Curriculum Management

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Conceptual Model

The Curriculum module structures your school’s educational provision through a clear, auditable four-tier academic hierarchy:

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Hierarchy Breakdown

1. Subjects: The academic disciplines taught within your school (e.g. Mathematics, English Literature, Biology, History, Art & Design). Each subject is assigned a dedicated Subject Editor and Subject Publisher.
2. Academic Years: The year group cohorts defined across your school (e.g. Reception, Year 1 through Year 13).
3. Programmes of Study: The specific curriculum delivered for a subject in a given year group (e.g. Year 9 Chemistry). Programmes can be enabled or disabled depending on whether the subject is offered to that cohort.
4. Units of Work: The individual, sequentially ordered teaching modules delivered within a programme of study. Units define timeframes (e.g. 6 Weeks / 18 Hours), core narrative descriptions, formative and summative assessment strategies, and enrichment metadata.

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The Dual-State Drafting & Publishing Engine

Curriculum design is an iterative process requiring collaboration among teachers and rigorous oversight from subject leaders. To prevent unapproved or half-finished changes from appearing on public websites or parent portals, The module employs a dual-state drafting engine:

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How Dual-State Publishing Works

• Parallel Draft Fields: Every major unit attribute maintains two states in the database: the live Published version (title, time, description, assessment, careers, independent, stretch, smsc_individual, smsc_community, spirituality_within, spirituality_around, spirituality_beyond) and the working Draft version (title_new, description_new, etc.).
• Visual Difference Modal: When editing any field, clicking the field opens a dedicated modal displaying the current published text, the draft editor, character counters (with 255-character limits for titles/time and 2048-character limits for descriptions), and a real-time Visual Difference pane highlighting exact word additions and deletions.
• Controlled Publication: Subject Editors can freely refine drafts and save them for review. Only users with publishing authority (Subject Publisher or Curriculum Manager) can click Publish to promote draft content into the live published state.
• Instant Cache Invalidation: When changes are published, the module automatically clears the relevant curriculum caches, ensuring that parent portals, website API consumers, and PDF exports reflect the latest approved version immediately.

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Curriculum Enrichment Dimensions

Beyond core lesson sequencing, the module allows teachers to embed statutory and pastoral dimensions directly into every unit of work:

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1. SMSC & Fundamental British Values

Units can be tagged against the four statutory pillars of SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural development) and fundamental British Values:

• Spiritual: Reflecting on beliefs, experiencing fascination, creativity, and self-reflection.
• Moral: Understanding consequences, distinguishing right from wrong, ethical reasoning.
• Social: Using social skills, engaging in diverse social contexts, active citizenship.
• Cultural: Appreciating cultural influences, participating in artistic and cultural opportunities, celebrating diversity.
• SMSC Impact Statements: Dedicated fields for Individual SMSC and Community SMSC allow teachers to record contextual impact narratives.

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2. The Three-Dimensional Spirituality Framework

To support faith-based schools, church academies (SIAMS), and holistic personal development frameworks, units can capture spiritual opportunities across three distinct dimensions:

• Within (Self): Opportunities for personal reflection, exploring inner identity, personal beliefs, values, and mindfulness.
• Around (World): Developing awe, wonder, and curiosity about the natural environment, human society, and scientific phenomena.
• Beyond (Transcendence): Exploring ultimate questions of purpose, meaning, faith, and mystery.

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3. Careers & Gatsby Benchmarks

Schools have a statutory duty to link curriculum learning to careers (Gatsby Benchmark 4). The dedicated Careers field records vocational applications, workplace scenarios, and employer encounter links directly within the unit.

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4. Independent Learning & Stretch Activities

• Independent Study: Guidance on independent homework, preparatory reading, and research tasks that reinforce classroom learning.
• Extension and Stretch: High-challenge activities designed to deepen understanding and stretch the highest-attaining learners.

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5. Subject Vocabulary & Tiered Glossaries

• Explicit Lexicon Tracking: Build a centralised bank of Tier 2 (academic cross-curricular) and Tier 3 (domain-specific technical) vocabulary for each subject.
• Unit Associations: Attach relevant vocabulary terms to specific units of work.
• Shared Glossary: Reuse terms across units and key stages, providing progressive definitions appropriate to pupil age.
• Spreadsheet Import & Export: Bulk import hundreds of subject terms from Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx or .csv) with validation.

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6. Curated Web Resources (KCSIE Compliant)

• Catalogue vetted, high-quality educational websites and multimedia resources directly within units.
• Each web resource includes a direct link, descriptive label, and verification flag ensuring resources align with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) online safety and filtering standards.

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Roles & Permissions Matrix

The module uses role-based access control to enforce clear segregation between curriculum authoring, editorial approval, and governance oversight:

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Operational Screen Tour

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1. Subject Overview Matrix (/curriculum/subjects)

The central curriculum hub displays all active school subjects in a searchable, filterable table:

• Departmental Roles: View assigned Subject Editor and Subject Publisher for each discipline.
• Quick Filters & Search: Search by subject title or filter by specific editor or publisher.
• School-Wide Excel Exports: Generate school-wide master spreadsheets for SMSC, Spirituality, Careers, Independent Learning, and Extension & Stretch with one click.
• Central Sync Indicators: Visual indicators showing subjects synchronised with central MAT templates.

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2. Subject Dashboard (/curriculum/subjects/{subject})

Clicking any subject opens its departmental dashboard:

• Academic Year Grid: Visual matrix of all active year groups and their associated units count, vocabulary count, and online resource totals.
• Subject-Level Excel Exports: Download department-specific spreadsheets for SMSC, Spirituality, Careers, Independent Learning, Extension, and Capabilities.
• PDF Curriculum Export: Generate a clean, branded PDF curriculum document for the entire subject.

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3. Programme of Study (/curriculum/programmes/{programme})

Accessible by clicking a specific year group within a subject (e.g. Science: Year 8):

• Delivery Toggle: Enable or disable delivery for this specific year cohort.
• Drag-and-Drop Sequencing: Reorder units of work sequentially using drag handles to reflect your termly scheme of work.
• Unit Summary Cards: Inspect unit titles, time allocations, draft indicators, vocabulary counts, and resource links.
• Create Unit: Add new units of work with preset defaults.

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4. Unit Workspace & Dual-State Editor (/curriculum/units/{unit})

The primary authoring environment for teachers and subject leads:

• Field Editors: Click any field (Title, Duration, Description, Assessment, Careers, Stretch, SMSC, Spirituality) to launch the editing modal.
• Character Counters & Visual Diff: Track character usage and inspect exact diff highlights against published text.
• SMSC & Spirituality Cards: Toggle statutory criteria and enter reflective commentary.
• Assessment Objectives & Exam Aspects: Link specific assessment objectives and paper aspects to the unit.
• Vocabulary & Websites Links: Direct shortcuts to the unit’s linked glossary terms and vetted web links.

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5. Subject Glossary & Vocabulary Hub (/curriculum/units/{unit}/glossary)

• Search and filter vocabulary linked to the unit or view the full subject dictionary.
• Attach or detach terms with a single click.
• Create new terms with comprehensive definitions and example sentences.
• Bulk import vocabulary via formatted Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx).

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6. Academic Years Administration (/curriculum/admin/years)

Accessible to Curriculum Managers and Administrators:

• Enable or disable school academic year groups (e.g. Nursery, Reception, Year 1 to Year 13).
• Configure global curriculum settings.

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Automated Notification Schedule

The Curriculum module maintains proactive momentum and departmental accountability through automated email notifications:

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Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) & Central Synchronisation

For Multi-Academy Trusts, federations, and diocesan education boards operating across multiple schools:

• Centrally Synchronised Subject Frameworks: Trust curriculum directors can define master subject structures, core vocabulary lexicons, and statutory SMSC expectations at the central tenant level.
• Automated Daily Sync: Updates to central templates automatically propagate to all connected school curriculum databases.
• Local School Adaptation: While core subject frameworks and central standards remain synchronised, local school departments retain autonomy over unit sequencing, local teacher assignments, and tailored delivery timeframes.

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Deep-Dive Guides & Next Steps