I have been fortunate enough to have worked with Chris in two secondary schools on curriculum design and implementation. His expertise and knowledge within this area is second to none and he has been instrumental in transforming our curriculum and pupil experiences. Chris took the time to understand the needs of our pupils, combined with our budgetary and staffing constraints, to remodel our curriculum and optimise our efficiency. The support that he has provided, and the dashboards developed, have revolutionised our year on year tracking and staffing analysis. 

I cannot recommend highly enough the work of Chris and his team in supporting schools in their curriculum analysis and development.

In the last year CJ Learning have provided SMARTcurriculum for School Business & Finance Leaders training to headteachers, deputies and central finance staff in the Trust. I would say that this has been the most effective and useful training on ICFP for our senior leaders, because it starts with the curriculum and is delivered by someone who has a depth of experience and knowledge in curriculum and its organisation and management. We could have delivered training starting with the budget and related that back to staffing deployment etc, but this would not have engaged colleagues in the same way.

This training has made a significant impact on senior leaders and how they see the link between the classroom and the budget. For the first time ever we have deputy headteachers keen to be involved in budget review meetings with the central finance team, as they now fully understand the implications of curriculum decisions on budget. Would thoroughly recommend this training for senior leaders as it will help bridge the gap between curriculum and budgets.

I have worked with Chris for many years on integrated curriculum and finance models across a range of primary, secondary and special schools and in both large and small academy trusts. His wealth of experience, detailed knowledge and understanding of curriculum, qualifications, timetabling and teaching means that this is never just a financial exercise. Every Headteacher with whom I have asked him to work has really valued the dialogue, challenge, support and professionalism Chris brings to all aspects of his work. So much so that he is always asked to return. Chris is equally great at reporting at board level on ICFP across a MAT and demonstrating ways in which schools have carefully considered their curriculum/budget models to ensure efficiency but, with the guidance Chris provides a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum. This level of expertise is not easily found in the sector at the moment. I would recommend Chris and his team every time.

I commend the SMARTcurriculum App to you as an excellent way to help school leaders target financial resources for maximum impact.

It has been an invaluable tool for up-skilling my leadership team.
Has changed the way we think about curriculum planning, teacher deployment and support staff management

In a few months we have identified curriculum enhancements to the value of £145,000

Most importantly we have a clear road map to ensure that every penny we spend on staffing can be properly measured in terms of outcomes for our young people

I am aware of other tools in use by schools that are free. However, we have appreciated the support available from CJ-Learning, the simplicity of the data entry process and the power of the analysis provided by the App.
We have also had easy access to consultants with headship experience who really understand the challenges faced by schools.

Gave us excellent insight into curriculum development. Chris is committed to improving curriculum design within the constraints of school budgets. His support is invaluable in helping us to achieve our aims and objectives in relation to curriculum, development and improving outcomes.

CJ Learning were recommended to us and we commissioned them to undertake a full curriculum review to ensure effectiveness as well as value for money. The structured thought process and recommendations have enabled us to immediately put in place a curriculum offer that maintains breadth as well as quality. Additional staffing periods will now enable us to instigate a coaching model for those new to teaching as well as additional support for our most vulnerable students. Highly recommended!

I have been extremely impressed by the work of Chris and his team which has enabled the school to redesign our curriculum to ensure that it is not only effective in terms of delivering a curriculum that it fit for purpose but has also assisted the school in being able to achieve significant financial savings.

The SMARTcurriculum App is clear and has given our school leaders, governors and Trustees information about the school in terms of staffing, curriculum and timetabling that in the past has not been possible.