My article last week on “Twenty things to do before you are 12” has produced several responses from schools that have such lists. Easterside Primary Academy in Middlesbrough, for example, has an imaginative list of 101 activities to do before pupils leave at 11. Coningsby St Michael’s CofE Primary School in Lincolnshire has 50 things on its list.

Where schools have made pledges such as these, they not only commit to providing the resources to enable the pupils to carry out the pledges, the schools are, in effect, also making these activities part of the curriculum entitlement of the school for all pupils.

With the curriculum defined as “everything that happens to a child in school” - the whole school experience - schools can set out an entitlement that reflects their educational values and the full breadth of learning experiences available for all learners.

At a time of scarce funding, when some difficult decisions have to be made about where to cut spending, the existence of an entitlement for all learners can provide an important yardstick of priorities - a line in the sand that must not be crossed in the cutting process.

Make a pledge to learners

Building on the list of 20 activities that all learners should experience by the age of 12 and the similar lists that exist already in some primary and secondary schools, a curriculum entitlement for all learners could look something like this:

1. High expectations of what can be achieved by every learner in every area of learning.
2. High-quality teaching, underpinned by assessment that strengthens learning.
3. Support with “learning to learn”.
4. A broad and balanced curriculum of knowledge and skills in every year.
5. Support in developing a range of positive personal qualities and attributes.
6. Personal pastoral support at every stage of school.
7. A week’s residential experience (as recommended by Tim Brighouse).
8. High-quality work experience at ages 15 and 17.
9. Encouragement and, where necessary, funding to do the 20 (or 50 or 101) activities in the school’s pledge.
10. Support at each stage of transfer: on entry to the school and between different year groups and key stages.

Developing principles for an entitlement curriculum, such as in the example above, enables a school to translate its educational values into policies and practice. It also helps to determine the school’s priorities and establishes the non-negotiables when tough spending decisions have to be made.

I first thought about the notion of an entitlement for learners around 1990, when I was head of a school with a successful sixth form that attracted students from a wide area at 16. Originally, as part of our marketing strategy, we drew up an entitlement of what 16-year-olds could expect if they entered our sixth form. That entitlement still exists, in almost the same form, today - 27 years later. Not many things in education last that long.

In future articles, I plan to suggest points for a staff entitlement that will aid retention and recruitment, and a parent entitlement to promote engagement with their children’s learning. But the beating heart of a school must be the entitlement it offers to every one of its learners. Every school should have one.

John Dunford is chair of Whole Education, a former secondary head, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders and national pupil premium champion. He tweets as @johndunford

His book, The School Leadership Journey, was published in November 2016.

For more TES columns by John, visit his back-catalogue.