Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership (CUSP) - The Primary Curriculum

Alex Bedford is the Curriculum Director of CUSP, and states that CUSP is a co-constructive partnership model for improving education. Alex highlighted its focus on distilling evidence into practice and its application across over 850 schools worldwide, including international locations. He emphasised the importance of cognitive neuroscience principles, such as the role of working memory in learning, and detailed CUSP's strategies, including vocabulary teaching, generative learning, and curriculum-aligned assessment.

Alex discussed the importance of clear learning routines and explained the CUSP curriculum model, which includes connecting to prior learning, providing clear instruction, and allowing children to practice and apply concepts. He emphasized that CUSP is not a rigid system but an intelligent provocation for teachers to enhance their pedagogical practices.

Alex presents in the video an overview of the CUSP curriculum, focusing on writing and geography. He explained the reduce and revisit model for teaching writing, which involves introducing foundational knowledge and then revisiting it with more complexity. Alex also discussed the resources provided for teachers, including teacher guides, slide decks, and knowledge notes. He emphasized the importance of connecting abstract concepts to real-world experiences and local contexts.

L I N K S

CUSP
https://www.unity-curriculum.co.uk/mo...

Rosenshine’s Poster
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource...

EFF Schema Blog
https://educationendowmentfoundation....

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