and improve the environment, locally and globally
- take account of the needs of present future generations in the choices
they make
- can change things for the better.
While the aims are separately identifiable they are also complementary
and mutually reinforcing. For example, to be a successful learner who communicates
well in a range of ways, a young person would also have to develop as a
confident individual who relates well to others and forms good relationships.
Developing a curriculum that supports the aims
Once the senior management team is clear about what the school aims to
achieve for its learners, decisions can be made about how best to organise
learning to achieve those aims. Schools might find it helpful to consider
the principles below.
Principles of effective curriculum design
For the curriculum to enable all young people to become successful learners,
confident individuals and responsible citizens:
- everybody in the school should be aware of the curriculum aims and their
contribution to achieving them
- the whole school community (parents, pupils, local employers, school
staff, community members, local university) need to be signed up to a
shared vision; they all have a contribution to make in helping those aims
to be achieved
- the curriculum should be seen as the entire planned learning experience,
including lessons, routines, events and out-of-hours learning
- as much thought needs to go into planning how learning will take place
(a range of teaching and learning approaches appropriate to learning need)
as what should be taught
- the curriculum should be responsive to the needs and interests of learners
and the issues and news that affect their lives
- there should be opportunities to study some aspects in depth and others
more broadly
- the curriculum should help learners to see and experience the connections
between subject areas
- technology should be used to extend when and where learning takes place
as well as providing opportunities for what and how it happens
- assessment should reflect on aspects of the curriculum aims, including
personal development and skills as well as knowledge and understanding.
Developing the curriculum
The values, aims and purposes of the curriculum should be at the forefront
of the minds of everybody who contributes to the curriculum experience of
young people. These should be the driving force shaping the decisions about
what is learnt, how it is learnt, and how time, people and spaces are organised.
The programmes of study should be used as the vast and inspiring resources
they are for serving the educational goals we value.
Teachers need to consider what they want pupils to learn (including knowledge
and understanding as well as skill development or personal development).
They then should consider how best to help their pupils learn those things
- the teaching and learning activities. When those decisions have been made,
choices need to be made about who should be involved in the teaching and
learning process, when learning would take place and for what periods of
time, and where pupils would learn these things best.
Some schools have found it useful to use the 'if ? then' model when linking
their curriculum aims to teaching and learning experiences.
For example
IF a school wants successful learners who have enquiring
minds and think for themselves to process information, reason, question
and evaluate
THEN it needs to:
- give pupils purposeful reasons to find things out
- know what interests pupils and build curriculum experiences around that
- connect learning to issues that affect young people
- teach pupils the skills of research and analysis
- help pupils to experience conflicting ideas (right versus wrong as well
as right versus right) and give opportunities to discuss and debate
- promote concepts such as pupils as researchers, pupils as reporters.
IF a school wants confident individuals who become increasingly
independent, are able to take the initiative and organise themselves
THEN it needs to:
- create situations where pupils have to look after themselves (within
their capabilities)
- show pupils strategies for managing time, workload, etc
- give pupils opportunities to make decisions and to experience the consequences
of those decisions
- provide opportunities for pupils to contribute their own ideas
- give pupils real responsibilities
- allow pupils to make mistakes and to learn from them.
Questions for senior managers and curriculum planners to ask when developing
the school's curriculum
The following questions are intended to help senior managers and curriculum
planners as they develop a whole-school curriculum that supports the aims.
- What discussion has taken place in your school about the values that
underpin your curriculum?
- What discussion has taken place in your school about the aims of your
key stage 3 curriculum?
- Do you have a clear picture of the knowledge, skills, understanding
and personal qualities your 14-year-olds will have?
- All schools have statements that outline what they think is important
for their learners. To what extent is this used to shape the curriculum
experience of learners in your school?
- Do you have a clear vision of what key stage 3 should be delivering
for your pupils?
- Does everybody in the school understand their contribution to achieving
the curriculum aims?
