Curriculum (primary)

Strong curriculum leadership needs the right conditions to thrive. Kat Howard – senior leader at an all-through and author on this topic – sets out steps to create the perfect climate for curriculum work, from making time to have the conversation, to checking gaps in knowledge. Drawing on her experience, she shares effective ways you can support, educate and challenge your subject leaders to develop curriculum excellence at your school.

Get to grips with how to create a curriculum for your foundation subjects that’s every bit as ambitious and well-designed as for your core subjects. Primary school deputy headteacher Andrew Percival shares the key actions that leaders can take to develop and strengthen their foundation subjects, check recall and review content, with examples from his school of what this looks like in practice.

Learn how Victoria Academies Trust rolled out its challenge-based curriculum across schools to drive Ofsted improvement, and how you can apply this approach to your trust.

Get everyone on the same page when it comes to a love of reading, and be inspired to create a school-wide book buzz with these strategies, resources and initiatives from schools and organisations.

Learn what approaches you can use alongside phonics, and who might need that extra support. Get ideas from a special school that offers a range of methods to help its pupils access the curriculum.

Whole-class reading is a different approach to 'carousel' reading sessions. Learn how whole-class reading can work and how to introduce it in your school.

By starting with a review of your curriculum intent and vision, develop a primary maths curriculum that encourages all pupils to be enthusiastic mathematicians. Shannen Doherty explains 5 strategies you can use to create a highly effective curriculum that will excite your pupils. Learn how to really embed the use of models and mental strategies, plus how to place problem solving at the heart of maths lessons.

Download our list of maths vocabulary for Key Stage (KS) 1 and KS2 of the National Curriculum, to help you check your pupils' understanding of new vocabulary introduced in years 1 to 6.

Find out when to use medium and long-term plans, and see examples and resources for planning your maths curriculum.

Learn how to create a computing curriculum that will equip your pupils with digital skills for life. Director of digital learning, Cheryl Shirley, shares top tips on how to structure your curriculum, embed computing in other subjects and upskill your staff on the trickiest parts of teaching the subject. Cheryl also signposts a number of resources to support teachers and enhance teaching.

Find out what goes into creating a dynamic RE curriculum, and how to do it yourself. Adam Smith takes you through the key considerations when designing your curriculum. Learn how to strike a balance between breadth and depth, nurture concepts and stories across the Key Stages, and assess your RE curriculum.

Strip your geography curriculum back to basics and focus on the fundamentals that will help all pupils succeed. Emma Lennard explains how to introduce and build on these key skills across the primary curriculum, and suggests ways to make best use of your local area to provide your pupils with all of the skills they’ll need to become successful geographers.