First-Class Curriculum Quality: What Is Ofsted Looking For?

Curriculum quality and what Ofsted is looking for

Over the past few months, I have written the highly praised programme Developing Curriculum Leadership in partnership with TeachingTimes. I have spent time as part of my own research looking in some detail at Ofsted reports and what they are saying about curriculum quality.

I will start by looking at what senior and subject leaders need to ask themselves in relation to what quality means in terms of learning, pedagogy and a deeply sequenced and knowledge-rich curriculum. Later, I will focus on what Ofsted is saying in some of their recent reports that they want to see as evidence of effective curriculum delivery.

How do we create first-class curriculum quality?

The curriculum is a key driver in what inspectors look for in their quest to find high-quality outcomes in terms of what is planned, delivered and assessed. All of this is reviewed in relation to the whole-school vision that defines the ambition it has for all pupils and the rationale for how this will be achieved.

Defining curriculum quality and weaving a consistent whole-school strategy is an essential first step in answering the question: ‘Are we delivering what Ofsted are looking for?’ We need to think very carefully about what we want to achieve in terms of a vision for defining what curriculum quality means in each unique school context.

Quality is a relative term, so that is the place to start in the quest for curriculum excellence. There is high quality, there is poor quality and there are many quality perceptions in between. It is to achieve first-class quality that we must strive.

Below is a list of questions to share and find answers for. Further down, we look at some of the issues that Ofsted are most concerned about and some questions to focus on concerning how well your subject leaders and their teams are able to show a consistent approach to positive answers.

Questions relating to the quality of your curriculum intent and implementation:

• What are the quality benchmarks that we want everyone to work towards?
• Who should be involved in the process of creating the highest-quality benchmarks?
• What should be included in the strategies we implement to ensure the highest quality is achieved in terms of knowledge, pedagogy and learning?
• How do we ensure all staff know what we want to achieve and the part they play in creating the successful outcomes we seek?
• What are the timelines for assessing progress as we work towards our goal/s?
• How can we create the professional development opportunities that will enhance the strengths within our teams and ensure gaps in expertise and experience are filled?
• What are the impact measures we want to put in place to measure the quality we are striving towards with both qualitative and quantitative data?
• How do we ensure that we involve all stakeholders in supporting us in our quest for excellence and continuous improvement?

Creating the systems that deliver high-quality curriculum outcomes is about a shared vision that comes from collaboration and powerful professional dialogue that involves senior, middle and subject leaders working in tandem to build a curriculum offer that all staff can be a part of delivering.

The ultimate responsibility for translating the curriculum vision into a coherent model for delivery lies with subject leaders. They have a pivotal role in working with the headteacher and the senior leadership team to define the vision and then translate that vision so that their team can implement an ambitious curriculum that embraces all pupils across the spectrum of ability.

What is Ofsted looking for?

The curriculum is a tapestry that weaves knowledge, concepts and skills together in the quest for outcomes that ensure every pupil from early years to Key Stage 4 and beyond achieves their full potential. Creating consistency and cohesion across the whole curriculum requires a commitment from subject leaders and their teams to work together and for there to be cross-curricular collaboration to show that what is delivered matches the stated vision.

Below is a list of the main issues that Ofsted has raised in their reports over the last few months. These are taken from a trawl of primary and secondary schools that have been inspected and have received a ‘good’ or ‘requires improvement’ grade. I have included a question in bold that might form the basis of a discussion between senior and subject leaders and their teams.

– The word ‘ambitious’ is used to describe the curriculum, either to define it as ambitious or as not ambitious enough. How do you define ‘ambitious’ and how do all your staff challenge themselves and their pupils to achieve their full potential and show their ambition for every pupil to thrive?

– Some reports are critical about how the curriculum is mapped out in terms of the sequence of skills and knowledge that pupils will learn over time. This map needs to be visible and followed by all those who plan and deliver the curriculum. How is this evidenced in different subjects and how do subject leaders and teachers work together to create sequential curriculum maps?

– Schools often fail to show sufficient evidence that they are checking pupils’ understanding and focusing on what they have remembered over time. How do subject leaders ensure that formative assessment is an integral part of every lesson and that all teachers and teaching assistants share their understanding of how well pupils are progressing and learning?

– Addressing misunderstanding is a thorny issue and in some schools this is inconsistent, applied in some subjects and not in others. How can senior and subject leaders ensure that there is visible evidence that teachers are aware when pupils misunderstand or have misconceptions and that they adapt their teaching to address gaps in learning?

– There should be a tacit and explicit understanding that reading is a priority in every subject and at every key stage. From phonics to reading complex texts for GCSE, this should be visible in all curriculum planning. What evidence is there that reading is a whole-school priority? What CPD is available for teachers who are not trained in phonics and comprehension to enhance their own learning?

– Pupils with SEND are a priority. Schools must show how pupils are identified in terms of their needs and how these are addressed. They must be able to access the full curriculum. What are the mechanisms and communication channels that show how SEND pupils and their needs are fully catered for and that, through highly effective differentiation, all pupils can access the full curriculum?

– It should be clear from the work that pupils produce that teachers have high expectations of all pupils, whatever their starting point. How does the work that pupils are producing demonstrate that they are challenged and stretched to achieve their full potential and that there are opportunities for pupils to be masters of their own learning?

– There should be profound evidence of professional development that addresses gaps in teacher curriculum, subject and pedagogical expertise. How is the expertise within subject departments, phases or faculties captured and cascaded to others who need support? How does planned and implemented CPD have an impact on the quality of education across all subjects, phases and key stages?

– Senior, middle and subject leaders should be able to talk about how teaching impacts learning within different subjects and what it is that makes a difference. What opportunities are there for subject leaders and their teams to have professional conversations about their pedagogy and its impact on learning? How does the school ensure there are also opportunities for cross-curricular conversations that focus on concepts, connections, language and vocabulary that transcend the subject divisions?

Where subject leaders work together, they will have the language to answer those deep-dive questions from Ofsted. They will also have the materials, resources and videos to cascade their learning to their teams of teachers and teaching assistants.

Subject leadership – pivotal in the quest for curriculum excellence

Subject leaders are pivotal in translating the whole-school vision for curriculum excellence into strategies that their teams can deliver. They must inspire a learning culture where professional dialogue leads to a collaborative approach to how the curriculum will deliver the carefully crafted endpoints all teachers are working to achieve for their pupils.

There must be a relentless quest for excellence in pedagogy, well-designed and challenging resources for learning and a focus on ongoing formative assessment that creates for the teacher and the pupil a deep understanding of how they are learning, what they need to do to improve and how they can build their sequential knowledge and skills over time. The subject leader needs to be a skilful team leader, an exceptional coach and an expert in the part their team plays in the implementation of the whole-school curriculum and his or her subject specialism.

The new Developing Curriculum Leaders programme is an outstanding tool for all those with subject or curriculum leadership responsibility. There are five modules:

1. Essential leadership qualities
2. Influencing change and challenge
3. Curriculum knowledge, subject and cross-curricular concepts, skills and sequential learning
4. Building successful teams
5. Reflecting on high-quality subject leadership

Each module has more than ten lessons with videos, resources and activities. It can be used chronologically where individual subject leaders can work through each module, or they can cherry-pick what they need and work at their own pace. It can be used to deliver INSET, twilight sessions or as part of a blended learning CPD carousel. There is also the option to buy eight or sixteen hours of coaching with a curriculum expert and coach who will act as a thinking partner. This coach will listen, create clarity, encourage goal setting and effective planning and shape a platform for enriching and highly effective CPD for subject leaders and their teams.

I know I have written this programme and maybe shouldn’t be so excited by it, but it does offer the most amazing opportunity to create professional learning across a team of subject leaders who can share my knowledge, experience and expertise of curriculum from early years to post-16. I have built this programme to capture what I know and want to share with others to ensure that we create for our pupils (wherever they are on the learning spectrum) powerful pedagogy, deep knowledge and the ability to apply their growing repertoire of skills across all their subjects.

This programme has been designed to be flexible. Individual subject leaders or groups can dip into modules or work through them systematically. The coaching option provides the services of a coach at times to suit, either before or after school, during planning time or other times decided with the coach and the subject leader. Some coaches work at the weekend to really apply the concept of flexibility and dedication.

Give me a call or send me an email if you want to learn more: glynis@learningcultures.org | 07974 754241

Glynis Frater is the author of Primary Curriculum Design and Delivery, the soon-to-be-published Secondary Curriculum Design and Delivery and the recently launched Developing Curriculum Leaders programme for TeachingTimes.