Curriculum is front and centre of all school improvement planning and senior leaders are now required to evaluate ‘Intent, implementation and impact.’ However, whilst this shift in focus is welcome, it creates a new set of problems for school leaders. How can we avoid turning deep curriculum thinking into yet another accountability checklist and avoid the horror of talking about intent or impact at every meeting. How can we avoid the curse of genercism and lack of subject expertise from SLT to ensure our curriculum conversations are authentic and valuable.

School improvement is often described as technically simple but socially complex. In a bid to make the complex simple school leaders often distort good intentions into process-driven tasks. The unintended consequence of this is that subjects are often reduced to lists of content to be delivered and mechanical instruments such as Knowledge Organisers are written and mandated but no-one really knows why or how.

This session will look at how senior leaders can make informed curriculum decisions outside their subject expertise that allow for a centralised vision of curriculum to be realised within authentic subject thinking. It will address four key questions every senior leader should be able to focus on, all revolving around a core idea – the centrality of the curriculum to the school experience:

1. What is our vision for curriculum thinking and how do we know this is happening across all subject areas?

2. How can we ensure convergent and not divergent curriculum planning when we lack domain expertise?

3. How can we model authentic curriculum thinking to allow for subject autonomy within a centrally prescribed vision?

4. How do I know that the prescribed subject curriculum is fit for purpose when I don’t teach that subject?

Speaker Bio

Oli Knight is currently Principal at Ark Acton Academy. Ark Acton is at the start of its improvement journey and serves a disadvantaged community in West London. Prior to this Oli was the head at Phoenix Academy, taking the school from Special Measures to Good in 18 months and increasing combined outcomes in English and Maths from 39% to 64% in two years. Before joining Phoenix, Oli was the Head at Greenwich Free School, taking the school from Requires Improvement to Good and securing an English and Maths pass rate at Grade 5+ of 66%. Oli has an obsession with curriculum design and subject thinking and how schools can develop a disciplinary curriculum model that does not distort or blend subject specialisms whilst securing coherence and a whole-school vision.