Curriculum jargon buster
Know your 'intent' from your 'implementation'? Your 'substantive' from your 'disciplinary'? Check how much you know about these and other key terms. Share our handout with staff to help them brush up on their curriculum knowledge too.
Last reviewed on 8 May 2025
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 37684Intent, implementation and impact
| | Intent | Implementation | Impact |
| Definition |
What you want pupils to know and to be able to do. It's not a vision or mission statement
| How you teach your intended curriculum | The extent to which pupils have learned what you intended them to learn, and how you know this |
| Examples |
- A long-term plan (such as a curriculum map), showing the knowledge and skills you want pupils to gain at each stage and by the end of their time at school
- Your rationale for why you've made these choices
|
- Teaching methods
- Classroom resources
- Sequencing and structure
- Assessment
|
- Outcomes in externally set assessments
- Pupils' destinations (e.g. further or higher education or employment)
- Conversations with pupils that demonstrate they know, can do, and remember more than they did before
|
Breadth of curriculum
Depth of curriculum
Definition
The range of subjects taught across the whole curriculum, and the span of knowledge within each subject
How deeply specific topics within each subject are studied
Examples
A broad curriculum focuses on all curriculum subjects (e.g. art, PE, PSHE) not just core