AET Curriculum Strategy
All our pupils are entitled to an excellent curriculum
All our pupils are entitled to an excellent curriculum
It is our mission to provide an excellent education, to every child, in every classroom, every day.
It is our mission to provide an excellent education, to every child, in every classroom, every day.
Access to an excellent curriculum is a foundational element of delivering this mission and we believe that every child has an entitlement to learn the knowledge of an excellent curriculum. We know that this has a material impact on both their academic outcomes and on their world-readiness and wider development. It is therefore essential that we ensure that the planned curriculum for every pupil - and then its delivery and teaching - is excellent.
Access to an excellent curriculum is a foundational element of delivering this mission and we believe that every child has an entitlement to learn the knowledge of an excellent curriculum. We know that this has a material impact on both their academic outcomes and on their world-readiness and wider development. It is therefore essential that we ensure that the planned curriculum for every pupil - and then its delivery and teaching - is excellent.
We are therefore focused on three key strategic aspects to support planning and delivering an excellent curriculum:
We are therefore focused on three key strategic aspects to support planning and delivering an excellent curriculum:
1. Developing a shared trust-wide set of beliefs and guiding principles about curriculum that will support curricular-decision making at all levels and act as a framework for reference.
1. Developing a shared trust-wide set of beliefs and guiding principles about curriculum that will support curricular-decision making at all levels and act as a framework for reference.
These AET Curriculum Principles set out our agreed values and apply to all curricula, at all levels. They will provide a shared language for talking about curriculum excellence and enable decision-makers to sense check their thinking to ensure it aligns with our curriculum values as well as allow others to scrutinise these decisions with rigour.
These AET Curriculum Principles set out our agreed values and apply to all curricula, at all levels. They will provide a shared language for talking about curriculum excellence and enable decision-makers to sense check their thinking to ensure it aligns with our curriculum values as well as allow others to scrutinise these decisions with rigour.
2. Agreeing and implementing a macro-curriculum entitlement for all pupils.
2. Agreeing and implementing a macro-curriculum entitlement for all pupils.
The AET Base Curriculum (or ABC) sets out specific minimum entitlements or benchmarks for primary and secondary pupils in terms of the curriculum structure, subject range and time allocation. It will ensure that all AET pupils receive their entitlement to a broad range of subjects and sufficient time to acquire the association knowledge of each. There are currently versions of the ABC for primary, secondary and sixth form but these are reviewed and refined annually.
The AET Base Curriculum (or ABC) sets out specific minimum entitlements or benchmarks for primary and secondary pupils in terms of the curriculum structure, subject range and time allocation. It will ensure that all AET pupils receive their entitlement to a broad range of subjects and sufficient time to acquire the association knowledge of each. There are currently versions of the ABC for primary, secondary and sixth form but these are reviewed and refined annually.
3. Establishing a common body of knowledge for each subject as an entitlement for all pupils.
3. Establishing a common body of knowledge for each subject as an entitlement for all pupils.
The AET Specifications will set out the agreed minimum knowledge that every AET pupil is entitled to acquire at each stage in every subject. They will ensure that all pupils receive their entitlement to learn the most powerful and emancipatory knowledge in each discipline. Importantly, the AET Specifications will also support meaningful collaboration between schools, by creating the conditions in which expertise and resources can be shared directly and network-wide assessment can be undertaken meaningfully. This alignment is key to leveraging our scale to ensure excellence in every classroom.
The AET Specifications will set out the agreed minimum knowledge that every AET pupil is entitled to acquire at each stage in every subject. They will ensure that all pupils receive their entitlement to learn the most powerful and emancipatory knowledge in each discipline. Importantly, the AET Specifications will also support meaningful collaboration between schools, by creating the conditions in which expertise and resources can be shared directly and network-wide assessment can be undertaken meaningfully. This alignment is key to leveraging our scale to ensure excellence in every classroom.
Importantly, and in keeping with our belief in the importance of localism, the AET Specifications will cover approximately 2/3 of the curriculum time each year, deliberately leaving space for content chosen by schools to respond to their specific context and cohorts.
Importantly, and in keeping with our belief in the importance of localism, the AET Specifications will cover approximately 2/3 of the curriculum time each year, deliberately leaving space for content chosen by schools to respond to their specific context and cohorts.
The diagram below shows how these three elements link and apply to curriculum, teaching and assessment, including where local elements connect:
The diagram below shows how these three elements link and apply to curriculum, teaching and assessment, including where local elements connect:
