Why paperwork matters

Curriculum documentation. Paperwork. The devil in the detail. If you are reading this article, then you are either looking for inspiration on how to better communicate your curriculum ideas to your staff … or ran out of sheep to count. The latter glib point highlights an issue in schools: many teachers view the business of paperwork as dull and pointless. We are told about being inspiring curriculum leaders with little or no voice given to the less exciting aspect of curriculum management.

But aren’t leadership and management the same thing? Well, no. Leadership is getting your team to see why the plates need to spin; management is keeping the plates spinning in the long term. Good leadership is underpinned by thoughtful management. Good management gives time and energy to be a better leader.

Why you need good documentation

How often have you observed a lesson, discussed your subject, or conducted a book look to be disappointed to see your carefully designed curriculum not happening? Or emailed by a colleague asking for clarification on an aspect of curriculum? Then resisted the urge to (hopefully) metaphorically bang your head on the desk as you only emailed everyone last month with the answer.

These issues are indicative of poor communication. Yes, you may have emailed repeatedly, but is there a single codified store of everything a teacher needs to teach your subject? Whilst email has its uses, can you be sure staff read it or read it at a time when they could properly digest the contents? And if they did, did they connect this message up with the contents of the six other emails you have sent over the last year or so? If they keep asking, then no they did not.

Therefore subjects need to codify their curriculums into one single document. A document that has had time invested; not a quick email fired out in response to a staff request. A document that is a magnum opus, not a reactive collage of cumulative snippets.

Codify: (verb) arrange (laws or rules) into a systematic code. arrangement, assortment, cataloguing (or cataloguing), categorization, classification, indexing

Build it and they will come

Having identified the need, what should go into these documents and how should we build them? In short, everything. Everything a teacher needs to teach your subject in the way you intend for them to teach it.

Whilst we are writing for our teachers, we can solve two problems with one solution by using the OFSTED areas of Intent, Implementation and Impact just in case we must Deep Dive the subject. This is management: workings smart instead of harder.

The Intent should capture your starting point for the subject. At the end of Year 6 what will a child have learnt in the broad term? It could be being able to have informed conversations about religions and the worldviews they inform; or understanding where they fit in the greater history of our nation and planet. What words do you need to complete this sentence: Our [subject] Curriculum equips children with the knowledge and skills to be [adjective], [adjective] and [adjective]. Capture your Intent in a sentence and then explain it in a paragraph underneath. Explain how your subject is linked to other areas of learning and allows children to show off their skills from other areas of learning. If appropriate, describe how you intend for your subject to help keep children safe and/or healthy. Aim to keep this whole section to one side of A4. If you cannot, then it can show that your vision for the subject is too broad or needs further refinement.

The Implementation is where the bulk of the document is craft. This is where you can start copying and pasting from all those emails you sent. Capture everything a teacher needs to know about teaching a lesson of the subject you lead. This should be a one-stop shop of answers and will need updating when staff ask for clarification or advice. Whilst different subjects have different needs, there are some core points to explain.

Where is your curriculum from? Outline if it is bought in or adapted so staff can do further research into the background if needed with the correct vocabulary. Explain terminology to aid the reader. If you keep referring to chronological or hermeneutical within the section, tell staff what you mean by this before they then read it repeatedly. Explain any terms that you wish staff to use in lessons: key words, phrases or preferred terms. Give a broad outline of what is taught in each year. You can signpost to the appropriate appendix that includes the full curriculum map – more on appendices later.  

Some subjects are built around enquiry questions or unit model. Set this out in tables or bullet points. Then teachers can have your document open on one side of their screen as they plan on the other. If you have planning templates, include a blank and an annotated, completed example (or WAGOLL) in an appendix.

As a final aid, write out a one page “How to teach a [-] unit”:

·        How many lessons should be a unit?

·        What pre-teaching is needed for the unit? Or what Lesson 1 routines, like completing a retrieval quiz or timeline, are needed for every unit.

·        What would you like to see in every or most lessons? Concrete equipment, map work, primary sources…

·        The expectation for work in books. How much at each Key Stage?

·        How and when should learning be assessed?

Impact. This section may be shorter than you expect. Outline (again) your expectations for the work produced by children with lots of detail. Include photos of work or WAGOLLs. Give guidance on formative and summative assessment of learning – especially on how this is conducted at KS1 when children may not be writing. Explain what is expected at the end of the unit. If you are using Age Related Expectations, put these in an appendix for ease of navigation.

Appendices. A tool not to be forgotten from university essays. If it is necessary, or even just helpful, stick it in an appendix. Then staff can quickly locate the information without endless scrolling.

Down with Comic Sans!

If you are SLT and reading this: help out your subject leaders and send them a template of the agreed school document. It will aid in writing, checking that the writing is cohesive and in reading. Staff will save time if they know where to always find the answer to X question in all your curriculum documents.

Think of your readers. Can new staff read and digest the document? Explain a concept and then give an example in Italics. Do not let sections become muddled: press Ctrl + Enter to insert a Page Break. Use Section Breaks so portrait and landscape pages can be mixed. And ditch the Comic Sans. If you want your ideas to be taken seriously present your writing in a serious manner. When your document is ready, do not print or email out copies. Send a link to the “live” version which you are updating.

With your message codified staff will now have a place to find all their answers. An insightful and inspiring read – not a read for when all the sheep are counted.