NextGen Curriculum
The world is changing fast. At Three Spires Trust, we are clear: education must look forward.
The NextGen Curriculum is our commitment to preparing students not only for exams, but for life.
AI
AI isn’t coming — it’s already here. The real question is: are our learners ready for it?
The Three Spires NextGen AI Curriculum ensures they are. Designed for KS2–KS5, it builds the skills, confidence, and ethical understanding students need to navigate and influence, an AI-driven future.
Created by curriculum specialists and refined in partnership with AI in Education, the programme aligns fully with KCIE guidance, national expectations, and the Trust’s wider NextGen vision.
In a world where AI shapes decisions, opportunities, and the way we live, our learners deserve more than basic digital skills. They need to use AI safely, responsibly, and creatively, not as passive users, but as thoughtful decision-makers who can question, challenge, and shape the technologies around them.
A Curriculum Built on Five AI Skill Pillars
Clear, consistent progression from KS2 to KS5, grounded in the core competencies young people need:
- Understanding AI
What AI is, how it works, and where it appears in everyday life.
- AI as a Learning Tool
Using AI deliberately to support learning — not replace thinking — with strong emphasis on ownership, accuracy, and privacy.
- Ethics & Bias in AI
Fairness, transparency, responsibility, digital rights, and evaluating the consequences of algorithmic decisions.
- Online Safety & Data Protection
Understanding digital footprints, deepfakes, voice-cloning, surveillance, and personal data use.
- Critical Thinking & AI Awareness
Spotting hallucinations, evaluating reliability, questioning assumptions, and knowing when AI should not be trusted.
These pillars underpin every scheme of work and lesson from KS2 through KS5, ensuring a coherent and future-focused curriculum.
Why Schools Choose Our AI Curriculum
✔ Developed with AI in Education
Created in collaboration with Alex Russell and the AI in Education team, ensuring our approach reflects national best practice and emerging research.
✔ Explicit opportunities for critical thinking
Lessons deliberately build analysis, evaluation, questioning, and reasoning skills.
✔ Rich oracy & discussion
Structured debates, ethical dilemmas, ranking tasks, scenario analysis, and shared reasoning are woven throughout.
✔ Real-World Relevance
From hiring algorithms to media manipulation, deepfakes, social bias, and workplace automation — students learn what AI means for their future.
✔ Fully Resourced & Ready to Teach
Every unit includes:
- Complete slide decks
- Activities & case studies
- Assessment rubrics
- CPD notes for staff
- Practical AI tasks
- Modelled examples
✔ Built for Staff Confidence
We provide:
- AI terminology guides
- Online safety support (e.g., Boxphish)
- Prompt-writing frameworks
- Clear “what good looks like” teacher notes
No specialist background required.
Curriculum Pathway (KS2 → KS5)
KS2
Digital literacy, online safety, early AI awareness, media evaluation, and age-appropriate critical thinking.
KS3
Introduction to AI, ethics, bias, digital citizenship, online safety, and AI as a learning tool.
KS4
Deepening critical thinking, AI misuse, accuracy checking, ethical frameworks, and workplace AI readiness.
KS5
Advanced evaluation, AI-supported learning strategies, extended reasoning, research tasks, and preparation for future study and work.
CPD & Consultancy: Supporting Schools to Implement the Curriculum
To ensure the curriculum lands powerfully in every setting, we offer a full suite of AI education CPD and consultancy, including:
- Strategic Leadership Support
- Helping senior leaders design, adapt, and implement a whole-school AI strategy.
- Staff Training & Professional Development
- From bite-size AI LiteBites to full Next Gen AI Masterclasses, we build staff confidence in teaching, using, and overseeing AI safely and effectively.
- Curriculum Implementation Support
- We guide schools in embedding the AI curriculum into Computing and PSHE
- Support with AI policies, acceptable use guidance, data protection considerations, and KCIE-aligned safe practice.
- Whole-Staff and Departmental Training
- Interactive workshops, hands-on demonstrations, ethical case discussions, and practical classroom strategies.
- Whether you need a single twilight session or a Trust-wide rollout, our consultancy ensures your school is AI-ready.
Interested in getting involved? Email nextgen@threespirestrust.org.
