One thing I've seen in a lot of curriculum development efforts is a certain level of ambition that, once schools begin to implement their intended curriculum, is then found to be unrealistic.

It's great to be ambitious. It's right to think about just how far teachers and children can go. But it's all too easy to sit in an office and think over-optimistically about what might be achieved.

Your school may be at this point in your curriculum development journey. This might sound very familiar to you!

2025 is the year of the realistic curriculum.

We don't yet know the outcome of the government's curriculum review, but we do know that a key component of the feedback from teachers was that there is currently too much in the curriculum. Professor Becky Francis reported that teachers feel “disempowered and deprofessionalised by overstipulation and the challenge to cover content”.

But schools - you - don't have to wait for the outcome to begin to get things right for the children in your school. Curriculum development is never really finished - it's like painting the Forth Bridge. Now that you've taught the curriculum you created or implemented for a while, you'll know what needs doing to improve it.

In order to get the next iteration of your curriculum right (and mosty importantly, realistic), follow these steps:

Gather information from teachers - get together if you can, and gather feedback about each subject and each unit. Find out what went well, what they didn't have time to cover, what fell flat, and so on. Work out where changes might need to be made based on the experience of those teaching it.

Gather information from pupils - it's their curriculum, even if they don't have to teach it. Find out what they enjoyed and what they still remember - this is part pupil voice and part-assessment. You can intend to do more of what they enjoyed and remembered, and to improve or remove what they didn't enjoy or couldn't remember.

Edit and revise curriculum content - specifically with regards to the information you have gathered, and with a view to making the intended curriculum more realistic. Consider carefully the following, preferably as a team of people:

• How much depth is actually required by the National Curriculum? (Go back and read the aims and purposes for each subject for some guidance)

• How much does the content fit with your own aims and purposes for each subject?

• Are there key things you want children to learn that must remain?

• Is there content that, on reflection, isn't actually that important, and which can be cut?

• Is content introduced too soon? Could it be moved into later year groups?

• What content will leave children with the best residue knowledge (see also here)?

• Is there the correct balance between substantive, procedural and disciplinary knowledge?

Ask for some guidance - only you and your colleagues will be able to get the curriculum that is right for your school, however having someone to guide this process can be the key that unlocks success. I've carried out this process with curricula I've written myself (seriously, I don't know what I was thinking the first time round) and have helped numerous schools do this with their own. To have an outsiders eyes on what you've developed can be the difference between having a bloated, overly-ambitious curriculum, and one that's just right.

Revisit your knowledge of curriculum-making - there's plenty available online and in books, and I've written plenty myself. Try this blog post as a re-starting point: https://www.aidansevers.com/post/starter-for-10-curriculum-development

If you'd like some bespoke help with redeveloping your curriculum, here's your 3-step curriculum development plan:

1. Drop me an email

2. Have a phone call with me to talk about your school

3. We'll work together to empower you and your staff to enhance teaching and to enrich your pupils' lives