Curriculum Intent Made Easy
I have little time for Ofsted. You need to know this, because I love Ofsted’s focus on intent, implementation and impact. But not because it is Ofsted - it is because this is both a comprehensive and simple way to think about curriculum.
How can you explain this to every head of department, without giving dozens of examples from different subjects, and without giving a lot of theory?
Here is my attempt. Give heads of department a model for a fictitious subject. This forces them all to ask, and crucially answer, how this might fit their own subject. It also works as a model of the kind of questions and solutions that you want the heads of department to think about:
Why the what you teach matters, beyond GCSE.
What to teach and how to sequence it.
How to get knowledge and skill in long term memory.
How homework and assessment will increase long term memory and progress.
Take a look at this example of Basket Weaving to see if it works for you. Comments are very welcome.
Basket Weaving Intent
Why do you teach what you teach at Key Stage 3?
Basket weaving is a fundamental practical skill, which incorporates knowledge about design, understanding how to get the best use out of a range of materials, and how to prepare and process these to create something useful, beautiful and long lasting. This range of knowledge and skill are the foundation blocks for GCSE or a springboard to further practise in adult life.
What do you teach?
The foundational knowledge of materials involves understanding how to treat, prepare and shape willow, reed and bamboo.
The foundational knowledge of design involves understanding how to sketch, use online design apps, construct prototypes, test and critique these, and then improve the design and the final product.
Techniques which are applied and mastered include cutting and shaping the reed, rattan and weaving methods, tying and applying a finish.
How do you sequence the curriculum?
The aim is to make students as proficient as possible in their craft. Consequently students never write in Key Stage 3 lessons. Their writing for GCSE is developed during Key Stage 4. Instead, they progress through cutting and shaping reeds, and then using these to make increasingly complex designs, from placemats, to table mats, to fencing, to baskets of various types, to boxes, and chests, before attempting smaller, more precise pieces with finer material in much smaller scale, such as jewellery boxes. The skills learned in each piece are transferable to the next piece.
How do you teach?
Everything is demonstrated first. Students watch a video of each technique in the steps towards creating each piece. This resource means that students can re-watch the videos independently at home, multiple times, and they are played on a loop in class. This means students can catch up if they miss a lesson. Teachers also demonstrate live where necessary.
How do you assess to build long term memory?
All home learning is in the form of quizzes, testing essential knowledge. This is spaced to allow for forgetting, meaning that the students are typically tested that week, two weeks later, a month later, two months later, four months later, and so on – with the gap approximately doubling. Cognitive science suggests this is the optimal way to space learning so that long term memory retains what students have been taught.
Every 6 weeks students answer a longer quiz of between 100-150 questions, retrieving a large sample of the essential knowledge taught so far across the key stage.
Every 6 weeks students also produce an item of their own for home learning independently. These are always small in scale, to allow for low cost of materials, but increasing complexity.
Students also produce at least one significant piece every 6 weeks. Each practical piece is assessed by the student and the teacher. Students make a 3-5 minute video explaining their design, self-assessed progress in techniques, response to the critique of the first iteration of their design, and areas of focus for their next piece. The teacher also assesses these in a 1-3 minute video. These form a digital portfolio for the student, teacher and parent alike to see the progress over each year and the entire key stage.
If you want to know how to create an amazing English curriculum, click here:
If you want to be brilliant English teacher, you’ll like The Full English
If you want to find out how to get great progress from students in any subject, you’ll like The Slightly Awesome Teacher
If you want to pass Ofsted with flying colours, you’ll like The Unofficial Ofsted Survival Guide
If you want a quick guide to How to Improve Your School, click here