OfSTED Curriculum Sequence Planning

One area that education and training providers will have to demonstrate under the new OfSTED inspection framework (due for release in Sep 2019) is how they sequence their curriculum activities. OfSTED, when making judgments, will expect to see:

how leaders have ensured that a subject curriculum includes content which has been identified as most useful and that this content is taught in a logical progression, systematically and explicitly for all learners to acquire the intended knowledge, skills and behaviours

how leaders have sequenced the curriculum up to the point at which the inspection takes place

Curriculum Sequencing

Curriculum sequencing is important for all programmes but particularly with apprenticeships as it sets out the order to ensure a logical approach to delivering knowledge, skills and behaviours. The sequence is designed to deliver the necessary learning in the most logical order and aligned with what will be done in the workplace.

We have developed a curriculum sequencing tool in Stedfast to support education and training providers with this area of curriculum planning. While there are different approaches in curriculum sequencing, such as simple to complex or prerequisite learning, chronological learning is the most appropriate for further education and apprenticeship delivery.

A chronological curriculum sequence will allow providers to set out what the learner will develop and learn over the course of their programme. This approach will support the learners well and will demonstrate to OfSTED that content is being taught in a logical progression.

How do providers approach curriculum sequencing?

Well, you can do this the hard way or the easy way. The hard way is to lock yourself into a room with a laptop, open up a spreadsheet and create the curriculum plan and schedule that you think will work. Or you can do it easily and use Stedfast to create your curriculum plan.

Creating a curriculum plan and schedule is straightforward in Stedfast.

Step 1

Create the curriculum activities – set out what learning, practice and/or assessment will take place over the duration of the programme. This step in the process will also allow users to align activities with the programme learning outcomes, add resources, and, if it is an apprenticeship, will also let users plan the 20% off-the-job learning.

Step 2

Ensure that the curriculum activities map to the outcomes. Each curriculum plan has a curriculum map that allows users to identify if the outcomes do not have any activities aligned with them.

Step 3

Now using the curriculum schedule tool, users can easily see all of the activities planned over the programme's duration. This visual reporting tool will show what activities are planned weekly or month-by-month.