While the focus provided by the new Ofsted framework has allowed schools to begin to, perhaps, rebalance the curriculum, the time allocated to the foundation subjects is still fairly marginal in many schools. This means that hard decisions have to be taken about what to include and what to leave out, raising questions such as: 

• How do we cover the requirements of the National Curriculum?
• How do we organise the sequence of learning, ensuring that our curriculum map is coherent and cogent?

Teacher subject knowledge is key here in allowing us to make appropriate selections. It is probably better to ‘deep dive’ into an aspect or focus than to attempt to skim superficially across the whole period. The confidence with which we are able to justify the decisions made often relies on our own subject knowledge and grasp of pedagogical content knowledge. Why have you chosen these periods, in this order and focussing on this, rather than that, person or event? These are the questions we should be prepared for.