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Leading curriculum K–12

Embed phase

Strengthen and scale to ensure sustainable practices and systems.

Effective curriculum implementation is an iterative process for teachers and school leaders, rather than a singular event. Teachers and school leaders may move in and out of the phases depending on the syllabus they are implementing.

The phases of curriculum implementation:

  • can be used as a guide to support activities and reflective thinking in schools when implementing a new syllabus
  • are informed by evidence for effective implementation in schools and are aligned to department syllabuses
  • can be used flexibly across a range of schools and a variety of specific roles.

Watch 'Phases of curriculum implementation – Embed' (2:11).

Information about the overarching activities and reflective questions for the embed phase of curriculum implementation

Narrator

Embed is the third phase of curriculum implementation.

In this phase, school leaders and teachers strengthen and scale practices and systems for effective curriculum implementation.

School leaders and teachers will participate in a variety of activities supported by new and existing resources. These include: 

  • building a culture of evidence-based, reflective teaching
  • sustaining ongoing improvement in curriculum implementation
  • providing ongoing development opportunities for all staff
  • evaluating processes and structures to monitor planning, programming, assessing and reporting
  • considering changes to the School Excellence Plan (SEP) to support syllabus implementation
  • refining the whole school approach for identifying effective curriculum implementation practice.

During the embed phase, you could consider these reflective questions with colleagues:

  • What has been the impact of curriculum change on student learning?
  • In what ways are staff engaging in reflective practices to continually build their capability? 
  • What are the enablers and barriers for future curriculum implementation?

Professional learning, resources and advice are available to support school leaders and teachers throughout curriculum implementation.

During the embed phase, it is important that school leaders and teachers strengthen and scale to ensure sustainable practices and systems.

Embedding effective implementation is ongoing. You may move in and out of this phase depending on the syllabus you are implementing.

To support you, role-specific curriculum implementation journeys have been created for principals, middle leaders and teachers with links to professional learning, resources and advice.

For more information, visit the department’s phases of curriculum implementation web page

[End of transcript]

Strengthen

In the embed phase, teachers and school leaders strengthen to ensure sustainable practices and systems.

Individuals

In strengthen, all teachers and leadership team members:

  • strengthen processes, practices and systems to ensure sustainable curriculum implementation
  • sustain a culture of effective, evidence-based reflective teaching and ongoing improvement as part of curriculum implementation.

Individual activities

  • Collaborate with team members to continually strengthen teaching and learning programs
  • Work with middle leaders to contribute to a culture of evidence-based reflective teaching and ongoing improvement (see Evaluating curriculum implementation)
  • Access ongoing professional learning and research to ensure a high expectations culture for students learning
  • Participate in and contribute to collaboration, observations, co-teaching and planning, reviewing evidence and reflecting on practice

Individual reflective questions

  1. How has my teaching led to improvement in student learning?
  2. How am I reflecting on my teaching practice?
  3. What has been the impact of curriculum change on student learning?

School teams

In strengthen, the school leadership team:

  • ensure a strengthening of sustainable practices and systems across all teams in the school to support ongoing effective curriculum implementation
  • provide ongoing professional development to support curriculum implementation
  • enable opportunities for staff to work collaboratively to ensure strengthening of new curriculum.

School team activities

  • Engage with Leading Effective Curriculum Implementation (LECI) Module 6: Embedding curriculum change to drive school improvement
  • Work with the leadership team and teachers to create a culture of evidence-based reflective teaching and ongoing improvement (see Evaluating curriculum implementation)
  • Ensure systems facilitate professional dialogue, collaboration and modelling of effective practice to provide ongoing professional learning opportunities for staff
  • Sustain a culture that supports meaningful teacher collaboration, observations, co-teaching and planning, reviewing evidence and reflecting on practice (see School Leadership Institute resources)
  • Use strategic financial management to allocate funds for ongoing sustainable curriculum implementation

School team reflective questions

  1. What has been the impact of curriculum change on teaching and learning?
  2. What has been the impact of curriculum change on student learning across the school?
  3. In what ways are staff engaging in reflective practices to continually build their capability?

Scale

In the embed phase, teachers and school leaders scale to ensure sustainable practices and systems.

Individuals

In scale, all teachers and leadership team members:

Scale processes and practices to ensure sustainable and ongoing improvement of curriculum implementation.

Individual activities

  • Consider if the syllabus changes have been fully implemented and are evident in curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting
  • Provide feedback to leaders on processes and structures for whole school monitoring of planning and programming, assessing and reporting
  • Contribute to a review of implementation data to identify effective curriculum implementation practice to use with future syllabuses
  • Consider classroom physical and material needs for future curriculum implementation
  • Work collaboratively with middle leaders to reflect on areas of success and improvements needed for future syllabuses
  • Evaluate and adjust planning, programming, assessing and reporting to parents according to feedback

Individual reflective questions

What are the enablers and barriers to future curriculum implementation?

School teams

In scale, the school leadership team:

  • evaluate processes and structures to monitor planning, programming, assessing and reporting and consider how this approach will be scaled across the school to enable long term change
  • consider changes needed to the School Excellence Plan (SEP) for further syllabus implementation
  • refine the whole school approach for identifying effective curriculum implementation practice.

School team activities

  • Evaluate processes and structures for whole-school monitoring of planning and programming, assessing and reporting (see Evaluative thinking)
  • Use evaluation data to continually review whole school planning and programming, assessing and reporting, to sustain effective implementation
  • Review implementation data and consider changes to the School Excellence Plan to meet system expectations for future curriculum implementation (see Evaluation resources hub)
  • Collate information on classroom physical and material needs for future curriculum implementation
  • Collaboratively review the areas of success and challenges for future curriculum implementation

School team reflective questions

  1. What are the whole school enablers and barriers for future curriculum implementation?
  2. What adaptations can be made to strengthen and scale successful practices and systems for future curriculum implementation?

Next steps

Teachers and school leaders may move in and out of the phases and the Engage, Enact and Embed webpages can be used as a guide to support activities and reflective thinking. Return to these webpages as needed to strengthen and scale effective curriculum implementation for any new syllabus.

Purpose of resource

The phases of curriculum implementation (Engage, Enact, Embed) can be used as a guide to support activities and reflective thinking in schools when implementing a new syllabus. They are informed by evidence for effective implementation in schools and aligned to department policies. These phases can be used flexibly across a range of schools and in variety of specific roles to guide effective curriculum implementation.

Target audience

The audience for this resource is school principals, school leadership teams and school staff.

When and how to use

Curriculum implementation is core and ongoing business in schools and effective curriculum implementation drives student growth and attainment, and school improvement.

New syllabuses provide schools with a unique opportunity to re-focus and place curriculum at the heart of school planning. This resource can be used to highlight the thinking schools may consider during each phase of curriculum implementation. Reflective questions and suggested activities are included to support this process for specific roles in both primary and secondary schools.

Research base

This resource was developed by the Curriculum Directorate. The research base used was NESA’s and the department's What works best in practice.

In addition the following research was considered:

  • Albers, B and Pattuwage, L. (2017). ‘. Melbourne: Evidence for Learning
  • Dao L, (2021) ‘Challenges and enablers encountered by a curriculum leadership team in implementing the national curriculum in one Australian school’, Leading and Managing, 27 (1): 77-98
  • Gouëdard P, Pont B, Hyttin S, Huang P (2020) ‘ 20-45. OECD Publishing [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development], Paris
  • Jones, C and Anderson M (2001) ‘. Learning and Skills Development Agency, London
  • Sharples J, Albers B, Fraser S, Deeble M, Vaughan T. (2019) ‘, Evidence for Learning.

Alignment

Alignment to system priorities and/or needs – NSW Curriculum Reform.

Alignment to School Excellence Framework:

  • Learning domain – Curriculum, Assessment, Reporting
  • Teaching domain – Effective classroom practice, Learning and development
  • Leading domain – ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍøal leadership

Alignment with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers – 2.3, 6.3, 7.2

Contact

Email questions, comments, and feedback about this resource to contactcurriculumimplementation@det.nsw.edu.au using the subject line ‘Phases of curriculum implementation’.

Engage phase

Engage phase

Explore aspects of a new syllabus to identify and plan for changes required for effective curriculum implementation.

Enact phase

Enact phase

Teach, assess and report using the new syllabus and evaluate to refine practices and systems. 

Category:

  • Teaching and learning

Topics:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Directors ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍøal Leadership
  • Teaching and Learning Support
  • Teaching and learning
  • Web page

Business Unit:

  • Teaching and Learning Support
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