Aidan Severs
@aidansevers.bsky.social
I'm an education consultant empowering leaders and teachers to enhance their curriculum and pedagogy in order to enrich pupil's lives.
www.aidansevers.com
Here on Bluesky to be my whole self though...
www.aidansevers.com
Here on Bluesky to be my whole self though...
Reposted by Aidan Severs
This free lesson plan from @aidansevers.bsky.social helps children to notice changes that have occurred in their locality, and to understand why those changes have taken place. They’ll also develop their fieldwork and mapping skills…
Change over time – Discover your school's place in history
Use this free lesson plan to explore how your school and local area have changed over time, using maps, digital tools and fieldwork...
www.teachwire.net
November 13, 2025 at 7:04 AM
This free lesson plan from @aidansevers.bsky.social helps children to notice changes that have occurred in their locality, and to understand why those changes have taken place. They’ll also develop their fieldwork and mapping skills…
I wrote this in May and it's still true now. Especially true now.
www.aidansevers.com/post/reducin...
I have always believed the National Curriculum where it says 'There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum specifications.’
www.aidansevers.com/post/reducin...
I have always believed the National Curriculum where it says 'There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum specifications.’
Reducing the Volume of Content in the Primary Curriculum - You Can Do It Now!
Have you been following the news about the government's curriculum and assessment review?Is it putting a hold on your primary curriculum development as you wait to see what they say?You can be doing s...
www.aidansevers.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I wrote this in May and it's still true now. Especially true now.
www.aidansevers.com/post/reducin...
I have always believed the National Curriculum where it says 'There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum specifications.’
www.aidansevers.com/post/reducin...
I have always believed the National Curriculum where it says 'There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum specifications.’
Right, government response read, and blog post updated, now with the even catchier title of:
What Primary Schools Need To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review (Updated Based On Government's Response)
URL is still the same: www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
What Primary Schools Need To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review (Updated Based On Government's Response)
URL is still the same: www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
What Primary Schools Need To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review (Updated Based On Government's Response)
The only Curriculum and Assessment Review headline that really matters is this:
It's c200 pages of suggestions FOR THE GOVERNMENT, not for you, your school, your trust or your educational organisat...
www.aidansevers.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Right, government response read, and blog post updated, now with the even catchier title of:
What Primary Schools Need To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review (Updated Based On Government's Response)
URL is still the same: www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
What Primary Schools Need To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review (Updated Based On Government's Response)
URL is still the same: www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
New blog post: What Primary Schools Need* To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review
www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
*cheeky use of need - in a way you don't need to know it at all, but you might find it interesting and informative for the distant future.
www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
*cheeky use of need - in a way you don't need to know it at all, but you might find it interesting and informative for the distant future.
What Primary Schools Need To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review
The only Curriculum and Assessment Review headline that really matters is this:
It's c200 pages of suggestions FOR THE GOVERNMENT, not for you, your school, your trust or your educational organisat...
www.aidansevers.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
New blog post: What Primary Schools Need* To Know From The Curriculum And Assessment Review
www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
*cheeky use of need - in a way you don't need to know it at all, but you might find it interesting and informative for the distant future.
www.aidansevers.com/post/what-pr...
*cheeky use of need - in a way you don't need to know it at all, but you might find it interesting and informative for the distant future.
The only Curriculum and Assessment Review headline that matters:
It's c200 pages of suggestions FOR THE GOVERNMENT, not for you, your school, your trust or your educational organisation.
We've seen government-commissioned reports wholly ignored in the past so don't read this and think it's gospel.
It's c200 pages of suggestions FOR THE GOVERNMENT, not for you, your school, your trust or your educational organisation.
We've seen government-commissioned reports wholly ignored in the past so don't read this and think it's gospel.
November 5, 2025 at 11:43 AM
The only Curriculum and Assessment Review headline that matters:
It's c200 pages of suggestions FOR THE GOVERNMENT, not for you, your school, your trust or your educational organisation.
We've seen government-commissioned reports wholly ignored in the past so don't read this and think it's gospel.
It's c200 pages of suggestions FOR THE GOVERNMENT, not for you, your school, your trust or your educational organisation.
We've seen government-commissioned reports wholly ignored in the past so don't read this and think it's gospel.
I've been back on my blogging game since the summer holidays finished.
Here's my latest post, in praise of the humble intent statement (which you don't actually need but is very useful):
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-you...
Here's my latest post, in praise of the humble intent statement (which you don't actually need but is very useful):
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-you...
Why You Don't Need An Intent Statement (But Why It Is Actually Useful To Have One)
Why don't you need an intent subject for your subject's curriculum? Because no one says you have to, not even Ofsted... However, whilst ‘intent statements’ aren’t a necessity they can help curriculum ...
www.aidansevers.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I've been back on my blogging game since the summer holidays finished.
Here's my latest post, in praise of the humble intent statement (which you don't actually need but is very useful):
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-you...
Here's my latest post, in praise of the humble intent statement (which you don't actually need but is very useful):
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-you...
How are your pupils' word hoards coming along?
Which words have you been teaching? How explicitly have you been teaching them?
What if you've focused on the wrong ones?
This week's post takes a look at why prioritising tier 2 words might be the way forward:
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-we-...
Which words have you been teaching? How explicitly have you been teaching them?
What if you've focused on the wrong ones?
This week's post takes a look at why prioritising tier 2 words might be the way forward:
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-we-...
Why We Should Prioritise The Teaching Of Tier 2 Words
Tier 2 words are a really important part of academic language, even at primary level - assuming children will learn all the correct meanings of these words without them being explicitly taught them is...
www.aidansevers.com
October 2, 2025 at 9:03 AM
How are your pupils' word hoards coming along?
Which words have you been teaching? How explicitly have you been teaching them?
What if you've focused on the wrong ones?
This week's post takes a look at why prioritising tier 2 words might be the way forward:
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-we-...
Which words have you been teaching? How explicitly have you been teaching them?
What if you've focused on the wrong ones?
This week's post takes a look at why prioritising tier 2 words might be the way forward:
www.aidansevers.com/post/why-we-...
Reposted by Aidan Severs
September 23, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Send this to someone who is developing their curriculum and/or doing work around vocabulary teaching:
How To Select Key Vocabulary For Your Subject's Curriculum
www.aidansevers.com/post/how-to-...
How To Select Key Vocabulary For Your Subject's Curriculum
www.aidansevers.com/post/how-to-...
How To Select Key Vocabulary For Your Subject's Curriculum
Words are the building blocks of all learning. If we don't know what individual words mean, we won't understand the meaning of the phrases and sentences that they make up. Whether we read or hear info...
www.aidansevers.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Send this to someone who is developing their curriculum and/or doing work around vocabulary teaching:
How To Select Key Vocabulary For Your Subject's Curriculum
www.aidansevers.com/post/how-to-...
How To Select Key Vocabulary For Your Subject's Curriculum
www.aidansevers.com/post/how-to-...
New blog post: www.aidansevers.com/post/one-thi...
Do you agree? Disagree? What happens in your school?
Do you agree? Disagree? What happens in your school?
One Thing Your Curriculum Documentation Doesn't Need (Unless You Also Provide Lesson Plans)
Garbled title aside, this blog post is a very simple one. And the message is this:You don't need to mandate pedagogical choices.You don't need to spend your curriculum-writing time on telling teachers...
www.aidansevers.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:51 AM
New blog post: www.aidansevers.com/post/one-thi...
Do you agree? Disagree? What happens in your school?
Do you agree? Disagree? What happens in your school?
September 11, 2025 at 6:47 AM
I wrote a poem
Probably been done before
I still wrote it though
Probably been done before
I still wrote it though
September 5, 2025 at 11:00 AM
I wrote a poem
Probably been done before
I still wrote it though
Probably been done before
I still wrote it though
The primary days are over! All three at secondary school for at least a year.
September 4, 2025 at 10:16 AM
The primary days are over! All three at secondary school for at least a year.
Northern boy in London after kicking off the new school year doing some challenge in maths training for a lovely group of school staff.
Let's see what 25-26 holds! Good start ♥️
Let's see what 25-26 holds! Good start ♥️
September 1, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Northern boy in London after kicking off the new school year doing some challenge in maths training for a lovely group of school staff.
Let's see what 25-26 holds! Good start ♥️
Let's see what 25-26 holds! Good start ♥️
Send this to a teacher who loves spending their summer in school: www.aidansevers.com/post/what-sh...
What Should You Do To Get Your New Classroom Ready?
Summer's nearly here and you might be itching to get into your new classroom to spruce it up. But what should you spend your time on?
www.aidansevers.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Send this to a teacher who loves spending their summer in school: www.aidansevers.com/post/what-sh...
Hot off the press, end-of-term reading:
KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility
The next part of my series on how schools might implement continuous provision in key stage 2, based on my experience of having done it.
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility
The next part of my series on how schools might implement continuous provision in key stage 2, based on my experience of having done it.
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility
No two weeks are quite the same when you're implementing continuous provision in key stage 2... Crucially there is a gradual release of responsbility which provides the necessary support for pupils to...
www.aidansevers.com
July 16, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Hot off the press, end-of-term reading:
KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility
The next part of my series on how schools might implement continuous provision in key stage 2, based on my experience of having done it.
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility
The next part of my series on how schools might implement continuous provision in key stage 2, based on my experience of having done it.
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
Schools are thinking around their current assessment processes and looking towards what might be next and better...
Here's a few ideas:
www.aidansevers.com/blog/categor...
Here's a few ideas:
www.aidansevers.com/blog/categor...
Assessment
www.aidansevers.com
July 15, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Schools are thinking around their current assessment processes and looking towards what might be next and better...
Here's a few ideas:
www.aidansevers.com/blog/categor...
Here's a few ideas:
www.aidansevers.com/blog/categor...
Reposted by Aidan Severs
It’s KS2 results day tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about accountability measures, which pupils are included and which ones aren’t, and how things are calculated, please do ask. I’ll be around all day.
July 7, 2025 at 8:12 AM
It’s KS2 results day tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about accountability measures, which pupils are included and which ones aren’t, and how things are calculated, please do ask. I’ll be around all day.
New blog post!
One of the key challenges when designing and delivering continuous provision to any age group, but particularly in KS2, is ensuring that there is curriculum coverage.
Here I explain how this can be managed:
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
One of the key challenges when designing and delivering continuous provision to any age group, but particularly in KS2, is ensuring that there is curriculum coverage.
Here I explain how this can be managed:
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
KS2 Continuous Provision: Ensuring Curriculum Coverage
One of the key challenges when designing and delivering continuous provision to any age group, but particularly in KS2, is ensuring that there is curriculum coverage. By delivering masterclasses, sett...
www.aidansevers.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:34 PM
New blog post!
One of the key challenges when designing and delivering continuous provision to any age group, but particularly in KS2, is ensuring that there is curriculum coverage.
Here I explain how this can be managed:
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
One of the key challenges when designing and delivering continuous provision to any age group, but particularly in KS2, is ensuring that there is curriculum coverage.
Here I explain how this can be managed:
www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-con...
Haven't even shared last week's blog post either.
Here I am, writing stuff and just hoping that people happen to google that thing...
www.aidansevers.com/post/replaci...
Here I am, writing stuff and just hoping that people happen to google that thing...
www.aidansevers.com/post/replaci...
Replacing Onerous Primary Assessment with Better Monitoring and Evaluation (Part 2)
In the first blog post in this series, I posed the following question:"What can subject leaders and school leaders do to replace onerous primary assessment practices with better monitoring and evaluat...
www.aidansevers.com
June 24, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Haven't even shared last week's blog post either.
Here I am, writing stuff and just hoping that people happen to google that thing...
www.aidansevers.com/post/replaci...
Here I am, writing stuff and just hoping that people happen to google that thing...
www.aidansevers.com/post/replaci...
My website stats are telling me to make more effort to share my blog posts on social media.
So here I am, sharing my new blog post on social media.
Click, and make my stats happy:
www.aidansevers.com/post/continu...
So here I am, sharing my new blog post on social media.
Click, and make my stats happy:
www.aidansevers.com/post/continu...
Continuous Provision in KS2: FAQs
I've written previously about how, in the school where I was a deputy head, we developed a way of providing a KS2 version of continuous provision. If you'd like to find out more about what we did, rea...
www.aidansevers.com
June 24, 2025 at 11:13 AM
My website stats are telling me to make more effort to share my blog posts on social media.
So here I am, sharing my new blog post on social media.
Click, and make my stats happy:
www.aidansevers.com/post/continu...
So here I am, sharing my new blog post on social media.
Click, and make my stats happy:
www.aidansevers.com/post/continu...
New blog post - lots of schools interested in this stuff at the moment.
This one contains some great feedback from one of the schools I've worked with.
"There was a general sense that this approach is not extra work, just a different way of thinking."
www.aidansevers.com/post/wonder-...
This one contains some great feedback from one of the schools I've worked with.
"There was a general sense that this approach is not extra work, just a different way of thinking."
www.aidansevers.com/post/wonder-...
Wondering What To Do About Greater Depth?
Your curriculum is great. You meet the needs of your pupils with SEND. But you know you could be doing more for those working at Greater Depth. But what? I have the answers.
www.aidansevers.com
June 9, 2025 at 3:10 PM
New blog post - lots of schools interested in this stuff at the moment.
This one contains some great feedback from one of the schools I've worked with.
"There was a general sense that this approach is not extra work, just a different way of thinking."
www.aidansevers.com/post/wonder-...
This one contains some great feedback from one of the schools I've worked with.
"There was a general sense that this approach is not extra work, just a different way of thinking."
www.aidansevers.com/post/wonder-...
Really looking forward to getting back to this concept with a school down South.
Continuous provision beyond EYFS and into KS2.
Was never my idea, but I had to make it work, & I loved the challenge & believe in the outcome.
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
Continuous provision beyond EYFS and into KS2.
Was never my idea, but I had to make it work, & I loved the challenge & believe in the outcome.
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
Case Study: Revolutionising Curriculum Delivery in KS2
Explore how a UK primary school transformed its KS2 curriculum delivery, emphasizing open-ended challenges, same-day interventions, and creative learning.
www.aidansevers.com
June 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Really looking forward to getting back to this concept with a school down South.
Continuous provision beyond EYFS and into KS2.
Was never my idea, but I had to make it work, & I loved the challenge & believe in the outcome.
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
Continuous provision beyond EYFS and into KS2.
Was never my idea, but I had to make it work, & I loved the challenge & believe in the outcome.
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
www.aidansevers.com/post/case-st...
Anyone else got another week off?
My youngest has and therefore I have!
My youngest has and therefore I have!
Here we go again
Have a good one folks 👍
Have a good one folks 👍
June 2, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Anyone else got another week off?
My youngest has and therefore I have!
My youngest has and therefore I have!
Reposted by Aidan Severs
Read it: www.aidansevers.com/post/curricu...
May 26, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Read it: www.aidansevers.com/post/curricu...