Tudor Grange Academies Trust is committed to a knowledge-rich curriculum.  Research has repeatedly shown that the best thing we can do for the children in our care is provide them with knowledge.  This knowledge, when committed to long term memory, is the key to unlocking higher order skills and enabling creative thought.   

The knowledge in our curriculum is captured through the ‘curriculum fundamentals’.  This is the knowledge that children must master: commit to long term memory.  We choose the fundamentals based on a consideration of what will be most useful to children to commit to memory, both during their time at the Academy, and long after they have left us.   

A full list of each subject’s fundamentals, organised by topic, is available from each subject’s page on the Academy websites.  This webpage answers frequently asked questions about fundamentals, for those who are interested in finding out more about this important concept. 

Should everything a student studies be committed to long term memory? 

No.  If a Year 7 student studies a particular poem as a way of identifying poetic devices, we might accept that they will not remember the poem, in its entirety, forever.  We might be more concerned that they remember the poetic devices, which they can then use to analyse other, previously unseen poems, or write their own. 

How do we decide what to commit to long term memory? 

We need to consider what would be most useful if committed to long term memory.  Willingham, a cognitive psychologist who writes about knowledge, sensibly advises that, for reading, students need to know anything writers will assume readers know (and so not explain).  A British journalist might assume their readers know the main political parties of the UK and their central policies, but in a different article they might take the time to explain the political parties of another country.  This knowledge—the knowledge to read newspaper articles or books aimed at laypeople– is a necessary prerequisite for participating fully in the adult world as educated citizens.   Such knowledge is known as cultural capital and our leaders seriously consider what knowledge, in their area, constitutes cultural capital. 

For individual subjects, fundamental knowledge clearly extends beyond that required for reading.  Again, not everything can be permanently committed to long term memory.   The most useful information for subjects is the knowledge that comes up again and again: the unifying ideas of the discipline.  This might be cell structure and evolution in biology; Marxism, feminism and functionalism in sociology; or times tables in mathematics.  Crucially, if students have mastered these key concepts then they will typically be able to attempt unseen questions.  For example, if a geographer knows about biomes and about the distribution of wealth in the world, then they are able to sensibly discuss the climate and industry of any country identified on a world map. 

Does this amount to learning lists of facts by rote? 

No, and not least because learning a list of facts with no understanding of their meaning would be next to useless.  Conceptual knowledge is important: and rightly belongs within the curriculum fundamentals.  Some skills might be thought of as fundamental, procedural knowledge.  Knowledge is more useful and more memorable when it is linked to other knowledge, and more likely to be remembered when it is taught, and practised, in meaningful ways.   

Are the fundamentals on GCSE and A-level examinations? 

We deliberately avoid rolling back GCSE specifications into Key Stage Three.  Children have enough time to cover the GCSE during their GCSE years.   Instead, we select our curriculum by looking for the things that are most useful for children to learn. 

Of course, since the fundamentals are the unifying concepts within a discipline, they are likely to be directly relevant to a GCSE.  We find, though, that children who spend time studying these unifying concepts without considering the GCSE develop a deeper understanding of the subject over time.  They become experts, rather than students with a superficial understanding of broad subject matter.  They enjoy their lessons more and, although they might spend less time on the GCSE specification, they actually perform better.   

What is the difference between fundamentals and the curriculum? 

The fundamentals specify the knowledge that we expect every child to commit to long term memory.  The curriculum is the totality of what is taught and extends beyond the fundamentals. 

As noted above, some lesson content is delivered without the expectation that it will be committed to long term memory.  That content, sometimes known as contextual knowledge, is on the curriculum but does not consist of the fundamentals.  Some children will master the fundamentals with time to spare in their lessons.  These children may move onto study new material or revisit previously studied content from a new angle.  This content does not consist of fundamentals, although some children will retain it in their long term memories. 

Finally, a full and well-rounded curriculum will consist of far more than knowledge.  Such a curriculum will enable children to develop complex skills, character, and criticality and enjoy a range of positive experiences.  Our understanding of these aspects of curriculum is captured by The Four Pillars of Curriculum.