What is a broad and balanced curriculum?

An extract from ‘Intent Implementation Impact: How to Design and Deliver an Ambitious School Curriculum’ by Matt Bromley

A broad and balanced curriculum is about ensuring learners are prepared for the next stages of their education, employment, and lives… that they are developed holistically, and leave the education system skilled and knowledgeable employees and well-rounded, healthy and active citizens of the world.

The 2002 Education Act requires schools to provide a ‘balanced and broadly-based curriculum’ which: promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of learners at the school and of society, and; prepares learners at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Although only maintained schools in England are required to teach the national curriculum, all schools – including independent schools and academies – must meet the requirements of the Education Act. However, there are no legal requirements for any school about the methods of delivery of the curriculum or the amount of time allocated to each subject.

Colleges are not governed by the national curriculum but by government policies and acts of parliament which dictate, for example, that learners who did not achieve a standard pass of grade 4 in GCSE English and/or maths must continue to study the subject(s) until the age of 18. Colleges are also governed by funding arrangements (for example, the coalition government of 2010, and Conservative government of 2015 focused sector funding on apprenticeship provision) and, in most cases, through the instrument and articles of government.

So, within these rather vague legal frameworks, how can schools and colleges ensure that their curriculums are broad and balanced and will produce well-rounded young people who can succeed in life and work?

The regulatory standards for independent schools provide a useful way of thinking about breadth, I think. The standards require schools to provide a curriculum that gives learners experience in the following areas: linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, and aesthetic and creative, so that it promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

A broad curriculum, therefore, might be regarded as one in which there are enough subjects on a learner’s timetable to cover all these experiences. Narrowing the curriculum for less able learners clearly runs counter to this definition of breadth. A broad curriculum offers all learners a wide range of subjects for as long as possible.

A balanced curriculum, meanwhile, might be regarded as one in which each subject is not only taught to all learners but is afforded sufficient space on the timetable to deliver its distinct contribution. The danger here is that some subjects, such as art, music, and languages, are squeezed out of the timetable by English, maths, and science. It is not uncommon in secondary schools for English to have five or more lessons on the timetable per week and art just one, or for the arts to operate on a carousel whereby design technology is only taught for one term of the year.

When designing and delivering a curriculum, therefore, we might be mindful of the following:

• Consider the curriculum in its widest sense – it takes place in and between lessons, in subjects and in extra-curricular activities, and it develops learners’ skills in a range of areas including in the arts and sport, and – although important – it is not solely concerned with the pursuit of academic outcomes.
• Ensure the curriculum prepares learners, not only for the next stage of their education and training, but also for their lives as active citizens and for success in the world of work, developing employability skills and work-ready behaviours, and educating learners on their career options.
• Think carefully about how, once we’ve designed the curriculum, we will implement and evaluate it in order to ensure it delivers its stated aims and continues to be relevant.

In post-16 settings, I think it useful to consider breadth and balance in the guise of the 16-18 study programme which already requires young learners to study, not just a main qualification, but also English and maths, and to engage in meaningful work experience (including a work placement) and enrichment opportunities.

The development of English and maths skills, and employability and wider (enrichment) skills must be integral to the programme of study each learner pursues and not regarded as ‘add-ons’ or distractions from the main academic, vocational or technical qualification. If this is to happen, the shape of the study programme must be made clear to learners and teachers and their importance articulated loud and clear and often. What’s more, the employability and enrichment opportunities must be relevant and meaningful to the main aim.

Further, what’s good for young people is good for all and so a rounded study programme should be afforded to all learners in a college, irrespective of age, level of study, and area of study.

For more top tips on curriculum design, take a look at Matt’s book ‘Intent Implementation Impact: How to Design and Deliver an Ambitious School Curriculum’, which is available in paperback and ebook now. Visit our bookstore for details.

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