This book offers comprehensive guidance to support those involved in primary education in developing the curriculum to meet the requirements of the new Ofsted (2019) framework. It addresses key issues such as the purposes of the curriculum, how to organise the curriculum, and the balance between knowledge and skills. It also goes beyond basic requirements, emphasizing the importance of a creative, child-centred and enquiry-based curriculum which is suited to the context of school communities. Responding to the increased emphasis on the quality of pupils’ education, the book supports trainees, teachers and school leaders in developing and implementing an ambitious and diverse curriculum, including working with all stakeholders and offering practical strategies and solutions. It empowers practitioners to reclaim the curriculum by designing one which reflects the values and context of the school.

This book offers comprehensive guidance to support those involved in primary education in developing the curriculum to meet the requirements of the new Ofsted (2019) framework. It addresses key issues such as the purposes of the curriculum, how to organise the curriculum, and the balance between knowledge and skills. It also goes beyond basic requirements, emphasizing the importance of a creative, child-centred and enquiry-based curriculum which is suited to the context of school communities. Responding to the increased emphasis on the quality of pupils’ education, the book supports trainees, teachers and school leaders in developing and implementing an ambitious and diverse curriculum, including working with all stakeholders and offering practical strategies and solutions. It empowers practitioners to reclaim the curriculum by designing one which reflects the values and context of the school.

The challenge of overcoming educational inequality in the United States can sometimes appear overwhelming, and great controversy exists as to whether or not elementary schools are up to the task, whether they can ameliorate existing social inequalities and initiate opportunities for economic and civic flourishing for all children. This book shows what can happen when you rethink schools from the ground up with precisely these goals in mind, approaching educational inequality and its entrenched causes head on, student by student. Drawing on an in-depth study of real schools on the South Side of Chicago, Elizabeth McGhee Hassrick, Stephen W. Raudenbush, and Lisa Rosen argue that effectively meeting the challenge of educational inequality requires a complete reorganization of institutional structures as well as wholly new norms, values, and practices that are animated by a relentless commitment to student learning. They examine a model that pulls teachers out of their isolated classrooms and places them into collaborative environments where they can share their curricula, teaching methods, and assessments of student progress with a school-based network of peers, parents, and other professionals. Within this structure, teachers, school leaders, social workers, and parents collaborate to ensure that every child receives instruction tailored to his or her developing skills. Cooperating schools share new tools for assessment and instruction and become sites for the training of new teachers. Parents become respected partners, and expert practitioners work with researchers to evaluate their work and refine their models for educational organization and practice. The authors show not only what such a model looks like but the dramatic results it produces for student learning and achievement. The result is a fresh, deeply informed, and remarkably clear portrait of school reform that directly addresses the real problems of educational inequality.

Detailed accounts of two influential initiatives of the 1990s, whose educational and political lessons remain highly relevant: systemic and pedagogic reform in one of Britain’s largest cities, and the controversial ‘three wise men’ government enquiry into primary teaching to which it led. Alexander's controversial and widely-read report on primary education in Leeds has now been revised as a major study of policy initiatives in primary education and their impact on practice. The book examines an ambitious programme of local reform aimed at improving teaching and learning in the primary schools of one of Britain's largest cities. It addresses important questions about children's needs, the curriculum, classroom practice and school management. When first published, Robin Alexander's report was hailed as `seminal' and `the most important document since Plowden' but it was also quoted and misquoted in support of widely opposed political and media agendas. This new edition retains Part I from the first edition, detailing the impact of Leeds LEA's programme for educational reform. However, it also provides a totally new and greatly extended Part II, which gives an insider's account of the sequel to the Leeds report - the government's 1992 'three wise men' report. There is also a new introduction.

Together with Leah Crawford, Angela Jenkins and Julie Sargent, Bob Cox has compiled this rich resource, complete with vivid illustrations by Victoria Cox, to help teachers enhance their learners' engagement with challenging texts and develop their writing skills as budding wordsmiths.Working in association with the Opening Doors network of schools, the authors address the vital concept of pitching high but including all pupils and how this approach can be delivered in practice. Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary Englishexplains and models top quality ways of thinking, planning and teaching. Theresources, case studies andauthors' innovative ideas on theorywill help you to make primary English vibrant, creative and challenging in your school. It alsoprovides frameworks and principlesfor any school wishing to be more ambitious in developing pupils' speaking, listening, reading, writing and thinking witha greater sense of curiosity and more originality. Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary Englishcontains chapter by chapter explanations of how English in primary schools can be developed in ambitious ways. Supported by research references, examples of pupils' work and illuminating case studies, the book provides teachers with a toolkit of strategies which schools can adapt and apply to their own contexts. The book is supported by the Opening Doors series of books which contain units of work based around selected texts. The authors hope this book will act as a starting block from which to develop an Opening Doors approach to English, and havesuggested key concepts around which the curriculum can be built, with the units providing examples to work from. Suitable for teachers and curriculum leads in primary settings.

Authentic School Improvement for Authentic Leaders charts a full improvement journey of a school from a ‘Requires Improvement’ Ofsted rating, through a second, to a resounding ‘Good’. It reveals the impact that a school leader can have on the motivation and engagement of teachers, parents and pupils and how this translates not just to their overall happiness, but on academic standards and systemic, long-lasting school improvement whilst maintaining their own well-being. Bringing together a wide range of accessible and relatable school improvement practices, the chapters cover all aspects of school leadership, from operational systems to academic standards and staff morale to pupil numbers. Full of strategies, takeaways, observations and anecdotes, the book illustrates that being authentic and leading with integrity is possible for all and provides tangible results that may support positive Ofsted outcomes but are not driven by them. Including a Foreword by Ross Morrison McGill, this is essential reading for all headteachers and senior leaders in primary and secondary, mainstream and specialist, maintained and academy schools.

2018 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Ambitious Science Teaching outlines a powerful framework for science teaching to ensure that instruction is rigorous and equitable for students from all backgrounds. The practices presented in the book are being used in schools and districts that seek to improve science teaching at scale, and a wide range of science subjects and grade levels are represented. The book is organized around four sets of core teaching practices: planning for engagement with big ideas; eliciting student thinking; supporting changes in students’ thinking; and drawing together evidence-based explanations. Discussion of each practice includes tools and routines that teachers can use to support students’ participation, transcripts of actual student-teacher dialogue and descriptions of teachers’ thinking as it unfolds, and examples of student work. The book also provides explicit guidance for “opportunity to learn” strategies that can help scaffold the participation of diverse students. Since the success of these practices depends so heavily on discourse among students, Ambitious Science Teaching includes chapters on productive classroom talk. Science-specific skills such as modeling and scientific argument are also covered. Drawing on the emerging research on core teaching practices and their extensive work with preservice and in-service teachers, Ambitious Science Teaching presents a coherent and aligned set of resources for educators striving to meet the considerable challenges that have been set for them.

Schools across the world are struggling to balance the statutory requirements of a National Curriculum with their desire to provide the wide, engaging and exciting curriculum that they know children need. Concerns about standards often lead to a narrowing of the curriculum and many schools lack the confidence and approach to design that would enable them to resolve what seems like an impossible dilemma. In this authoritative yet engaging book, Brian Male looks at how schools can meet the requirements of a National Curriculum and yet be flexible enough to meet the needs, interests and concerns of pupils, to be rooted in their lives and localities and to give scope for teachers to use their own creativity. The Primary Curriculum Design Handbook is a practical guide on how to design a curriculum that will engage children's interest, excite their imaginations and at the same time provide them with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to live successfully in the 21st Century.

Without conscious consideration of diversity in the curriculum, there is a danger that teachers fall back on a narrow syllabus. Trainee and new teachers need support to expand their knowledge and understanding of the curriculum to enable them to make active choices to ensure diversity in what they teach. This book explains why and how diversity can be taught through the primary National Curriculum. It includes practical examples of good practice and realistic straightforward ideas and resources to support new teachers to go into the classroom ready to bring diverse voices and learning to their teaching.