Future School – The Curriculum Challenge
What the resource is:
A fifteen minute Teachers TV programme outlining progress on the development of the curriculum for Hadley Learning Community (HLC), a newly designed and constructed extended school in Telford which includes both primary and secondary phases within the same building.
The aims of the resource:
The programme is part of suite of ten programmes (at the time of writing) following the progress of the school and its staff as they prepare for the opening of this ‘school of the future'. This programme focuses on the challenges in developing a curriculum which meets the needs of the children across two phases of schooling by examining the development of the secondary timetable and the inclusion of English across the primary and secondary curriculum.
Key findings or focus:Two key issues are identified within the programme: that curriculum planning is most effective when it is conducted as a collaborative process and that secondary teachers tend to have a stigma about referring to literacy within the curriculum and have a lot to learn from primary colleagues. In addition, teaching staff are finding they need to develop a shared vocabulary as they are not always familiar with the acronyms and abbreviations which are common parlance within another age phase. Primary colleagues are concerned that the secondary curriculum will dominate and non core subject leaders are anxious that sufficient time and attention is paid to their subjects.
Many of the issues which are identified are similar to those which most schools have to face when devising, constructing and timetabling a curriculum. Some attention is paid in the programme to the particular issues which this extended cross-phase school is facing but apart from those mentioned above the majority of the programme is devoted to the development of the secondary timetable, thereby reinforcing the anxieties expressed by the vice principal for the primary phase that this seems to be taking priority.
The programme is in some ways reassuring that the sorts of issues which this school is facing are not unfamiliar, but the programme seems to overlook the issues associated with development of a cross-phase, extended curriculum which one might expect to be a particular feature of this school's development.
The quality, authority and credibility of the resource:
Teachers TV has gained a reputation for making focused and pertinent programmes of interest to teachers, parents, pupils and educators. This programme forms part of a series examining the development of this school of the future. Clearly, the staff have allowed the programme makers to have unrestricted access to meetings and discussions and the views of key members of the management team are presented through talking-head clips. There is a ‘fly-on-the-wall' reality-TV feel to the programme which suggests the editing has attempted to follow the issues which were predominant for the staff during the filming period. The comments of one staff member that he felt the curriculum development process should have started earlier lends weight to this assumption.
The implications for ITE tutors/mentors:
The principal audience for this programme could well be those involved in curriculum management within a secondary school. Hence, tutors engaged in CPD for managers might find the programme of interest. It might be useful in showing ITE students the ways in which a school curriculum is negotiated and discussed and how subject leaders are often forced to fight their corner and justify a share of the curriculum. To some extent, the programme raises the issue of cross-phase progression and communication by raising questions rather than proposing solutions. This programme might therefore compensate those students or trainees who have not been provided with opportunities to participate in or observe departmental or school management meetings.
The relevance to ITE students and trainees:
As indicated above, ITE students may find the programme of general interest, particularly if viewed in conjunction with others in the same series. The programme provides an opportunity for students to observe procedures for the development of a curriculum and a timetable for a typical secondary school and gain some insight into the micro politics of a school and senior staff in its various departments. However, some of the more situation specific issues related to planning for an extended curriculum to ensure continuity, coherence and progression through phases of schooling are touched upon but not explored in any depth in this programme.
Reviewed by:
Richard (Rik) Bennett
Keywords
Curriculum development, timetable, secondary, primary, extended schools, literacy, mathematics, whole school development, school leadership, curriculum leadership.
Article published to :
Topic Area
Teaching and Learning, Whole School
QTS Standards
Q15 Know and understand the relevant statutory and non-statutory curricula, frameworks, Q3 (b) Be aware of the policies and practices of the workplace, Q32 Work as a team member and identify opportunities for working with colleagues, sharing the development of effective practice with them, Q6 Have a commitment to collaboration and co-operative working, S1.5 Contribute to and share responsibly in the corporate life of schools
Type of Resource
Bennett, Richard (Rik), Teachers TV, Video
Education
Curriculum, English
Authors :
Teachers TV
Source :
http://www.teachers.tv/video/3172
Publisher :
Teachers TV
Article Id :
13749
Date Posted:
27/10/2007