Curriculum Leadership: A Pivotal Role In Every School

Through extensive research, I have gained a profound understanding of curriculum leadership that I have recently put to use during the writing of two books. ‘Primary Curriculum Design and Delivery’, published last year, delves deeply into the substance and principles of developing a cohesive curriculum across all subjects from early years to Year 6. I have now finished its sister publication, ‘Secondary Curriculum Design and Delivery’. Equally rich in content and practical advice, it will be available to buy later this year.

My books and my work across the profession have contributed to the development of the content-rich CPD programme, ‘Developing Curriculum Leadership’. I have worked closely with TeachingTimes to produce this five-module CPD programme which has the potential to deliver excellence in all subjects and across all phases of education. We have put together a video to explain the programme in a bit more detail.

The coaching and training I undertake with leaders, managers, teachers and their support staff in schools has provided insight into what works well and how, through positive professional development, the highest quality of education emerges.

The programme is a deeply researched cornucopia of resources, materials and interactive activities that provide a focus for potent and highly cost-effective professional development for all subject leaders in any setting.

There is a vocabulary to the curriculum that is an overarching part of every subject. The advantage of the Developing Curriculum Leadership package is that it creates opportunities for subject leaders across the spectrum of subjects to work together to learn the vocabulary, apply it to their own subject and cohort of learners and build real expertise through a shared dialogue.

The programme provides the solutions senior leaders must have in their quest to show that their curriculum vision does indeed translate into the highest quality of education.

It answers these questions:

• How is learning sequenced to ensure pupils make progress in every subject?
• How does pedagogy observed in the classroom ensure pupils remember, retrieve and consolidate their learning over time?
• What are the overarching concepts that define the knowledge to be taught in each subject and how do teachers ensure that pupils understand and can apply these in a variety of contexts?
• To what extent is reading and oracy prioritised in every subject as well as in English?
• How is maths sequenced so that pupils develop new knowledge and consolidate their prior learning in maths and, where appropriate, across the curriculum in many other subjects where maths is integral to learning?
• How are subject leaders and their teams capturing prior learning at times of transition between years and especially key stages?
• How do you ensure that teachers plan to build substantive knowledge within subjects and ensure pupils have the disciplinary knowledge that develops subject-specific skills within subjects and across the curriculum?
• How do you know that assessment is accurate and consistent and creates a desire to learn more?

The programme comes with the potential to buy 8 or 16 hours of coaching time (delivered online) so that those who are delivering the programme in schools can work with an expert curriculum coach to develop the right model for delivering the lessons contained in each of the modules. A coach could also support face-to-face delivery using some of the assigned hours.

The Developing Curriculum Leadership programme has five standalone modules:

• Leadership and the skills curriculum that subject leaders need to successfully lead their subject teams
• A deep dive into the substance of the overarching whole-school curriculum and its implications in different subject disciplines
• A focus on the component parts of the curriculum within and across subjects, building on prior learning, knowledge, skills, metacognition, cognition, sequencing and conceptual learning
• Managing a successful team – creating a synergy and a culture of trust, challenge and positive change
• Strategies for a cohesive and consistent approach to assessment, knowing the impact of the curriculum on learning and continuous improvement and defining the next steps to ensure an ongoing process of professional development and pupil success

Each module is sequential or standalone and can be delivered in a variety of ways. The programme could be a part of regular CPD for all subject leaders delivered by a curriculum lead, head of teaching and learning or deputy head. It could form the basis for INSET, where each module provides sufficient CPD for all subject leaders and their teams for at least the whole day.

The cost of the programme is as follows:

£2450.00 + VAT to include 8 hours of time from an expert curriculum coach

£3650.00 + VAT to include 16 hours of time from an expert curriculum coach

Completing the programme with the coaching element will also give schools the opportunity to apply for the Curriculum Excellence Award in either the Silver Award or the Gold Award categories.

You can buy the package without the coaching element for £1750.00 + VAT. However, we recommend the coaching options as we know how much value many schools have gained from their relationship with their coach, who can act as a professional partner in the delivery of the programme for all subject leaders and as part of their development as a leader and builder of highly successful teams.

Each module contains up to 12 lessons and will benefit every subject leader and their teams across all subjects that a school delivers. This makes this programme extremely cost-effective, as one programme can be delivered across the whole range of subject specialisms. It creates a framework for subject leaders across the whole school to use the provided resources and activities to develop their curriculum expertise and dovetail it into subject-specific learning in every subject.

For further information, give me a call at 07974 754241 or email me at glynis@learningcultures.org. You can also email Tina Leonardi (tina@teachingtimes.com) or Adam Richards (adam@teachingtimes.com).

Download the brochure to find out more.