Co-design
Co-design started at CRST in 2017 and is our mechanism for enabling genuine collaboration. Co-design groups and meetings are calendared. Staff across schools who lead on the same subject or strategic area come together with a co-deign chair or trust lead facilitating the meetings.
Through such genuine collaboration we can network, co-plan, moderate and facilitate subject or domain specific CPD. Developing expertise and enabling genuine collaboration are the founding principles of co-design. Each subject group meets once a term- twice online and once as a full day ‘conference’. Co-design strategic teams such as for PD, SEND, Reading, Safeguarding and SEND meet twice a term.
Curriculum & subject groups
We have subject groups across secondary schools and also within primary schools who meet separately as subject and year teams. Our Reading and English leads work across the phases. And our secondary Creative Arts lead for Art and Design will move to working across phases in 2025/26 after starting with us in 24/25.
Strategic cross phase groups
- Disadvantaged and vulnerable (including PP)
- SEND
- Teaching and Learning Leaders
- Attendance
- Safeguarding
- Behaviour and relationships
- Personal Development leaders (including enrichment)
- Digital learning developments/AI
Separately all Heads of Sixth meet and collaborate which is led by our Head of Central Sixth and similarly, this occurs for EYFS with our EYFS trust lead meeting with all EYFS leads regularly to support, co-plan, share best practice and research and moderate.
Examples of collaboration and development within co-design:
- Our disadvantaged and vulnerable /PP leaders’ group have worked with Marc Rowlands and supported each other with peer reviews on disadvantage
- Our Teaching and Learning curriculum leads have worked together and external expertise working alongside Alistair Smith , John Tomsett, Voice 21 and Mary Myatt in the past on KS3 curriculum reviews.
- Our SENCos have worked alongside our trust Director for SEND with inputs from many specialists and local authority leads including Lorriane Peterson from NASEN.
- Co-design is a mix of working together and co-planning and assessing and ensuring external inputs support CPD. All subject groups at secondary are linked to professional associations and Primary teams work with Thrive and research schools utilising the CUSP curriculum materials from Unity Research school and PIXL.
CRST Curriculum Rationale
Co- Design at Central Region Schools Trust is about the power of collaboration; creating space for subject expert talk and opportunities to share. Co-Design Teams are led by SLEs and Lead Practitioners who co-design curriculum: the teams collaborate, co-plan, share, moderate and support subject focused expert CPD including designing summer term subject- focused conferences. Co-design Teams provide network groups not only to co-plan but to support subject leadership, so people do not work in isolation. SEN, CPD, Digital Learning, PSHE, T&L, Safeguarding, Behaviour, Attendance, Reading, Mental Health & Well-Being and Disadvantaged/Vulnerable groups are cross phase to develop expertise and knowledge across stages and phases.
Co-Design Rationale
- Shared Vision: Communication – reference SharePoint, Co-Design Distribution Lists, *3 Trust co-design throughout academic year to be added to at discretion of each curriculum area (moderation, assessment)
- Shared Values: Structured, timely meetings, avoid distractions, commit to outcomes, be kind, opportunity to ask questions, solution focused, all colleagues contribute with equity, commit to sharing of best practice.
Co-Design: Core function
- Curriculum (Intent and enactment through a shared vision of concepts and how these allow pupils to make progress and retrieve effectively; co-planning of how to implement)
- T&L (Cycle – what does the experience look like for learners in our Trust, KASE)
- Moderation/Assessment (Supporting colleagues at varying intervals throughout the year)
- CPD (Summer session, Professional Association, identifying need throughout the year)
- Networking (Meetings, co-planning, sharing practice, support at all career stages, SharePoint, Distribution Lists)
Co-design subject lead/chair: key roles
- To attend co-design leads strategic meetings (*3 each year, TEAMS)
- To liaise with co-chair to design agenda for subject curriculum meetings (*3 per year, 2 on TEAMS and the summer conference at the Assay)
- To link with professional associations to establish opportunities for resource sharing and CPD delivery. • To facilitate co-design meetings for subject area, with co-chair and then save minutes/actions in SharePoint.
- To complete moderation (November annually) by inviting colleagues to come together in-person (wherever possible).
- To complete any audit/evaluations required for Trust around curriculum. • To host the summer subject conference at the Assay and liaise with CPLR&D lead to secure CPD and facilitator input.
