Curriculum & Learning Index
A strategic mirror for leadership teams: what’s working, what’s missing, and what’s next in curriculum and pedagogy.
Curriculum & Strategy
Guiding Question: Is the curriculum coherent, knowledge-rich, and sequenced for progression and equity?
Why this matters: A well-sequenced, contextually relevant curriculum enables secure knowledge, transfer, and long-term retention, raising attainment for all.
Reactive
Topics/units selected in isolation. Coverage over coherence; minimal progression maps; local context and cultural capital underused.
Evolving
Subject roadmaps exist with clearer endpoints. Some attention to prior knowledge, misconceptions, and cross-curricular links; coherence varies between phases/subjects.
Strategic & Sustainable
Curriculum is intentionally sequenced (year-on-year, lesson-to-lesson) with precise knowledge, skills, and vocabulary. Progression maps, retrieval, and interleaving are designed in. Local/global context enriches entitlement for every pupil.
Leadership Alignment
Guiding Question: Do leaders at every level actively steward curriculum quality and pedagogy?
Why this matters: Leadership coherence turns good plans into consistent classroom practice and sustained improvement.
Reactive
Curriculum leadership is fragmented; middle leaders work in silos; monitoring focuses on paperwork not learning.
Evolving
Leaders share a common intent; subject leads curate schemes and moderate work; improvement goals exist but drift under pressure.
Strategic & Sustainable
Clear governance for intent-implementation-impact. Leaders enable subject expertise, time for collaboration, and disciplined improvement cycles (assess–plan–do–review). Professional development is aligned to curriculum goals.
Culture & Ethos
Guiding Question: Does classroom culture promote high expectations, language-rich learning, and belonging?
Why this matters: Positive, language-rich environments accelerate learning, especially for disadvantaged, EAL, and SEND learners.
Reactive
Expectations vary; limited focus on talk, academic vocabulary, and reading for pleasure; some pupils feel learning isn’t 'for them.'
Evolving
Consistent routines in many classes; growing emphasis on oracy, vocabulary, reading culture, and inclusive participation.
Strategic & Sustainable
High expectations are lived daily. Oracy and tiered vocabulary are embedded across subjects; reading is a whole-school entitlement; contributions from every learner are expected and valued.
Systems & Data
Guiding Question: Do assessment and feedback systems drive teaching that secures learning, not just generates data?
Why this matters: Assessment for learning and responsive teaching close gaps early, strengthen memory, and improve outcomes.
Reactive
Over-collection of data; limited use of formative checks; feedback workload high, impact low; weak link between assessment and next steps.
Evolving
Agreed assessment points and success criteria; more low-stakes checks (quizzes, exit tickets); growing use of work scrutiny/moderation.
Strategic & Sustainable
Assessment is proportionate and purposeful. Frequent formative routines (questioning, retrieval, hinge questions) inform immediate adaptation. Summative data triangulates with books/talk. Feedback is timely, actionable, and workload-sensible.
Change Management
Guiding Question: Are curriculum and pedagogy improvements implemented with clarity, training, and follow-through?
Why this matters: Sustained change needs shared purpose, practice, and evaluation, not one-off initiatives.
Reactive
Ad hoc initiatives; inconsistent training; limited evaluation of impact on learning.
Evolving
Project plans and milestones exist; staff engage in CPD; implementation varies between teams.
Strategic & Sustainable
A clear implementation roadmap: evidence-informed design, focused training with rehearsal, coaching, and observation; simple fidelity checks; review cycles that refine practice and scale what works.
Leadership Lenses
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Reading & Language (apply across subjects)
Guiding Question: Is systematic synthetic phonics, language comprehension, and disciplinary reading embedded?
Reactive → Reading taught in pockets; vocabulary left to chance.
Evolving → Phonics secure; growing emphasis on language comprehension and text choice.
Strategic → Phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension integrated; rich texts across subjects; reading for pleasure culture; targeted catch-up where needed.
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Mathematics & Mastery
Guiding Question: Do pupils secure core knowledge and reasoning through a mastery approach?
Reactive → Pace over security; gaps accumulate.
Evolving → More explicit teaching and variation; formative checks inform support.
Strategic → Coherent small-steps sequencing; concrete–pictorial–abstract, deliberate practice, retrieval, and problem solving; timely corrective teaching.
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Science & Disciplinary Practice
Guiding Question: Are ‘working scientifically’ skills and substantive knowledge taught together with precise vocabulary?
Reactive → Practical tasks without conceptual clarity.
Evolving → Clear objectives; improving vocabulary and enquiry types.
Strategic → Concepts, enquiry, and precise academic language are explicitly taught; real-world application; assessment informs next steps.
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Cognitive Load & Instruction
Guiding Question: Do lessons manage working memory and build long-term memory?
Reactive → Overload from multitasking and cluttered materials.
Evolving → More modelling and scaffolding.
Strategic → Explicit instruction, worked examples, gradual release, spaced retrieval, and clean materials reduce load and strengthen retention.
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Equity & Access
Guiding Question: Is the intended curriculum the learned curriculum for every pupil?
Reactive → Access depends on individual teacher adaptations.
Evolving → Increasing use of scaffolds and pre-teaching.
Strategic → Universal design, targeted interventions, and assistive strategies ensure full access; high expectations with precise support.
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Listen deeply.
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Design with precision.
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Deliver strategies that last.
The schools we work with aren’t looking for quick fixes. They’re looking for clarity in complexity, confidence in decision-making, and growth that feels inevitable, not accidental.
If that resonates, explore our tailored solutions and register your interest below.
Because true change isn’t off the shelf. It’s built with you, for you.
