Curriculum innovation & professional renewal: reclaiming a 7–11 pedagogy

By reclaiming classroom practices that were once common in Scottish primary schools, headteacher Graeme Young and the teachers of Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary have embedded an approach to curriculum design, for pupils aged 7–11, which has strengthened teacher professional autonomy and improved the quality of pupil learning. Such professional autonomy, encompassing curriculum flexibility and active decision-making about organisation of content and classroom dynamics, is a key contributing factor to teacher wellbeing (Lima et al., 2024).