In the renewed focus on curriculum, OfSTED were moving more in-line with what good teachers had known for years: what you teach matters.
The education system in England & Wales has been particularly susceptible to a plethora of initiatives, some more respectable than others. At the start of my career “Brain Gym” was seen as a respectable approach to teaching and learning; one remembers being in a room full of educated adults rubbing their ears and waving their arms about in an attempt to activate parts of the brain. Of course, there was no proof that any of this worked. At best this type of thing was a distraction but in reality it probably created damage to many young people.
A high-quality curriculum is vital for young people. That curriculum must include engaging with the big ideas in religion, history, science, politics, economics and the wider culture. These ideas need to be encountered in a thoughtful, intellectual manner. Students must be taught to question and to look at alternative interpretations, not to swallow the pre-packaged thinking of adults they encounter.
It is building this high-quality, deep knowledge that will allow students to thrive in the subject but also in other subjects and the wider world. People ask why we have a social mobility problem. One of the reasons is that the diet of knowledge in the curriculum has for for too long been at such a low level. The CTC curriculum will remedy this.
Our CTC English Curriculum will comprise of several different strands:
- Literary Terms & Concepts
- Ideas in Context (Economic, Social, Historical, Theological and Political Ideas that enhance Literary & Linguistic Study)
- Linguistic Terms & Approaches
- Grammatical Terms & Approaches
We will be launching materials, schemes of work, podcasts and CPD for teachers and students so that they can access our vibrant curriculum structure. Our curriculum documents will be ideal for helping you structure your own curriculum and make it fit your very own context.
If you are looking to create positive change in your school or academy then maybe we should talk more?
