How can I implement the iPQ into the school curriculum?

The iPQ3 can be embedded within or alongside the curriculum in various ways. We have provided four examples of successful implementation models to help you get started.

Model 1. Timetabled lessons as an additional standalone subject. 

The iPQ might be allocated 2 lessons per week over the course of around 8 weeks. If time can be found for this model, it has the advantage that it provides a structure for ongoing monitoring of pupil progress and ensures that regular checking can occur without relying on teachers finding extra time outside the timetable. 

Model 2. Timetabled lessons as an alternative to another subject. 

As with model 1, this model has the advantage of providing regular contact points between project teachers and pupils and timetable space can be freed up for this by using the iPQ as an alternative to another subject. A school using this model will need to consider the implications for its curriculum of replacing a subject (or subjects) and consider as well how much scope for free choice of titles it wishes to allow. It may be, for example, that the iPQ3 is used with the proviso that titles must relate to the subject being replaced. 

Model 3. Project work embedded within another subject. 

This model has the advantage of not requiring changes to the timetable and may thus be easier to implement. It may be a good model if one particular department is already teaching project skills, so that when pupils come to begin their projects, they are already familiar with the challenges of project work. To support choice of a wide range of types of project, it may be necessary to involve other members of staff from outside the department that is chiefly responsible for project oversight. 

Model 4. Supervised off-timetable implementation. 

If timetable constraints stand in the way of implementing the iPQ3, models for off-timetable implementation can be explored, with the use, for example, of curriculum enrichment time, clubs or supervised prep sessions. A variant of this model would be to make use of collapsed timetable days devoted to project work. The implications of this model for staff workload will need consideration.