Primary school curriculum - Case studies of good practice

Published 02/05/2019.  Last updated 11/04/2023
sourcePractice exemplars groupsPrimary categorySchool Improvement categoryCurriculum for Excellence (CfE)

​Explore this resource

How to use this exemplar to improve practice

The following two case studies and one curriculum map focus on Queensferry Primary School, a two stream non-denominational school in South Queensferry near Edinburgh, and Middleton Park Primary School in the Bridge of Don area of Aberdeen.

PDF file: Queensferry Primary School case study (438 KB)

PPT file: Queensferry Primary School curriculum map (2.2 MB)

PDF file: Middleton Park Primary School case study (527 KB)

The Middleton Park case study includes three videos which the school created to share with families and the local community. These cover the curriculum, whole-school contexts for learning and outdoor learning.

Challenge questions

Once you have read the case studies, consider these challenge questions:

  • Does everyone in our school community (staff, children, parents, partners) have a shared understanding of what we aim to achieve for children in our school?
  • To what extent does the curriculum experienced by our children reflect this aim?
  • To what extent does our  curriculum take account of all the factors that make our school unique? How effective is the leadership of curriculum development at all levels?
  • How do we make best use of our partners to provide opportunities for our children to develop skills and achieve as highly as possible?

Primary school curriculum - Case studies of good practice

Published 02/05/2019.  Last updated 11/04/2023
sourcePractice exemplars groupsPrimary categorySchool Improvement categoryCurriculum for Excellence (CfE)

​Explore this resource

How to use this exemplar to improve practice

The following two case studies and one curriculum map focus on Queensferry Primary School, a two stream non-denominational school in South Queensferry near Edinburgh, and Middleton Park Primary School in the Bridge of Don area of Aberdeen.

PDF file: Queensferry Primary School case study (438 KB)

PPT file: Queensferry Primary School curriculum map (2.2 MB)

PDF file: Middleton Park Primary School case study (527 KB)

The Middleton Park case study includes three videos which the school created to share with families and the local community. These cover the curriculum, whole-school contexts for learning and outdoor learning.

Challenge questions

Once you have read the case studies, consider these challenge questions:

  • Does everyone in our school community (staff, children, parents, partners) have a shared understanding of what we aim to achieve for children in our school?
  • To what extent does the curriculum experienced by our children reflect this aim?
  • To what extent does our  curriculum take account of all the factors that make our school unique? How effective is the leadership of curriculum development at all levels?
  • How do we make best use of our partners to provide opportunities for our children to develop skills and achieve as highly as possible?