How to review curriculum alignment across your trust

Last reviewed on 8 March 2023
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 44205

There's no single right way to do it. Use our questions and download our audit tool to help you review your trust curriculum alignment, and to decide what approach you'll take in the future.

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Contents

  1. You don't have to choose between 'central' or 'school' control
  2. Decide who to involve in a review
  3. Use our questions to prompt your thinking
  4. Review how you delegate responsibility
  5. Look at how your curriculum is currently organised
  6. Use our audit tool to map out your current alignment
  7. Think about opportunities for change
  8. Read how 3 trusts carried out their curriculum reviews
  9. Prepare to make changes

You don't have to choose between 'central' or 'school' control

Your trust isn't likely to dictate that every school has the same curriculum. Equally, you're unlikely to want each of your schools to have entirely different curriculums with nothing in common and no central input. 

You've got a range of options along the curriculum-alignment scale, and your approach will depend on things such as:

  • Your vision
  • Size of your trust
  • Where your curriculum expertise sits
  • Your schools' performance

Decide who to involve in a review

Go through the questions below with staff who have curriculum responsibility.

It's up to you who you involve, but consider involving some of the following:

Note: involving more members of staff early on can help

Read next

Also in 'Structuring the curriculum'