Review

Our collaborative approach to reviewing the impact of our curriculum 

Due to the positive impact at 'review' at Parbold Douglas, we are delighted to share our resources and rationale more widely. We hope you find these useful.

What is ‘review’?

At Parbold Douglas, our ‘review’ meetings have evolved from our ‘reflective professional discussions’ (first developed in 2018). The purpose of these meetings is for teachers (alongside senior leaders) to gather in phase groups and, collaboratively, evaluate the implementation and impact of the curriculum in a chosen subject area. There is a focus on reviewing pupil work (in books and on iPads) and the ‘learning journey’ across a series of a lessons. Areas for development are then agreed and successes shared. In this way, teachers are involved in identifying their own development priorities.

The format

‘Review’ meetings should follow this structure:

• Teachers gather in groups of two or three, usually in phases (e.g. Year 5 and 6, etc.).

• For the chosen subject, teachers bring 6 examples of pupil books (from pupils of a range of different ability levels) and examples of any other work completed (e.g. Showbie folders on iPads, photos on Twitter, etc.). Work selected should include at least one disadvantaged pupil and at least one SEND pupil.

• Teacher A talks for 5 to 10 minutes about the journey of learning in the subject in their class so far this term (using the books / pupil work to illustrate what has happened).

• Discussion takes place (20 minutes) to identify strengths and areas for development. Questions to consider should include (but are not limited to):

  • Did pupils revisit relevant prior learning before starting the new unit? If not, how could this have been done?

  • Are pupils with SEND supported to access the learning and activities?

  • How successful are the most disadvantaged pupils (those in receipt of the pupil premium)?

  • To what extent is work appropriately challenging for all pupils?

  • Are knowledge and skills built cumulatively throughout the unit (i.e. is the sequence of learning effective and clear)?

  • Is there clear evidence that pupils take pride in their work and give 100%?

  • As the unit progresses, do pupils revisit learning from previous lessons, embedding previously learnt content and forming connections between lessons (retrieval practice)?

  • How well has the teacher used assessment to check pupils’ understanding in order to inform teaching, and to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently (not memorise disconnected facts)?

  • How does the teacher prioritise effective feedback (at individual, group and whole-class levels)?

  • To what extent are the school’s Christian values taught throughout the unit, as identified in the Curriculum Policy for this subject?

• Any agreed next steps to be recorded and shared with the Curriculum Lead / Headteacher.

• Any examples of outstanding practice to be recorded and shared with the Curriculum Lead / Headteacher.

• The process is then repeated with Teacher B talking through the journey of learning in the class, followed by a subsequent discussion.

Scheduling

The process of curriculum review is ongoing. At Parbold Douglas, teachers typically meet for a ‘review’ meeting once every two weeks.