Whole School Curriculum Intent & Subject Intents

Curriculum Intent & Implementation Rationale 2026-27

 

 

Our design principle

Where links strengthen learning, we design them deliberately. Registration, literacy, numeracy, subject teaching, assessment, Feed Forward, wider experiences and Remote Learning should reinforce one another rather than operate as isolated initiatives.

 

SAME CHANCES. BRIGHTER FUTURES.

Knowledge  •  Skills  •  Experiences  •  Qualifications  •  Future

 

01. Executive summary

 

What makes the Northumberland PRU curriculum distinctive

 

Northumberland PRU has developed a curriculum model designed for pupils whose education may have been disrupted, whose starting points vary considerably and whose time in alternative provision may be short. The curriculum therefore combines a clear entitlement with accessible entry points, repeated opportunities to succeed and deliberate links between preparation, teaching, checking and response.

 

The central principle is coherence. Rather than treating literacy, numeracy, Digital Skills, personal development, assessment, Feed Forward, catch-up and Remote Learning as separate initiatives, the school increasingly designs them to reinforce the taught curriculum and one another.

 

The curriculum in one sentence

We prepare pupils for learning, teach explicitly, give supported and independent opportunities to succeed, check what has actually been learned, respond to evidence and revisit what matters.

 

A coherent entitlement

KS3 and KS4 programmes combine academic subjects, digital readiness, wider curriculum, personal development and qualification pathways.

Consistency, not conformity

A common classroom architecture supports staff and pupils, while the method of modelling, practice and evidence remains subject-specific.

Assessment that changes teaching

Checks, checkpoints and summative assessment are followed by misconception work, Feed Forward or adaptation rather than existing only as data.

Continuity beyond the classroom

Remote Learning is drawn from planned curriculum content so absence does not create a separate or disconnected curriculum.

 

 

02. Context and curriculum intent

 

The curriculum is designed around the realities of a PRU: mixed starting points, interrupted prior learning, pupils joining and leaving at different points, varied reading and mathematical knowledge, and the need to rebuild confidence without reducing ambition. The aim is not to create a “different” education with lower expectations, but to provide a route into worthwhile knowledge, skills, experiences and qualifications that pupils can access and build on.

 

  • Ambition with access. Maintain meaningful curriculum goals while using modelling, scaffolds, visual support and carefully sequenced tasks to improve access.

  • Short-placement resilience. Design units so pupils can enter at different points and still encounter coherent learning and visible outcomes.

  • Age-respectful provision. Resources and experiences are secondary-appropriate and avoid approaches that feel infantilising.

  • Reconnection to education. Success, relationships, practical responsibility and qualifications are used to rebuild engagement and readiness for next steps.

  • Preparation for transition. Curriculum choices support reintegration, post-16 destinations, employability and independent participation in modern life.

External context

The framework is consistent with current DfE alternative provision guidance, which applies to PRUs, and with subject-specific guidance on reading, mathematics and remote education. The school’s detailed implementation models remain local decisions and are reviewed through QA and pupil evidence.

 

03. Curriculum organisation

 

A connected offer across KS3 and KS4

 

Layer

What pupils experience

How coherence is created

Core academic curriculum

English, mathematics, science and humanities, with subject-specific sequencing and assessment.

Common expectations for retrieval, vocabulary, modelling, guided practice, independent application and checking support transfer between classrooms.

Foundation and access

Reading, spelling, phonics, handwriting/dictation, NUMER8 and Digital Readiness.

These components prepare pupils to access later subject learning rather than sit beside it as unrelated practice.

Personal and wider curriculum

PSHE, PE/Sport, Food/Life Skills, Forest School, Art/Design/Graphics, Experience Passport and enrichment.

Practical, social and personal-development outcomes are planned and evidenced, with links to the 4Rs and future readiness.

KS4 pathways

Core study alongside vocational and alternative qualification routes, including Digital Skills for Work.

KS3 knowledge and digital readiness provide a bridge into accredited KS4 learning and portfolio expectations.

Continuity systems

Remote Learning, Catch Up, misconception teaching and Feed Forward.

These preserve sequence when attendance is disrupted and make the response to assessment visible.

 

The curriculum offer is therefore best understood as a set of connected layers rather than a timetable of independent subjects. Each layer has its own purpose, but the school deliberately creates bridges between them where this improves learning.

 

04. The Northumberland PRU teaching and learning cycle

 

Evidence-informed principles translated into a usable school model

 

School-developed implementation model

PREPARE / PRE-TEACH  →  MODEL  →  PRACTISE  →  CHECK  →  FEED FORWARD  →  RESPOND  →  REVISIT

 

Stage

What it means in practice

Prepare / pre-teach

Reduce avoidable barriers before new learning: prerequisite knowledge, vocabulary, decoding, routines, digital access or representations.

Model

Make the process visible through worked examples, live demonstration, think-aloud and deliberate attention to important decisions or misconceptions.

Practise

Move from supported/guided practice towards increasing independence, retaining scaffolds where they are still needed.

Check

Gather evidence of what pupils can do or explain, rather than assuming task completion equals learning.

Feed Forward

Identify one precise next action linked to the learning goal and give pupils an opportunity to act on it.

Respond

Reteach, change the explanation, alter the scaffold, provide catch-up or extend learning based on evidence.

Revisit

Return to important knowledge through retrieval, next-lesson links, cumulative practice and later assessment.

 

 

This is a Northumberland PRU implementation model, not a published external framework. Its components reflect established evidence around explicit teaching, worked examples/modelling, guided practice, checking for understanding, feedback and implementation. 

 

05. The common classroom architecture

 

The resource provides the architecture; the teacher brings it to life

  • Knowledge retrieval linked to prior learning.

  • Clear learning aim and success criteria.

  • Explicit Tier 2 / Tier 3 vocabulary where it improves access to the subject.

  • Teacher modelling or a worked example / WAGOLL.

  • Guided practice before independent application.

  • A progress check that reveals understanding or misconception.

  • Model answers, misconception teaching and a clear next step.

Consistency, not conformity

A maths worked example, an English writing think-aloud, a projected Digital Skills demonstration, a knife technique in Food and a knot demonstration in Forest School should not look identical. The common expectation is that the important process is made visible and pupils are supported towards independent performance.

 

 

The existence of a modelling prompt on a PowerPoint does not mean modelling has happened. Resources cue the pedagogy; teachers explain, demonstrate, question, notice misconceptions and adapt in real time.

 

06. Literacy coherence

 

A connected reading, spelling and writing offer

 

Connected literacy provision

FOUNDATIONS: Phonics / word reading • Spelling & vocabulary • Handwriting & dictation
READING & WRITING: Rise to Read ↔ Creative Writing
APPLICATION: English and literacy across all subjects

 

 

Literacy provision runs alongside subject learning, with support matched to pupil need. Spelling and vocabulary can prepare pupils for a text, while reading supplies ideas, language and structures for writing. Phonics supports word reading and spelling. Pupils continue to access English, Rise to Read, Creative Writing and other subjects while receiving any foundational support they need. Teachers explicitly model how pupils apply these skills in their subjects.

 

Phonics / word reading

Structured teaching matched to need develops decoding, blending and accurate word reading, with practice applying taught sound–letter patterns.

Spelling & vocabulary

Words are selected to support later reading and sentence use, not simply as disconnected weekly lists.

Dictation

Pupils practise taught spelling and handwriting in dictated words and sentences, without also having to compose the content.

Handwriting

Explicit teaching and regular, appropriate practice develop legibility and fluency. Build stamina gradually, responding to pupils’ needs.

Rise to Read

Shared texts build reading fluency, retrieval, inference, vocabulary and comprehension in a supported sequence.

Creative Writing

Writing draws on familiar characters, settings, atmosphere and language so cognitive demand can shift towards composition and craft.

English and literacy across subjects

English teaches its own curriculum. All subjects explicitly teach relevant vocabulary and support pupils to read, discuss and write about subject content.

Assessment and intervention

Standardised reading information, classroom evidence and targeted diagnostics help staff identify the specific barrier rather than treating “reading age” as the intervention.

 

 

The reading and vocabulary principles align with the DfE Reading Framework and EEF secondary literacy guidance. The DfE Writing Framework supports the approach to dictation and handwriting. Although written for primary schools, it also informs support for older pupils developing these foundational skills.

 

07. Numeracy coherence

 

NUMER8 prepares pupils for the mathematics that follows

 

See it today • use it next week

NUMER8  →  explicit bridge next week  →  maths retrieval and teaching  →  Fluency  →  Apply  →  Mastering  →  assessment / misconception response

 

NUMER8 is a school-designed weekly registration programme that pre-teaches prerequisite mathematical knowledge one week before it is needed in the formal KS3 maths curriculum. It is deliberately not another maths lesson or a weekly test. Its purpose is to reduce how much feels new when pupils meet the next topic.

  • One week ahead. Every fixed session prepares for the planned mathematics of the following week.

  • Prerequisites first. Core questions focus on the small pieces of knowledge, vocabulary and representation pupils need before new teaching.

  • Same teacher, explicit bridge. The maths teacher deliberately reconnects the following week: “Remember this from NUMER8?”

  • Maths retrieval starters. Revisit previously taught knowledge, check essential prerequisites and reveal gaps before new teaching. Use responses to decide whether to recap, remodel or provide further support.

  • Confidence before complexity. Questions are accessible and reading-light; challenge stays linked to the same prerequisite rather than jumping ahead.

  • Assessment is protected. NUMER8 can prepare pupils for assessment access demands without rehearsing assessment questions; post-assessment weeks respond to emerging misconceptions.

 

The model is informed by DfE KS3 mathematics guidance, which stresses coherent sequencing and building in time for prerequisite knowledge, and by EEF guidance on prior knowledge, representations and effective mathematics teaching.

 

08. Digital readiness and Computing

 

Digital competence as both curriculum content and access to the wider school curriculum

 

Wider application progression

ACCESS  →  NAVIGATE  →  FOLLOW  →  RESPOND  →  TROUBLESHOOT  →  COMPLETE INDEPENDENTLY

 

The KS3 Computing and Digital Skills curriculum combines practical workplace skills, computer science, online safety and responsible AI literacy. It is deliberately designed for mixed-age classes, variable starting points and non-specialist delivery. The programme also provides a bridge into KS4 Digital Skills for Work.

 

  • Most lessons produce a visible digital outcome saved in the pupil’s Google Drive.

  • Teachers model digital processes live, then move through guided practice to an independent outcome and progress check.

  • Digital readiness is revisited through normal Computing tasks rather than taught as a disconnected unit.

  • Platform skills support pupils to access online systems and assessments across the school, while assessment content remains protected.

  • AI can support drafting, explanation or troubleshooting, but pupils still select, edit, check and demonstrate the digital skill themselves.

  • Feed Forward is recorded against the actual evidence and followed by a visible correction or improvement.

Implementation principle

Digital Skills is still a taught lesson. A computer does not replace explanation, modelling, guided practice, questioning or checking.

 

 

09. Personal development and the wider curriculum

 

Planned experiences, practical responsibility and the 4Rs (School culture).

 

The wider curriculum is not treated as an add-on or reward. It is planned learning that develops practical competence, relationships, communication, independence, personal responsibility and knowledge pupils can use beyond school.

 

PSHE

Factual, safeguarding-conscious teaching uses fictional scenarios, decision-making and realistic application without requiring personal disclosure.

Forest School

A planned curriculum space for safe risk, practical skills, regulation, teamwork, food, responsibility and leadership — not simply free time.

Food / Life Skills

Practical preparation, hygiene, budgeting, sequencing, independent living and qualification-linked evidence.

PE / Sport

Physical competence, teamwork, self-regulation, health knowledge and progression into accredited sport where appropriate.

Experience Passport

Structured experiences broaden cultural, community and practical knowledge and provide evidence of participation and reflection.

Reflection Journal

A weekly opportunity to reflect on learning, behaviour, resilience and the 4Rs, with follow-up where the reflection indicates a need.

 

 

The 4Rs — Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Rewards — provide a common language across these experiences and the wider school day. They are most useful when linked naturally to real choices and actions rather than used as decorative labels.

 

10. Assessment and responsive teaching

 

Assessment exists to change what happens next

 

Across redesigned schemes, assessment is increasingly built into a recurring cycle: formative checks during normal lessons; checkpoints and summative assessment at planned points; analysis of misconceptions; then reteaching, Feed Forward or catch-up. This prevents assessment from becoming detached from curriculum decisions.

 

Evidence source

What it tells us

Typical response

In-lesson progress check

Whether pupils can explain, apply or demonstrate the intended learning now.

Pause, remodel, change the scaffold, extend or move on.

Checkpoint

What is secure after a block of teaching and which misconceptions are recurring.

Targeted misconception teaching and recheck.

Summative assessment

What pupils can retrieve and apply more independently across a completed unit.

Curriculum adjustment, catch-up, Feed Forward and future retrieval.

Standardised reading / maths information

A broader indicator of attainment or reading profile at scheduled points.

Use alongside classroom evidence to identify likely barriers and support needs.

Practical / digital evidence

Whether a pupil can perform the skill, not merely describe it.

Re-model a process, provide guided repetition, then recheck independently.

 

Core question

What does this evidence tell us to do next?

 

 

11. Feed Forward and Catch Up

 

One next step. Time to act. Evidence of improvement.

 

The KS3 Feed Forward model is organised by subject, week and lesson. It is designed to make feedback actionable while keeping staff workload proportionate. The teacher selects or gives one precise next step linked to the pupil’s actual work; the pupil then acts on it in writing, digitally, practically or through a corrected response.

 

Feed Forward cycle

EVIDENCE  →  ONE PRECISE NEXT STEP  →  PUPIL ACTS  →  TEACHER NOTICES WHETHER UNDERSTANDING IMPROVES  →  NEXT TEACHING RESPONDS

 

  • Feed Forward may be written or verbal; the key requirement is that it moves the learning forward.

  • A completed correction is evidence of response, not automatic proof that the learning is now secure.

  • If a gap persists, the teacher changes the explanation, model, practice or task rather than simply repeating the same comment.

  • Practical subjects can evidence Feed Forward through improved performance or product, not only through written marking.

  • Catch-up is responsive provision: it should address the identified curriculum need rather than operate as generic unfinished-work time.

This approach is consistent with EEF feedback guidance, which emphasises strong initial teaching, appropriately timed feedback that moves learning forward, and planning for pupils to use the feedback they receive.

 

12. Remote Learning

 

Curriculum continuity, not a parallel curriculum

 

Remote Learning is designed to preserve curriculum continuity when attendance at school is not possible but pupils can continue learning. Weekly packs draw on planned curriculum content and use a consistent routine of starting knowledge, explanation, pupil task and final check. The intention is that pupils remain connected to the sequence they would otherwise have encountered in school.

 

  • KS3 weekly packs mirror current curriculum content across the planned subject sequence rather than relying on generic online worksheets.

  • The same learning aims, key knowledge and misconceptions can be revisited when the pupil returns to school.

  • Digital delivery is supported through the school’s Google platform; where digital access is not feasible, an appropriate hard-copy route can maintain access.

  • Staff contact supports engagement and identifies barriers, while the academic content remains aligned with the school curriculum.

  • Remote education is used proportionately and does not replace the school’s expectation that pupils attend whenever attendance is possible.

This design is consistent with current DfE remote education guidance, which describes remote education as a last-resort continuity measure when attendance is not possible.

 

13. Quality assurance, CPD and curriculum development

 

A continuous improvement loop

 

Improvement loop

QA / EVIDENCE  →  IDENTIFIED NEED  →  RESEARCH / DESIGN  →  CPD & RESOURCES  →  CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION  →  REVIEW

 

 

Curriculum development is treated as an implementation process rather than a sequence of one-off resource changes. Work scrutiny, learning walks, climate checks, assessment outcomes, staff feedback and pupil evidence help identify where a curriculum or teaching routine needs refinement. CPD then focuses on a specific implementation need and is followed by a review of what is happening in practice.

 

  • Use real curriculum materials in CPD. Staff should practise with the resources they will actually teach rather than generic examples wherever possible.

  • Separate principle from format. Research can justify principles such as effective feedback, modelling or prerequisite knowledge; school-specific timings, templates and routines remain local implementation decisions.

  • Review implementation, not just resource completion. A finished scheme or PowerPoint does not prove that the intended pedagogy is occurring in classrooms.

  • Adapt without losing the core. Subject-specific practice and pupil need may require different methods, while the purpose of the approach remains clear.

The EEF implementation guidance is useful here: effective change requires attention to the approach itself, the systems that enable it, the people involved and an ongoing process of exploration, preparation, delivery and sustainment.

 

14. How impact will be evaluated

 

What improvement should become visible

 

The framework does not assume that newly designed resources have already produced impact. The school should evaluate implementation and outcomes using multiple sources rather than a single headline measure.

Area

Possible indicators

Curriculum access

Lesson completion, engagement, reduced avoidable access barriers, successful entry into current units.

Literacy

Reading assessment trends, fluency/word-reading evidence, vocabulary use, quality of written response and intervention review.

Mathematics

Readiness evidence, checkpoint/summative outcomes, misconception patterns and movement through Fluency → Apply → Mastering.

Digital independence

Ability to access, navigate, follow, respond, troubleshoot and complete digital tasks with decreasing support.

Teaching and learning

Quality of modelling, guided practice, checks for understanding, use of Feed Forward and evidence that teaching changes in response.

Personal development

Participation, safe responsibility, reflection, leadership, practical independence and successful engagement in wider experiences.

KS4 outcomes and transition

Qualification evidence, completion, destination readiness and continuity into post-16 or reintegration pathways.

Implementation

Resource use, staff confidence, QA findings, consistency of key routines and identified adaptations.

 

15. 2026–27 implementation priorities

 

What this framework brings together now:

 

  • Embed the redesigned KS3 Computing and Digital Skills lessons consistently and build staff confidence in live digital modelling.

  • Use the Effective Modelling CPD to strengthen how staff bring modelling prompts and worked examples to life across subjects.

  • Embed the KS3 Feed Forward bank as a responsive next-step tool rather than a second marking cycle.

  • Replace disconnected weekly numeracy with NUMER8 prerequisite pre-teaching linked explicitly to the following week’s maths.

  • Strengthen connections across literacy provision so phonics, dictation, handwriting, spelling/vocabulary, Rise to Read, Creative Writing and subject literacy reinforce one another according to pupil need.

  • Maintain Remote Learning as curriculum continuity and review how well pupils reconnect to the in-school sequence on return.

  • Use QA findings to decide the next curriculum or CPD priority rather than adding initiatives without a clear evidence need.

  • Continue to map and quality-assure KS4 and alternative qualification routes so the curriculum remains coherent from KS3 preparation to accredited outcomes.