Glossary

Programme

A sequence of units for a particular subject and year group.

Note: there are sometimes additional programme factors - see below.

Programme factors

Elements that define and differentiate an educational programme.

Subject / parent subject

A distinct area of academic study as defined by the national curriculum.

Child subject

A specialised subdivision or branch of a subject. Currently, this applies to key stage 4 science only.

Exam subject

A 'child subject' categorisation within a 'parent subject' which possesses an associated examination. For example, in key stage 4 science, the 'exam subjects' would be: physics, biology, chemistry and combined science.

Subject categories

A well-established, high level division within a subject that helps filter and group units based on their content, signpost teachers, and provide a framework for the subject. Not all subjects will have subject categories. Currently, this applies to key stages 1-4 science, key stages 1, 2 and 4 English and key stages 1-3 religious education only.

Phase

A broad period in education, which aligns with how schools are organised. For example:

• Primary
• Secondary

Key stage

A formal stage of education that exists within a phase. For example:

• The primary phase is made up of key stages 1 and 2
• The secondary phase is made up of key stages 3 and 4

Year / year group

A grade level within a key stage of education. For example:

• Key stage 1 is made up of years 1 and 2
• Key stage 2 is made up of years 3, 4, 5 and 6
• Key stage 3 is made up of years 7, 8 and 9
• Key stage 4 is made up of years 10 and 11

Exam board

An official body that designs, sets, and grades qualifications within the framework of the national curriculum.

Tier

A categorisation within a programme, based on the level of challenge in the related exam paper. For example:

• Foundation
• Higher

Currently, this applies to key stage 4 science and maths only.

Unit

A topic of study that is associated with a sequence of lessons.

Unit variant

A variation on a unit. 

For example, a maths unit called ‘Right-angled trigonometry’ possesses a different sequence of lessons depending on the learning tier it is associated with. In the higher learning tier, the unit has 2 additional lessons on applying trigonometry in 3D.

Optionality variant

A unit with different options to allow teachers to personalise the content to their pupils’ needs. 

For example, a history unit called ‘Historic environment (Norman England)’ provides options depending on the event or landmark that the teacher feels would be most suitable for their pupils (e.g. the Battle of Hastings or Durham Cathedral).

Unit sequence

An ordered arrangement of units designed to build knowledge progressively. A unit sequence contributes to a curriculum sequence.

Order

An attribute assigned to a unit which indicates its position in the sequence. This is important because each unit builds on the knowledge covered in previous units.

Thread

An attribute assigned to a unit. Threads can be used to group together units across the curriculum that build a common body of knowledge.

For example, in primary English the thread ‘Reading and writing text that inform’ groups together units including ‘School trip: writing a recount’ and Monster pizza: instruction writing’.

Threads are important for making vertical connections across year groups in each subject.

Lesson

An individual teaching session that has a specific learning outcome. Each lesson contains 8 components:

• Curriculum information
• Slide deck
• Video
• Video transcript
• Prior knowledge starter quiz
• Assessment exit quiz
• Worksheet and answers
• Additional materials

Learning cycle

A section within a lesson which contains an explanation; check for understanding; practice tasks; and feedback. Most lessons contain between 2 and 4 learning cycles.

Order

An attribute assigned to a lesson which indicates its position in the sequence. This is important because each lesson builds on the knowledge covered in previous lessons.

Keyword

A piece of vocabulary that is critical to pupils’ understanding of the lesson. Each lesson has a list of keywords that should be taught at the beginning of the lesson. Key words are profiled frequently throughout the lesson and are indicated in bold.

Key learning points

Key learning points list the main knowledge pupils will learn in a lesson.

Misconception

A common misunderstanding or mistake that pupils may have about the lesson content.

Misconception response

Explicit clarification and explanation of the misconception, leaving no ambiguity.

Pupil lesson outcome

A statement written in pupil-friendly language, to summarise what they will know or be able to do by the lesson.

Teacher tip

A suggestion for planning for participation in the lesson, which may be teacher or pupil actions.

Content guidance

Warnings to the teacher about the lesson content, falling into one of the following four categories:

• Language and discrimination
• Upsetting, disturbing and sensitive
• Nudity and sex
• Physical activity and equipment requiring safe use

Supervision level

A description of the highest level of suggested guidance, based on the contents of the lesson. Sub-guidance levels are:

• 1 = Adult supervision suggested
• 2 = Adult supervision recommended
• 3 = Adult supervision required
• 4 = Adult support required

It is advised to use ‘supervisionLevel’ rather than rely on the sub-guidance levels.

Lesson guide

A document (pdf) that contains all the necessary information to deliver a lesson.

Currently, this applies to practical physical education (PE) lessons only.

Slide deck

A collection of slides organised to form a coherent presentation of a lesson. A slide deck contains learning cycles, a lesson outline, a lesson outcome, keywords, and a summary.

Additional materials

Additional documents (pdf) that are essential to delivering key lesson content.

For example, 

• in a history lesson the additional material is a written narrative that accompanies the visual images in the slide deck;
• in a languages/MFL lesson the additional material includes new vocabulary taught in this lesson and vocabulary that is being revisited having been previously taught.

Lesson video

A video of an experienced teacher delivering the lesson. This can be used to guide pupils through a lesson, or as an example for a teacher who is planning to deliver the lesson themselves.

Video transcript

A transcript of the spoken content in a lesson video.

Lesson guide

A document (pdf) containing practice tasks from the lesson.

Slide deck

A document (pdf) containing example responses to the practice tasks contained in a worksheet.

Quiz

A collection of questions and answers used to assess a pupil's comprehension of a lesson.

Starter quiz

A quiz completed by a pupil at the start of a lesson to activate and assess their prior knowledge.

Exit quiz

A quiz completed by a pupil at the end of a lesson to assess their learning against the lesson’s key learning points.

Question

A specific prompt in a quiz to assess a pupil's understanding of the key learning points.

Question type

The style of a quiz question. For example, multiple choice.

Answers

The possible responses to a quiz question, with correct answers indicated.

Distractor

Quiz answers that are incorrect. These are designed to be conceptually similar to the correct answer to challenge pupils’ understanding. 

The distractor field will be marked ‘true’ if the answer is a distractor; the distractor field will be marked ‘false’ if the answer is correct.

Answer type

The format of a quiz answer. For example, text or image.