“Keep it Simple, Stupid” – KISS

In creating, implementing and maintaining anything, especially complex delivery systems, a great directive I was given as a younger manager was to ‘keep things as simple as possible.’    I remember my headteacher telling me, when trying to implement an assessment system where staff were struggling just to cope with the entry system, the technology […]

Curriculum Modelling: Cycle Design

The pandemic period has brought a number of things into focus for school leaders. One I have been asked most about over the past few months is what is going on in curriculum modelling cycle design. Within the secondary curriculum modelling understanding there is the characteristic of a number of organised sessions over a defined number of days into which we plan for the learning experiences to be scheduled with specialist staff. 

What will be normal?

So much change within the passing of weeks; the use of ‘unprecedented times’ has been over-used perhaps but we are certainly in unusual times and only time will tell its long term impact. Do you remember the video that did the rounds in the early part of the new millennium ‘Shift Happens?’ If ever we […]

Generalism to specialism

In considering the purpose of curriculum design methodology I often describe three stages of design in the following way. Initially, learning is generalist in characteristic. What I mean is that all learners experience the same spectrum of disciplines as a foundation for future learning. How long does this stage last? Within the UK system it […]

The three Es of curriculum modelling

Over the past 10 years of reviewing curriculum design, I have tried to make a clear distinction between curriculum design in terms of the elements that make a broad and balanced curriculum, teaching and learning strategies and structural analysis. All are important but each should not be confused with the other. SMARTcurriculum® focuses on is […]