There's a new buzzword in town - curriculum intent.
The term was officially 'born' in Ofsted's Education Inspection Framework(EIF) which is the guide that underpins inspections of all apprenticeship training providers.
In this framework, Ofsted spells out its three priorities for curriculum - intent, implementation and impact. The curriculum should be seen as the provider's promise to the learner - what they'll deliver, how they'll deliver it, and the impact it'll have. It should also provide a continuous curriculum, individualised for each learner. Training should be built according to new standards which are designed to provide guidance, rather than be-prescriptive like the previous regime of frameworks.
As Ofsted puts it: "The curriculum sets out the aims of a programme of education and training. It also sets out the structure for those aims to be implemented, including the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be gained at each stage. It enables the evaluation of learners' knowledge and understanding against those expectations."
Just remember the three Is - intent, implementation and impact:
Your curriculum intent is the planning stage.
Lots of organisations find that their core values can underpin and drive curriculum intent. You can use these to shape what apprentices should learn at the end of each programme, using the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours within the standard as a minimum. You should also include mandatory aspects such as the apprenticeship agreement and commitment statement.
Once you've created your core curriculum intent for each programme, you can define any bespoke requirements, plan how learners will meet the minimum off-the-job requirement and start to think about individualised learning requirements - though this really comes to the fore at implementation stage.
This is the practical phase - how you're going to put your curriculum intent into action.
You'll need to use the learner's initial assessment to personalise the implementation of your curriculum intent for each learner. Here you're aiming to create a complete picture of each learner's starting point, so that you're best placed to map out their journey. You'll need to know their achievements against all KSBs in the standard, as well as English and Maths; so you can build their knowledge, stretch and challenge them - which is what Ofsted wants to see.
As part of this, you should also plan any assessments or mock tests you'll be using to track learners and help them progress through the curriculum towards the gateway.
In the impact stage, Ofsted wants to see that both individuals, as well as cohorts of learners, have progressed over time, benefited from training, and gained skills set out in the curriculum intent.
You should also have evidence to show that the employer has been involved in impacting learners and that apprentices have gained relevant skills and knowledge to support them in their current role, and beyond into their future career.
It sounds like a lot to take on board - but we're here to help.
Download your curriculum planning checklist - and you'll see what's involved with each section, how they relate to each other, and how you can get ahead.