Curriculum reports: how to get the information you need

Your school's curriculum is an important aspect of Ofsted's quality of education judgement, so regular briefings on your school's offering should be on your agenda. Find out what to ask your school leaders to include in these reports, and what questions to ask them.

Last reviewed on 1 November 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 4731
Contents
  1. What a curriculum report is and who to get it from
  2. Get familiar with your curriculum provision
  3. Keep on top of how the curriculum's developing
  4. Monitor the curriculum action plan

What a curriculum report is and who to get it from

You shouldn't expect a curriculum report to focus on individual subjects such as maths or reading. Instead, it should give you a more top-level view of how the curriculum works as a whole.

Keep the '3 Is' firmly in mind as you review these reports and question your school leaders. They're the key aspects of your curriculum that Ofsted considers when judging the quality of education you provide:

  1. Intent: what your school's trying to achieve through the curriculum 
  2. Implementation: how the curriculum's being delivered 
  3. Impact: how the curriculum's making a difference

If your board has a committee or link governor with responsibility for the curriculum, those governors should ask to receive these reports from the headteacher or head of curriculum.

If not, ask the headteacher/head of curriculum to report to the full governing board.

You should also meet with subject leads and monitor individual subjects. Read