The government has suggested that low-stakes quizzes may be more useful in identifying pupils’ learning loss than full past papers, in a new paper on how schools can design their curricula to boost education recovery for key stages 1-3.

The paper, Teaching a broad and balanced curriculum for education recovery, suggests that focused assessments may yield more information on gaps in pupil knowledge than sitting a whole exam.

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“The marks pupils achieve on a past paper that covers a wide range of content will not allow you easily to infer what the precise knowledge gaps are,” it says.

“A low-stakes test or quiz, on the other hand, focused on the salient aspects of a specific topic, will very quickly tell you who has learnt it and how well,” it adds.

The paper has a range of advice for how schools can best deliver recovery education. It suggests that, in the case of interventions, schools could use the recovery premium to help deliver these, or use the National Tutoring Programme for further support.

It adds that: “In some subjects (such as mathematics, languages and for phonics), gaps in knowledge are likely to present serious difficulties for pupils in mastering the next stage of what they need to know. Identifying these gaps and teaching the content pupils have missed are essential.”

And for the different key stages it recommends that teachers:

Reception

• Identify gaps in phonics, including identifying pupils who might need additional daily phonics support.
• Use teaching time to increase the number of words pupils can read and spell.
• Prioritise daily story time, reading stories aloud to expand children’s vocabulary through listening to and talking about stories.

Key stage 1

• In art, develop and embed fine motor skills so pupils can use tools competently, eg, cutting with scissors.
• Secure key knowledge of ideas such as belonging and fairness in citizenship.
• Develop pupils’ knowledge of algorithms/sequencing for computing.
• Help pupils evaluate a range of similar products, such as toothbrushes or toys, to develop their ability to design.
• Pupils should practise reading books that are decodable for them.
• Embed key geography skills, such as the names and locations of the world’s continents and oceans.
• Teach detailed, period-specific knowledge for history.
• Introduce pupils to core mathematical concepts.
• Sing and play a range of instruments to improve pupils’ accuracy and expression.
• Use dance and game-based activities to refine pupils’ movement.
• In science, introduce content that will support future knowledge, eg, learning about herbivores will help pupils learn about the food chain later in their education.
• Use parables, such as that of the Good Shepherd, to introduce knowledge of different religious traditions. The Department for Education (DfE) adds that, ideally, schools should focus on two religions closely throughout the key stages, with one Abrahamic and one Dharmic faith used as a focus of study.

Key stages 2 and 3

• In art, secure pupils’ mastery of practical knowledge, such as using different kinds of artistic method and material, giving pupils time for deliberate practice.
• Pupils should know about a broad range of concepts in citizenship, such as democracy and community, in key stage 2, while by key stage 3, they should understand key concepts on civil liberties, Parliament and laws.
• In computing, at key stage 2, teachers should focus on sequencing, selection and repetition while gaps in knowledge about how to use digital devices should be addressed. At key stage 3, the paper says, pupils may have lost out on the opportunity to use different software packages and applications. “When planning practical activity, teachers should consider pupils’ equal access to devices, while at the same time ensuring that the more experienced and knowledgeable users of technology continue to be challenged,” it adds.
• In key stage 3 design, teachers should emphasise knowledge of manufacturing and technology. When teachers feel prerequisite knowledge is secure, pupils should be encouraged to design solutions to real-world problems.
• In English, Year 7 teachers should identify and tackle weaknesses in grammar, reading and spelling. They should continue to promote reading using guided reading as a class, employing discussion to share ideas and experiences about what pupils read.
• In key stage 2 geography, pupils should secure knowledge of critical concepts, such as weather and climate, possibly through study of a region like the Amazon rainforest. At key stage 3, the curriculum should stress the interconnection of human and physical processes.
• In history, teachers should contextualise knowledge for pupils within wider timelines to give pupils a sense of chronology, as well as developing pupils’ knowledge of how historians study the past and develop historical arguments.
• In languages, identify and teach essential vocabulary, teachers should “make sure pupils have a strong mastery of the sound and spelling system” and “prioritise grammar”.
• In maths at key stage 3, link algebraic techniques with arithmetic structures covered in the primary curriculum, expand pupils’ fluency developed at primary school in helping them to use numbers in different formats, such as fractions and decimals, and “make sure that pupils develop a good knowledge of multiplicative structures to provide a firm foundation for study in key stage 4”.
• In music, pupils may have lost opportunities to develop instrumental or singing skills, “or their knowledge of constructive elements, such as scales, chords and musical forms”.
• Water safety should be prioritised in key stage 2, and in key stages 3 and 4, pupils should tackle increasingly complex physical situations.
• In relationships education, “prioritising content about safety should reflect risks that may have increased over the pandemic, such as online exploitation, abuse and grooming. All content should remain age-appropriate and be taught clearly but sensitively”.