Curriculum Conversations (Episode 4): What should leaders be doing before the revised curriculum arrives?

- Hello, I'm Emma McCrea Head of Curriculum Designer, Oak, and welcome to Curriculum Conversations. With the Curriculum and Assessment Review now published, many school and trust leaders are asking the same question. What should we be doing now? Across this two-part discussion, we'll explore how leaders can thoughtfully consider what feels sensible to focus on now, where there might be opportunities to strengthen existing practice, and how to prepare for change without creating unnecessary workload or rushing into decisions. I'm joined by Becks Boomer-Clark, CEO of Lift Schools, and Tilly Browne, incoming CEO of Reach Schools. In this first part, we'll discuss what stood out from the review, where leaders may feel pressure to act quickly, and how schools and trusts can use this period to reflect, refine, and stay focused on what matters most for pupils. It's great to have you both with us. Can you introduce yourselves and tell us about your trust and or school? Let's start with you, Tilly.

- Yeah. Hi. So nice to be here. My name is Tilly Browne. I'm transitioning from being the co-head teacher in charge of primary at Reach Academy Feltham and Reach Academy Hanworth Park, two schools in Felton, West London, quite near Heathrow, into being the CEO of Reach Schools, so the map that oversees the two schools.

- Fabulous. Thank you. And Becks, same for you.

- Yeah. I'm Becks Boomer-Clark. I'm the CEO of Lift Schools. We are 59 schools at the moment, the length and breadth of the country. So we go as far north as Middlesbrough, as far east as Clacton, as far west as Torbay, and we also have a school on the Isle of Wight, so literally the length and breadth of the country. We've got primary schools, secondary schools, and special schools.

- Brilliant. A wealth of expertise on the sofa today then. Wonderful. Let's talk a little bit about the curriculum and assessment review, because you've both had time to digest that. What's something that's kind of stood out for you? Anything that surprised you or perhaps challenged your thinking? Should we go to you first, Becks?

- Yeah. I mean, I think the things that stood out for me, I mean, there have been a lot of critics that have said, actually, did it not go far enough? Is it not radical enough? And I actually think that that is to miss the opportunity for us. I think it has reinforced a sense of ambition for all young people. I think it has done something really refreshing. Which is refused to be drawn into the sort of false polarization between progressives and traditionalists in terms of, well, who is more academically rigorous? And instead I said, actually, we can have both. We can have academic rigor, unapologetically high expectations for all young people, but also have a curriculum which is broad and engaging and provides opportunities for sport, for the arts. And also thinks about what do we need to do to prepare our young people to be ready for the world? So how do we think differently about sort of digital fluency? How do we think differently about climate education? And in a sense, I think it is very relevant for the young people of today. And I'm really interested, once it's sort of taken seed, to get their responses on, well, this slightly different approach, which is more sophisticated, but arguably grounded in the challenges of the day. What does that then do for their sense of purpose and their sense of engagement? So I think it's a review, which when you go into the layers, actually, I think it's got a lot more depth than if you just looked at it at face value and said, well, there's not really that much that's changing apart from there's not going to be any EBacc any more.

- Just picking up on, you mentioned kind of digital literacy, media literacy, climate education, there's a few others. What's lovely, I think, about those is that it talks about young people's voices and young people as stakeholders in the curriculum. And I think some of what's come out in terms of those themes speak to that, which is, you know, really lovely to see in terms of them having a voice and a say. Tilly, tell us a bit about your perspective on the curriculum assessment review.

- Yeah, I mean, I would agree with everything you said. I think for a lot of school leaders, it was a bit of a relief. I think we spent 10 years thinking really hard about curriculum, thinking really thoroughly about what makes a great curriculum embedded in our community and for our children. And so, you know, it's very easy to say, oh, it's going to be evolution, not revolution. But you kind of sit with bated breath wondering if that's going to be the case. And I think that is certainly what we've seen. But with some standout elements that I'm excited about, I'm really excited about an RSC framework. I think it is absolutely a social justice issue that our children are confident and fluent speakers who can advocate for themselves. We know that when they enter the workplace, those skills are going to be absolutely vital, if not more so than they are at the moment. And I think that that is something that really stood out for me alongside, in a way, kind of some quite specific nuance. So I'm a bit of a grammar pedant. Like, I love the changes to the grammar and punctuation spelling test at Key Stage 2. Because I think that would be such an easy thing to say, oh, it's fine. It works. But actually to think really hard about how is it preparing our young people to be really successful? How are we teaching them to use grammar in context? What's it meaning for teaching hours when you're having to teach this discreetly rather than as part of the integrated curriculum? It's really exciting to see kind of that detail come through as well.

- Yeah, absolutely. And I think for me as well, what I found interesting, particularly from perspective of my role, is the commitment to a digital National Curriculum. I think a lot and talk a lot about the communication of the curriculum is key. We talk a lot about content in terms of what will we teach when. But what I don't think we always talk a lot about is how do you take something as complex as curriculum and communicate it in ways that mean that it's implemented and enacted with fidelity. And so I think PDFs, which is what we currently have, don't do that very well. You can't really see progression. And curriculum is the progression model. So the idea that we might be able to interact with the curriculum in more sort of sophisticated ways to reflect the world in which we live in these days, I think that's also, from the perspective of a curriculum body, that's really exciting as well. Let's dig into how you, as school and trust leaders, are thinking about curriculum change, given that we're in this kind of interim period between the publication of the curriculum and assessment review, but we're still ahead of sort of the site of the refreshed National Curriculum. So where is the temptation to change things quickly, the strongest? And how are you managing that?

- I mean, I love quick change. So that's just a constant in my life is trying to retreat myself from making quick change. I think that where the review is aligning with what we're already thinking, there is a huge temptation to run with it. So a great example is we've been battling across both schools that I lead about how do we ensure really strong foundations of number in Key Stage 1? So how do we build on that great work of the EYFS? And so when that came out in the curriculum review, I was like, great, we're good to go. Well, the reality is we actually don't know what it's going to be in the program of studies. We've got to wait until 2027. And so I think ultimately that's probably the place where I'm most tempted to run, where it's aligning with what I think already, where I've had to be really clear with myself and with staff is that we don't have a crystal ball. We're not going to predict what could be in the programs of study because that leads to kind of change fatigue. People think feeling like I've just gone in this direction because you thought that was the direction of travel. It actually isn't the direction of travel. So I think sitting always with curriculum, with what's right for your children, what do they need? I think taking a balanced approach around how you measure that without just leaning into, well, I think the curriculum review said this, so I think that the programs of study will say that. And so I'm going to run in that direction.

- Absolutely. Seems very sensible. But I think what you've also picked up on is where there is clear alignment, leaning into that is okay because it's very likely that there's only going to be tweaks in that space. So it's not a hold all the cards and do nothing, but it's, you know, where there is definite alignment, you can move forward with that. Becks, your thoughts?

- I think that whenever you're faced with uncertainty, it creates a sort of pressure to do something. And I think resisting that's really important. We've taken the approach saying, actually, here's some, A, there's like really quite refreshing alignment with our first principles anyway, particularly around oracy and reading, which are both areas that we've been developing across Lift for several years now. But we're taking the opportunity to sort of step back and say, well, when we talk about digital fluency, what do we actually mean? When we talk about enrichment being as significant, the extended curriculum and the academic curriculum sitting side by side, what does that mean for the way that we resource our schools, for the way that we structure time and for what we recognize? And from a big picture perspective, I've recently been asked to co-chair the Key Stage 3 Alliance. We'd already started doing some work, actually, with Reach around what we're calling our Key Stage 3 Futures Project to actually take ourselves back to those first principles and particularly in the context of Key Stage 3. And this is where I think the curriculum assessment review gives us real space, actually, to be creative. What's the purpose of the early years of secondary? How can that be a distinctive phase in its own right? We've been drawing the parallels between EYFS, which is absolutely founded on the principles of early childhood development. We know more and more about the needs of early adolescent development now. How can we take those principles that we would apply to EYFS and actually say, well, what would that look like for Key Stage 3 for the early years of secondary to really meet young people where they are in terms of their developmental needs. And I think there's a sort of brief space before we get busy with content to actually say, well, no, let's step back and let's then all step forward once we know more from a much more aligned position in terms of what really matters to our children as we sort of go into this next phase. So I think it's a real, it's an opportunity. A bit of space is an opportunity to think differently.

- Yeah. There's almost like the big picture thinking to be done, isn't there? That actually 99% of the time we don't have time to do, right? So a school perhaps or trust that doesn't necessarily have aligned principles, you know, the curriculum assessment review has got some really clear principles in it. And the question is, you know, do they inform some principles that you might want for your trust or school or do they align with the existing ones, which we can do before, as you say, Becks, we get busy with the content because then that takes our focus and we want the kind of fundamentals in place, I suppose, before we start then to dig into the content.

- Actually, I think on what you said about principles, I think there's a real thing around trying to align the curriculum with what you would also normally be doing as a school. So it's end of a school year, you're about to start a second year, you know, it is very standard when we know that curriculum is iterative, that you'll be reviewing your curriculum. And I think one of the things that really stood out for me was from the curriculum review was this notion of not just kind of vertical organization, but also horizontal. And I think it's a really helpful one, particularly, probably in all schools, but I think particularly in primary schools, where you have got kind of so much control over where you teach things and how you teach things to really be thinking about kind of the horizontal nature of your process. So, in fact, a personal example, this year, I taught year four water cycle at the same time that the year fours were learning states of matter. So they didn't have a solid grasp of evaporation and condensation. And then I had to teach it in context. And I think that's a really good example of how you need to make sure the curriculum is better organized so that children master the fundamentals of knowledge, and then they can apply them in different areas of the curriculum. That's amazing. That's great retrieval. That's building fantastic flexibility. And so I think, again, that notion of what would we normally be doing? Well, how can we apply elements of the curriculum review to that, to make sure that we're only strengthening our processes as we step into the next year?

- Absolutely. Because going back to the idea of evolution, not revolution, this isn't a rip up your curriculum and start again moment, unless you feel like your curriculum is not fit for purpose, and then it's a perfect moment for that. But in theory, if you are already iterating your curriculum as you should be annually based on assessment data, on teacher feedback, on making sure the fundamentals are in place, then hopefully the changes to the curriculum as part of the refreshed National Curriculum will be tweaked per se, because you've really worked hard to nail down that sequence and that coherence.

- Yeah, 100%.

- There's also something about, we often think about what will the adults do when we're going through a period of curriculum reform and review? And I think it's quite interesting when you look at the engagement data that we have, literally that young people joined us in secondary schools, engaged and energized and ready for learning, and that that drops off a cliff at the end, you know, between year seven, year eight, and that that's even more acute for girls and for pupil premium kids. I think it's a really interesting opportunity, which we've taken, say through the Key Stage 3 Futures work, to actually ask young people, what do they think? Actually, where is their space for them to have greater agency? You know, if you're in geography, would it be really that difficult to say, like, you can teach about the Amazon or the Nile, choose. Small spaces where we can actually bring pupil agency to their curriculum is something that we're starting to explore and involving them in that process.

- Yeah, I feel like I want to now hear more about Key Stage 3 Futures Project. I think we're focused on a curriculum conversation, so maybe that's one for next time. Finally, shifting from thinking to doing, what are you doing and not doing in this kind of, you know, interim period between the publication of the review and waiting for the refreshed National Curriculum?

- I mean, I think I touched upon this earlier in a sense of we're taking the opportunity to go back to our first principles and to see where the curriculum fits actually within the whole of our education model. Because it's one part of a sort of complete school experience and a complete school design. And so we've been taking the opportunity to say, actually, how can we set these things in context and make sure that our approach to PD is not over indexing on teaching to the expense of curriculum? So we've been literally going back and saying, well, if we're going to be ready to do something that feels new and fresh, let's look at that in the round. Because there's a danger that you focus on curriculum over here with all of the people that are interested in curriculum. And then you focus on teaching and learning over here with all the people that are interested in pedagogy. And then you might have some people, oh, we now need to think about assessment. And so we've spent the last year really bringing that into sort of one education model. The other piece that we've been doing through our subject networks is taking the opportunity to evaluate where we are right now. We introduced four years ago a network wide focus on reading and it saw accelerated gains in primary quite quickly. It's taken longer for those to come through in secondary. But what we're seeing now is young people are going into year nine, which is the year behind our pioneer cohort with hugely improved reading capabilities, reading fluency. And so we're trying to link that work to the level of expectation that we have around our curriculum thinking and resourcing. And I think it is one of those moments where you can just sort of pull it all together and look at the whole experience in the round so it doesn't feel siloed. And actually, I think that the way that the curriculum and assessment review has been structured, if you read between the lines, it does encourage schools and trusts to do that.

- Yeah, I would entirely agree. I mean, I think you always want your children in your schools to be getting the best educational experience they can. So I think ultimately, you know, what are we doing? We're continuing to try and make that better and better and better. And ultimately, that's always going to be a triangulation of really excellent cultural relationships, what we call it, really strong teaching and learning and then an excellent curriculum. And I think just because we are waiting for programs of study doesn't mean that we would stop doing that. We're not going to predict what's in it. But what we are going to do is look at assessment, look at the teacher reflections, look at the data and work out what do our children need. I think the other thing that I'm really excited about is the element to which the curriculum review recommended that there is more space for enrichment. Like how rich is our enrichment offer? How applicable? How are our students experiencing it? Because it's great for teachers to say in the staff room, that's a great experience. But if children don't feel like that, then we need to try and square that circle. And then I think the other thing that we're thinking about is how are we already embedding the kind of principles and approaches, I'm going to call them. So certainly RSE, how are we thinking hard about broad and balance? Like is our core strong? Is every child accessing a really rich curriculum? Because we have a rich curriculum, but is it for all? And so I think asking those questions early so that we go into this academic year with a really clear picture of what's working well and what would be even better if ahead of any changes that are coming.

- Yeah. And I really like this idea. There's a theme here about not only sort of getting bogged down in the detail of, you know, subject to main curricula, but thinking about, you know, enrichment and the other opportunities that we want to offer our pupils. And also thinking, okay, well, it's a curriculum and assessment review, but we know that curriculum, pedagogy and assessment all go hand in hand. So actually, we need to think of those in some cases as one thing, not three things. And this is a perfect opportunity to do the bigger picture thinking on those things. Thanks so much for watching this part one of our conversation. In part two, we'll turn our attention to implementation. How to approach curriculum change at a manageable pace. How to build teacher confidence and capacity. And how leaders can avoid common pitfalls whilst ensuring pupils continue to experience a coherent, high quality education throughout the transition. We'll also discuss what successful curriculum change should ultimately look and feel like in classrooms. So do join us for part two. Thanks for watching. If you've got any questions, please pop them in the comments. And of course, you can head to our website for more information.