Frequently asked questions

The mid-year assessments are intended to be taken in January, with question papers and mark schemes made available before the start of the term.

The end-of-year assessments are intended to be taken in June, with question papers and mark schemes made available in May.

Dates are available in the Smartgrade assessment calendar.

Formative analysis is available instantly on submission of a completed markbook.

Standardised summative reporting is available from a specified date shortly after the data-entry window closes.

Dates are available in the Smartgrade assessment calendar.

Cohort percentile rankings show your students’ performance against the whole national cohort taking the assessments, including students in United Learning’s academies.

Read our blog to understand more about how we use this analysis in United Learning to understand our students’ performance.

Our 9-1 indicators, available for End of Year 10 assessments in Modern Foreign Languages, are standardised using an average of recent GCSE distributions in each subject. For example, if an average of 4% of pupils usually obtain a grade 9 in Spanish, 4% of the cohort taking our Spanish assessments will be assigned an indicator of 9. 

Availabililty of United Curriculum assessments:

2025/26

2025/26

2026/27 (planned)

Our assessments are designed using research evidence and best practice. All content is appropriate for the relevant age group. Accessibility is built into the design, for example ensuring that the reading demand of the papers is appropriate for the age group. The assessments are designed to differentiate across a wide range of performance, spanning most of the cohort.

It is expected that most students without specific needs, who are following a mainstream curriculum, will be able to access our assessments meaningfully (and receive a standardised grade in the end-of-year assessments).

Students with specific needs, such as those who may require modified exam papers, may not be able to access our assessments. Modified papers are not currently available although we can make editable Word document versions available to allow you to make appropriate modifications.

No. Our mid-year and end-of-year assessments are designed as written exams, to prepare students for Key Stage 4 qualifications and ensure they are valid summative assessments in line with the current mainstream approach to Key Stage 4 qualifications. We will keep this under review as the qualifications system evolves.

Our assessments are developed by teams led by subject specialists with experience in teaching and leading their subject in schools, and assessment experts with experience in best-practice assessment design.

Find out more about our story here

No, you can opt in and out of assessments year on year. You will be under no obligation to use United Curriculum assessments in 2026/27, but you will be able to if you wish to! 

Our curriculum website offers many complete units for free trial. Create a free sample account to download these.

If you’d like to see different units, please get in touch and we can arrange a bespoke trial for your school.

The United Curriculum has been developed assuming a minimum level of resources, such as beakers and compasses for science and geography. The  resources necessary for each unit are listed in the unit’s Teacher Pack, and there is also a complete checklist available for subject leads of each subject (excluding EYFS). 

All our lessons are designed to fit into a 1-hour lesson (except science, which is a 2-hour lesson). We know from experience that teachers find it easy to adapt our resources to their timetable.

Each unit is intended to be 6 lessons, with a 4-lesson option to allow teachers to fill gaps in prerequisite knowledge as required.

In addition to the single-year curriculum plans, the United Curriculum includes an outline for 2-year cycles (Year 1/2, Year 3/4, Year 5/6). Schools can use these outlines and adapt the single-year resources to teach mixed-age classes.

Given the number of possible permutations of mixed-age classes,  we cannot provide other configurations (Year 3/4/5, etc.). However, we can provide advice and guidance, so please do get in touch with us if you have specific questions about mixed-age here.

The power of the United Curriculum is that it has been carefully sequenced, and knowledge builds in every unit in every year. This careful sequencing means that purchasing individual year groups or units is not practical or possible.

The United Curriculum is based on Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.

From designing the curriculum, to delivering knowledge in small steps, to regularly reviewing and building on content, to ensuring that there are prompts for teacher modelling, to providing scaffolds for guided practice – the curriculum is entirely built on research. 

The curriculum has been developed over several years in partnership with United Learning schools across the country, led by experienced subject specialists with a wealth of experience teaching in schools.

Find out more about our story here

Many complete units are available to try for free here.

If you’d like to see different units, please get in touch with us here and we can arrange a bespoke trial for your school.

The United Curriculum is based on approximately 32 weeks of teaching per year. This allows 7 weeks for inset days; gap filling and consolidation; revision and assessments; and miscellaneous activities such as sports days and extended assemblies.

Each subject assumes a number of 50-60 minute lessons per week:

The United Curriculum is based on Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.

From designing the curriculum, delivering knowledge in small steps, regularly reviewing and building on content, ensuring that there are prompts for teacher modelling, providing scaffolds for guided practice – the curriculum is built entirely on research.

Formative assessment tools - questions in lesson resources and pre- and post-learning checks – are included in the curriculum package.

Summative assessments - mid- and end-of-year assessments, analysis and cohort-benchmarked standardised reporting - are available separately.

Click here for more information about the assessment package.

Formative assessment tools - questions in lesson resources and pre- and post-learning checks - are included in the curriculum package.

Summative assessments - mid- and end-of-year assessments, analysis and cohort-benchmarked standardised reporting - are available separately.  

Click here for more information about the assessment package.

The curriculum has been developed over several years in partnership with United Learning schools across the country, led by experienced subject specialists who have a wealth of experience in teaching and leading their subject in schools.

Click here to meet the team.

All your teachers and support staff can access all the resources that are included in your package. 

The United Curriculum is designed as a whole school product. The curriculum has been  carefully sequenced so that content from one year builds into the next. It would be  difficult for schools to deliver the curriculum for one year group only, as the sequencing would be lost.

We recommend trialling the resources and then speaking to your head teacher and/or head of department before getting in touch with us to discuss a bespoke package for your school. 

The United Curriculum has been designed for a school context and is currently only available to institutions with a URN.

The United Curriculum has been sequenced so that ideas are explicitly taught and then revisited, and that concepts are deepened over several years. Committing to at least three years will maximise the benefits of the curriculum.

Across all subjects, full units of resources are available to view, download and trial, so that you can fully explore what we offer before you commit to purchase.

Yes, you can subscribe to whichever subject or subjects you need in primary and/or secondary.

The package of all subjects offers the best value for money. 

It is not possible to buy individual units. The power of the United Curriculum is that it has been  carefully sequenced, and knowledge builds in every unit in every year. This sequencing means that it is not practical or possible to purchase individual units.

If you are enquiring on behalf of your Multi- Academy Trust, we would be happy to discuss how we can support a package for all or some of your schools. 

No. While the curriculum and the assessments are designed to be fully aligned, they are available separately and there is no requirement to use both.

This is the amount we charge per school to cover our administrative and technical costs including Wonde Integration.