Planning for personalisation

Personalisation is a matter of moral purpose and social justice: pupils from the most disadvantaged groups are the least likely to achieve well and participate in higher levels of education.

The National Curriculum (2008) Statutory Inclusion Statement sets out three principles that are essential to developing a more inclusive curriculum which provides all pupils with relevant and challenging learning.

Schools must:

• set suitable learning challenges
• respond to pupils' diverse learning needs
• overcome potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

QCA defines an inclusive curriculum as one where all learners:

• see the relevance of the curriculum to their own experiences and aspirations.
• have sufficient opportunities to succeed in their learning at the highest standard.

Effective personalised provision has been summarised in the National Strategies 'waves' model. Quality first teaching targeted at all learners' needs and prior learning will challenge underachievement and raise attainment for all pupils including those from minority ethnic groups. In addition, tailored intervention support programmes (Wave 2) and specialised, individualised provision (Wave 3) should be available to accelerate and maximise pupils' progress and to minimise performance gaps.