If you take away just one thing from this blog….!

‘Part of the necessary boldness on the part of a school is to stop controlling, managing and predetermining so much, and to dare to create different kinds of time, and different sorts of learning opportunity.’
Professor Guy Claxton, Professor of Education, University of Bristol

“How Do we Organise Learning?” – SSAT (1)

SSAT – the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust – have produced exhaustive and high quality resources to support curriculum development. Getting staff to buy-in to the vision of the senior leadership team is critical in the creation of a coherent curriculum that is equally owned by teachers at all levels – to say nothing of the pupils but that’s a whole different post!! This document is aimed atthe initial meeting with staff to set out the range and philosophy underpinning the next steps of curriculum change. Establishing a whole school response to “what are we trying to achieve?” will dictate which direction these steps go in. (The document comes in two flavours – PDF with graphics, etc and DOC to allow you to make any necessary alterations)

Curriculum Context (PDF Version)

Curriculum Context (Word Version)

What will Learning Look like – 2025?

Richard Sandford of Futurelab presented at this year’s BETT exhibition back in January.  His presentation is a gold mine of nostalgic views from yesteryear of what the future may hold and how we should best approach it in terms of preparing young people. In it he poses the critical question ‘Do we want to inherit a future, or build one?’. Thought provoking stuff!

Further information on the research underpinning this presentation can be found at Beyond Current Horizons

 

Presentation: RICHARD SANDFORD – Space to Think

Del.icio.us Comes to the blog

Over on the left hand side, you should now see a list of relevant pages that might be of interest. Del.icio.us is a simple way of storing websites addresses much like Internet Explorer does with ‘Favourites’, however by adding a link to Del.icio.us I can share my list of ‘favourites’ with a much wider audience. At the moment there is a link to the BBC news site about the latest problems news regarding the BSF agenda (Whats the saying… a team is only good as its weakest player?) as well as some information which may be of interest to history teachers, provided by the Institute of Historical Research. Links will be updated as and when. This page will only display the newest 5 links however you can see the whole list by clicking on ‘Del.icio.us Links’

Have You Had YOUR Training?

Over on the ‘About’ post, there was a question that raised some interesting issues around training. As you may, or may not(!) be aware, training on curriculum change is being provided through a range of support partners. NCSL (National College of School Leadership) and SSAT have been charged with providing support for leadership and curriculum managers in schools. At subject leader level CfBT
(an education trust) have been running courses since January, on through until March for foundation subjects. I am awaiting permission to post the remaining dates on this site but in the meantime if you are a subject leader of a non-core subject and are desperate to know, please email me on the address on the ‘About’ tab and I will provide details on a one-to-one basis. Finally the Secondary National Strategies are responsible for the delivery of training to core subjects via LA consultants and subject leader network meetings happening this and next term.

I am really keen to hear how well these events and training providers have been advertised to schools. Did you know CfBT were offering events in your subject area? Have the dates reached subject leaders in schools? Has anyone been on the training and have anything they can share, feedback or evaluate for us?

If you are a core subject leader have you had your SNS training yet? There will be consistent messages across the Maths, English, ICT and Science subject leaders’ meetings and it will be important to collaborate not just as core subjects but also as a wider team of curriculum subjects. Having had the training is there anything you would wish to share – especially to foundation subject subject leaders who will not have had the same training? What gaps, if any, do you feel were left in the training materials? What further training would you wish to have?

For core subjects the strategies will shortly (end Feb/ Start March) be producing frameworks to flesh out the PoS statements and illustrate progression in skills and content across levels and school years. Hopefully these will be of great benefit when it comes to writing schemes of work, etc. to ensure that the full

As ever, if you can provide any answers or would wish to share any information relevant to this post, please hit the comment link below.

Building up the Big Picture

The big picture is all well and good but what if you want to try and convey what it means to an audience of teachers or parents who are not familiar with it. Its not going to be instantly clear what on Earth is going on! Fear not, here is a powerpoint file that allows you to build up the ‘big picture’ (current as of June 2007) whilst talking about each component individually. Hopefully this will go some way towards clarifying what is a fairly difficult concept map at a first, second and even third glance (and after that it becomes crushingly simple!! :D)

The Big Picture (Slow Build) Powerpoint File

Another similar, perhaps more powerful resource is this video clip which has Mick Waters – the proud daddy of this fledgling new curriculum – describing what the big picture is, what it means and how it works. Well worth a look!

The Big Picture (Quick Build) Movie Link

Nice day at the office, Love?

If in Doubt, Consult the Manual…

(Or, How to Post a Comment on a WordPress blog)

Judging by the amount of traffic this site is getting it seems increasingly apparent that there is a lot of interest in the topic of KS3 curriculum change and PLTs. To this point I have been pulling together little bits and pieces that are really no more than signposts and maps for what kind of foundations the new curriculum will develop from. If there were more hours in the day I assure you there would be a lot more posts made, however until I get that particular motion passed you’re going to be stuck with the pages and topics I happen to be working with at a given time. Unless. . . .

I would imagine that a number of educationalists are still living in the glorious ICT hey- days when Windows had less icons, the Internet started and ended with Yahoo and a virus was something your granny got just after Christmas every year. If that is you, read on. If not please just register and post a comment. You can stop reading now! Go on…

If you’re still reading you may not be familiar with the intimate workings of a blog. A blog is a website that is incredibly easy to write (If you can use Word, you can write a blog and have your own page on the Internet for people from New Guinea to Newport Pagnell to find whenever they Google the relevant words!). The good thing about blogs is that unlike standard web pages that are limited to being written by just one person, with a blog you are free to add your own comments, questions, suggested links, etc. It might be that another user gives you a response or answer that solves your problem. Alternatively it could be that the author (in this case, yours truly) writes a new post in response. Regardless, the content of the blog is dynamic and largely interactive. And this is where you come in. . .

I see a lot of people are hitting this page via Google and other related searches but as yet we are lacking in comments. I want to know what YOU want to know. I want to know what YOU need help with. I want to know how YOU are finding the process of curriculum development. I want to know that SOMEONE is out there!! So here’s what you can do:

1. Click on the heading of a post that you are interested in.

2. Scroll to the bottom and here you will find options to write a comment on this particular post.

3. Provide minimal details to allow you to post (this is just to deter unpleasant software writers who write code that automatically sends junk comments to good citizens’ blogs!)

4. Post your questions, comments, suggestions or words, even if its just to say Hi and where you’re from(!) and either myself or another user will provide feedback as quick as you can say “I just posted my first blog comment and have the scars to prove it”

Does that seem reasonable? You tell me and the rest of the good people who pop by what you’re looking for or where you’re plans are up to and we get back to you with our take on things. Try it . . .you might like it!

Absolute Beginners…

“New curriculum? Whats that then?”

If you’re looking to get on the change agenda on the bottom rung the link below is probably for you. Straight forward, plainly focused – what are the aims of the new KS3 curriculum? If you’re working with a group of teachers for the first time, approaching the changes cold or have hit a wall and are looking to remind yourself why you ever undertook this mammoth task, click here!

Dimensions

Dimensions – the beloved topic of many an astrophysicist’s waking hours are coming to a KS3 curriculum near you soon. Outside of M-theory and the high-brow small-talk of Stephen Hawking’s local pub, (curriculum) dimensions refer to the enhanced learning opportunities that we are seeking to weave into the revised KS3 curriculum. It is within a school’s approach to accommodating these dimensions that a pupil will most get an experience that is truly cross-curricular, indeed extra curricular!

The headlines for Curriculum Dimensions are:

* Identity and Cultural Diversity

* Healthy Lifestyles

* Community Participation

* Enterprise

* Global Dimension and Sustainable Development

With departments busy trying to develop progression routes in terms of PLTs and subject-specific content, it is important for senior leaders to retain a focus on the wider aims of the curriculum overhaul. By adopting thematic approaches, breaking down timetabled rigidity and seeking to link, overlap and cross pollinate between subjects and the wider world, the new curriculum will be something that is enlivened, enriched and relevant to all-comers. Nowhere is the new curriculum logo more enlightening than when considering these dimensions.

As ever, QCA has some excellent guidance, including links to relevant sites, videos, case studies, etc on their website here: