How do we ensure that the curriculum truly is Broad and Balanced? This book provides both discussion of the current challenges and practical guidance and support on how to tackle them.

Describes an ESCR-funded research project into the ways in which five primary schools planned and developed curriculum policies. The curricular policies are examined to determine their effects on pupils' learning experiences along with the nature of curricular and social leadership.

Schools across the world are struggling to balance the statutory requirements of a National Curriculum with their desire to provide the wide, engaging and exciting curriculum that they know children need. Concerns about standards often lead to a narrowing of the curriculum and many schools lack the confidence and approach to design that would enable them to resolve what seems like an impossible dilemma. In this authoritative yet engaging book, Brian Male looks at how schools can meet the requirements of a National Curriculum and yet be flexible enough to meet the needs, interests and concerns of pupils, to be rooted in their lives and localities and to give scope for teachers to use their own creativity. The Primary Curriculum Design Handbook is a practical guide on how to design a curriculum that will engage children's interest, excite their imaginations and at the same time provide them with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to live successfully in the 21st Century.

This book offers comprehensive guidance to support those involved in primary education in developing the curriculum to meet the requirements of the new Ofsted (2019) framework. It addresses key issues such as the purposes of the curriculum, how to organise the curriculum, and the balance between knowledge and skills. It also goes beyond basic requirements, emphasizing the importance of a creative, child-centred and enquiry-based curriculum which is suited to the context of school communities. Responding to the increased emphasis on the quality of pupils’ education, the book supports trainees, teachers and school leaders in developing and implementing an ambitious and diverse curriculum, including working with all stakeholders and offering practical strategies and solutions. It empowers practitioners to reclaim the curriculum by designing one which reflects the values and context of the school.

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Curriculum and curriculum issues are at the heart of current debates about schooling, pedagogy and learning. This book will enable practitioners, scholars and academics to understand how to re-design or to suggest changes to curriculum structure, shape and content. Grounded in theory and philosophy, the book also offers practical help in grasping this controversial area. Inside, the authors: provide practical planning templates support and provoke analysis, discussion and experimentation include definitions of key terms and reflective questions incorporate practical examples and case material based on their work worldwide on curriculum design and evaluation.