Our statement of curriculum intent
We have designed our curriculum based upon an acute understanding of the communities who we serve, where 44% of our students are in receipt of the Pupil Premium and 50% above the national average of pupils have SEN Support.
Our curriculum is based upon the National Curriculum and each subject area focus on key aspects of knowledge and skills that are taught and developed over time. Departments have clear expectations of what students should be able to do and know by the end of each year. Building on what students already know, our curriculum is ambitious and strives to ensure students progress in their understanding and application of key knowledge and skills.
At the heart of our curriculum provision is an academic core, where Maths and English are seen as essential. Our curriculum is intended to support students to be the best they can be, and we believe it is vital that this academic core is interwoven with our school ethos and values of commitment, creativity and community.
These values should be shown on a daily basis, for example, commitment can be shown in high levels of attendance, creativity shown in the production of original work and community be shown by us all supporting and encouraging each other. Together we believe that our curriculum will prepare our students to be active, engaged and successful citizens who are confident to break any boundaries that they may have perceived were in place. We intend to support our students to continue with academic and vocational study beyond their time with us, so they may be prepared and ready to enter a successful working life.
How do we structure our curriculum?
Years 7, 8 and 9 have a broad and balanced curriculum, allowing pupils to develop skills and knowledge across a wide range of subjects. In years 10 and 11, pupils specialise in subjects which will provide them with a springboard to further education, employment and training.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9):
Pupils study the National Curriculum in English (inc. drama), maths, science, history, geography, French, music, art & textiles, design & technology, food technology, ICT, and PE (inc. dance). The hours per cycle given to each subject is laid out in the table below.
| Subject | Teaching Hours - 50 Period | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Total | |
| English | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| Maths | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Science | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| History | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Geography | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| French | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| PE | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Art & Textiles | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Music | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| ICT | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| PiXL Edge | 1 | 1 | N/A | 2 |
| RE | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| PSHE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Tech Carousel (Catering / D & T) | 2 | 2 | N/A | 4 |
| Catering | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 |
| Design and Technology | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 |
| Drama | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Dance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
In KS3 pupils are taught in streamed attainment groups for most subjects. The teaching groups are based on attainment and pastoral information received from the feeder primary schools, our internal assessment and standardised CAT scores. The pupils have different groupings for foundation and technology/art subjects.
The wider curriculum is met through PSHCE lessons and religious education lessons following the locally agreed syllabus. We also provide lessons to develop pupils using the PiXL Edge LORIC framework (Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication skills). Other aspects of the wider curriculum are met through drop-down days which focus on the development of cultural capital, extra-curricular clubs and links with local businesses. The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is offered to pupils in year 9 and year 10.
Key Stage (Years 10 – 11):
Pupils study maths, English Language, and English Literature. All pupils begin studying the triple sciences (chemistry, biology and physics) in year 10; and with some pupils continuing to be entered for triple sciences and others entered for the combined science award in year 11. The majority of pupils also study history, geography or French (or a combination of all three). The school ensures that the Ebacc is available to all pupils as part of the curriculum design, although there is no compulsion for pupils to opt for the Ebacc suite of subjects. Pupils also take subjects from the list of options subjects which is updated each year. Below is a table which outlines the allocation for each subject in the timetable:
| Subject | Teaching Hours Over Two Weeks | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 10 | Year 11 | |
| English | 9 | 9 |
| Maths | 8 | 8 |
| Science | 12 | 12 |
| Option A | 6 | 6 |
| Option B | 6 | 6 |
| Option C | 6 | 6 |
| PE | 2 | 2 |
| Social Development | 1 | 1 |
Pupils are taught in sets in English, maths and science. They are taught in mixed attainment groups in their option subjects. The school offers a range of qualifications to pupils, including GCSEs, BTECs, OCR Nationals, City & Guilds and RSA qualifications. We pride ourselves on knowing our pupils and choose the qualifications which are best suited to meeting our curriculum aims. We provide our CEIAG through our curriculum time, drop-down days with local and national businesses, and a range of providers who visit the school throughout the year ensuring we meet the Gatsby benchmarks. PSHCE and RE statutory requirements are met through our Social Development lessons.
