How can schools design an effective curriculum within today’s shrinking budgets? Experts Julia Harnden and Suzanne O’Farrell advise

Schools have traditionally designed their curriculum according to their vision, context and the needs of their pupils. In these straitened times, however, the question of funding has risen to the top of that list: what can each school afford? That, of course, boils down to how many teachers they can employ within the constraints of shrinking budgets.

This is an incredibly challenging situation. It means striving for a curriculum which is rich and relevant, and which meets the diverse needs and interests of pupils, while also ensuring that it is affordable and sustainable.

Schools will want to retain a good breadth and range of subject choices. If the choice of subjects is too restrictive pupils will become disengaged. They will also want to ensure that their curriculum gives their pupils clear pathways to further and higher education courses and their future careers.

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