Area Based Curriculum

The Area Based Curriculum comprises a new type of local curriculum, one that is co-owned by schools and the community that surrounds them, and one that uses the surrounding area and its resources as a framework for curriculum development. See concept note.

Having initiated a pilot project in Manchester in September 2008, we're now looking at how we can use what we've learned from there to develop the idea further in other places - particularly as part of our Citizen Power Peterborough project.

What is an Area Based Curriculum?

An Area Based Curriculum is one that is co-designed and co-owned by schools and other partners in the community. It takes into account a variety of views about what it is important to know, and is taught by teachers and community members together, inside school and in other locations in the local area.

Any school curriculum must of course take the National Curriculum and national qualifications into account, as well as ensure that the professional role of the teacher is respected. An Area Based Curriculum must do all of this, but in addition ensure that it challenges and questions the following:

1. The people involved: re-imagining who can be involved with education, and in what ways, by engaging a wider community in curriculum development
2. The places where learning happens: re-imagining the role of a place in educating young people by establishing the whole area as a learning environment
3. What it is important to know: re-imagining where knowledge is created and found by exploring the context of a place.

Rethinking the importance of teaching: Curriculum and collaboration in an era of localism

The latest report from the RSA's Area Based Curriculum work addresses the challenge of teachers not only being asked to design curriculum, but to collaborate with local stakeholders to do so. It concludes that while government emphasis on the quality and importance of teaching is welcome, the vision of what a quality teaching workforce looks like lacks ambition. Creative, critical and collaborative professionals are required to meet the challenge of diversity and knowledge in the 21st century, and teachers need to be supported and challenged to develop forms of professionalism that meet this need.

Download Rethinking the importance of teaching report (PDF, 121KB)

View more Area Based Curriculum reports