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The Pillars of the Curriculum

The curriculum at The Philip Morant School & College is:

Ambitious for all pupils
Coherently planned and sequenced
Adapted, designed and developed for pupils with SEND
Broad and balanced for all pupils.

Through the concept of the trivium, we can envisage a schema where traditional values and progressive ideals can come together – where foundational and disciplinary knowledge and cultural capital have importance, and where skills are developed. Most importantly, we want our young people to have ‘fingertip knowledge’ that they can draw upon as they make sense of the world.

Knowledge (Grammar)

The direct instruction of knowledge
Student retaining and recalling knowledge, learning off by heart through low-stakes testing and deliberate practice
Explicit teaching to build cultural capital alongside subject specific content
Encouraging students to read challenging texts and become confident readers.

Exploration (Dialectic):

Students having the opportunity to explore, discuss, debate and question
Students experimenting and learning through authentic, hands-on experience
Students having the opportunity to analyse, evaluate and problem solve
Students having the opportunity to make authentic connections in order to build schema.

Communication (Rhetoric):

Students are able to communicate with confidence and clarity in a variety of formal and informal situations – through the spoken and written word including speeches and essay writing
Students having opportunities to perform, to be able to make things and showcase their learning in a variety of ways
Students having the opportunity to share their own ideas and contribute to educational and philosophical discourse.