Curriculum Exposed

Curriculum Exposed follows on from Samuel Strickland’s first book, Education Exposed. It is a pacy, punchy and forthright critique of how to drive the curriculum within a school and how the curriculum should be used as a vehicle for change and social justice. The book is simply and neatly laid out, with each chapter identifying common curricular misconceptions, posing lots of key questions to consider and offering multiple practical ideas that you can take away. Every chapter ends with five key highlights for you to carefully consider. It offers a neat interplay of theory, research, Samuel’s expertise and experience coupled with a practical and real-world approach. The first section of the book champions the importance of knowledge, the issue with skills, why the teacher should be the expert, underpinning theories with practical suggestions regarding how to plan the curriculum as a whole. The second section of the book will take you through a series of curriculum tools and teaching approaches that will assist you to think about how you implement the curriculum. The final section of the book champions the notion that the teacher is the expert, focusing on the importance of subject knowledge and coaching and explains how to monitor the curriculum carefully.Curriculum Exposed is relevant for anyone working in a school, irrespective of their position or role. It is designed to be an accessible, versatile and quick read. Equally, it can be used as a ‘dip-in and dip-out guide’ to the curriculum. Multiple practical approaches and strategies are offered as key take-away points.

Samuel began his teaching career as a history teacher in Bedfordshire, having completed his PGCE in secondary history at the University of Cambridge. His career quickly accelerated, becoming a head of history and classics. He then moved on to become a lead professional and worked for a SCITT Consortium. Samuel became an assistant head where he had responsibility for the sixth form and led a post 16 consortium arrangement. He then served as a vice principal, where he directly oversaw student care, the sixth form, the curriculum and served as the safeguarding lead for an entire trust. Samuel also served as a lead facilitator for NPQSL. In 2015 he served as an associate principal, with GCSE and A Level results under his tenure receiving commendation from the DFE, Nick Gibb and the SSAT. Samuel is now the principal of a large all-through school and has helped to guide its GCSE results from the bottom 20% nationally to the top 20% and A Level outcomes to the top 5% nationally.His first book, Education Exposed, was published by John Catt in 2019.