Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

Every school can build a curriculum that meets the needs and interests of its young people, a curriculum that inspires and challenges, a curriculum that prepares children for life now and in the future.

QCA has been visiting schools and talking with teachers and young people about how they bring their curriculum to life. These schools' stories show the flexibility that exists in the curriculum and share ideas about the different ways of putting together an excellent curriculum.

Read some of the stories we have collected below.

Using real and realistic learning contexts

Making learning REAL
Children at Bealings Primary School learn through extended role-play exercises, using Realistic Experiences for Active Learning (REAL).

Working together

When special meets mainstream
Baytree Special School's new curriculum links with a local comprehensive have benefited all of the students involved.

Parent power
Argyle Primary School in Central London has found that involving parents in planning the curriculum is a great help in engaging the children in their learning.

Creatively organised learning

Taking a team approach
Setting up curriculum teams has fostered a spirit of creativity and experimentation throughout South Farnborough Infant School.

 

A fresh approach to curriculum design
Chafford Hundred Campus is a secondary school that has designed a personalised curriculum around competences, and never looked back.

Using technology for learning

Teach virtually everything
Students at South Bromsgrove High School Technology College use a virtual learning environment to support their learning across the curriculum.

 Radio active learning
This primary school has set up its own radio station and made it an integral part of the pupils' learning.

Technology at the centre
Seamless ICT provision can reveal the relevance of the curriculum and unlock students' enthusiasm for learning.

Rethinking time

The timetable-free school
What happens to learning when teachers and learners themselves decide when it starts and stops?

Ahead of time
Gawthorpe Primary School in Yorkshire has found that innovating with the timetable can transform pupils' learning.

Local inspiration

Turning children on to learning
Turning their school into an art gallery has helped to turn children on to learning at Quethiock CofE VA School.

Valuing education

Added values
Two very different schools, one primary and one secondary, have discovered how values education can be a potent and rewarding form of school improvement.

A values blueprint
With careful planning, West Kidlington Primary School has embedded specific values in its curriculum, causing a 'quiet revolution' that has enabled learners to think, understand, behave and learn better. The school's blueprint for change included in this leaflet may be helpful for schools thinking about similar curriculum innovation.

Working together

  A student democracy
At Lawrence Sheriff School, a boys' secondary in Rugby, students' views influence everything from staff appointments to strategic direction.

 

Knocking down walls
An open environment at Gawthorpe Primary School in Yorkshire enables children to choose what and where they learn.