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Curriculum Overview
Curriculum Policy
Subject specific curriculum information can be found at the link below:
Subject Specific Curriculum Information
Context
We are a small, rural school that offers a full and comprehensive education for every student, equipping them to move into post-16 education and their long-term career as well-rounded, responsible young adults.
Intent
Our curriculum is ambitious, well planned and sequenced. Compliant with the Equality Act 2010, our curriculum design ensures that every student is provided with the opportunity and support to progress in their academic achievements as well as enriching and broadening their views and personal development, enhancing their cultural experience to become confident members of our local and wider community. In line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, our curriculum is designed to be equitable and challenging for all students, including those who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs or disabilities and of different starting points.
At Stradbroke High School, we are committed to supporting, nurturing and providing all members of our community to:
Make a positive contribution to society
The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) of our students is of the utmost importance to us. With this in mind, students are provided with the opportunity to participate fully in life at Stradbroke High. Opportunities include: participating in weekly school council meetings to discuss matters concerning the school and to discuss ideas for improvement; applying for leadership roles in each year group; attending numerous trips offered and joining clubs available at lunchtime and after school including sports, Christian union, choir, ‘Amplifier’, homework club and Duke of Edinburgh Award. Activities enable students to embrace the core values of our school and help them to develop as members of a community.
Achieve beyond their expectations
We have a shared belief that all can achieve. As specialists, our curriculum leaders carefully plan the curriculum so that learners have opportunities for cross curricular learning, in that they can do more, know more, remember more and develop knowledge and skills.
Through collaboration with primary colleagues and the sharing of the curriculum, our subject leaders can build on prior learning from Key Stage 2 through the deepening of knowledge and development of skills. In Year 7, gaps in learning are identified and the curriculum adapted to meet the needs of the child so that children from different starting points can all access and achieve through our ambitious curriculum. There are clear end points punctuating the 5-year curriculum with timely assessments that are focused on tracking progress, providing informative feedback to support learners and identifying gaps in learning so that the curriculum can be adapted accordingly.
Teachers and leaders work in co-agency with other subject specialists across and beyond our Trust, engage with educational research and have a reflective approach to their practice. Teachers deliver a challenging curriculum with excellent subject knowledge and effective subject specific pedagogy creating a focused learning environment for all students to flourish.
Our students follow a broad curriculum in year 7, 8 and 9 before selecting their GCSE choices for year 10 and 11. In the majority of subjects, students are taught within mixed ability groups, with a focus on providing support and challenge for all.
Develop independence, resilience and confidence
Along with resources and activities students can choose to engage with outside of the timetabled lessons, every year group is provided with dedicated lessons or calendared sessions designed to address topics dedicated to the individual student and their wellbeing. PD (Personal Development) lessons educate students about how to stay safe and how to cope with situations or events that may occur in life. Activities also encourage the skills of independence, teamwork, empathy and decision-making.
Programs of study are designed to develop skills required for each GCSE subject and to enable students to cultivate the knowledge and ability to achieve well in their chosen pathway and to equip them with the tools needed to flourish beyond their time at Stradbroke High.
Students are encouraged to share their views, raise concerns and ask for support. Some topics are revisited throughout the 5 years to allow for increasing depth of thought and to provide reminders on the critical areas of personal safety and wellbeing.
Expand horizons
As well as the core subjects of English (Language and Literature) Mathematics and Science, recent GCSE option choices have included:
- Art
- Design Technology
- Drama
- Food and Nutrition
- French
- Geography
- History
- Music
- Physical Education
- Religious Studies
- Spanish
The curriculum is designed to be progressive over five-years, building on prior learning, embedding new knowledge and skills whilst also preparing for the next steps of future learning and careers. The ambition and depth of the curriculum encourages students to explore content beyond what is examined. Reading is encouraged to develop independent learning.
Implementation
Every subject has a ‘Curriculum Map’ that sets out the content students will be studying throughout their 15-term learning journey and the skills they will develop at each stage. (Maps can be found on each subject information page.) The map highlights the obvious links to the key values we instil in our students and our commitment to them: to encourage them to make a positive contribution to society; to help them to achieve beyond their expectations; to help them to develop independence, resilience and confidence; and to expand their horizons.
Each subject information page explains the rationale behind the curriculum map, including why the curriculum is sequenced as it is; examples of activities that may be used to deliver the content and develop skills; and examples of assessments that will be used to monitor the impact of the lessons on students’ progress.
Activities and tasks used to implement the curriculum are designed to challenge all students and support where necessary and are informed by teachers’ continued professional development and subject pedagogy.
We value our staff and believe in targeted professional development as one way of providing high quality care and guidance. Our staff access a variety of professional learning sessions and pathways through the school’s CPD program and the Trust’s Academy of Learning as well as Trust wide professional learning conferences with leading academic keynote speakers.
In addition, teachers collaborate through our bespoke in-house training sessions and have the opportunity to engage with action research.
Impact
The impact of our curriculum is monitored in a variety of ways that compliments the content and skills being covered at each stage of the curriculum. Assessments may include a benchmark task; peer and self-assessment that enables the students to become more familiar with the skills they need to improve; formal assessments that explicitly provide a correlating grade; and activities that allows the teacher to ascertain whether students have understood the content and skills being taught.
The full range of methods used to monitor students’ progress are considered when providing information to the students and parents during the reporting cycle (which is explained further in the assessment and reporting section on the website.) This information is also used as an indication, by key staff tracking student performance, about whether students require support and intervention. Any supportive intervention is monitored and reviewed to ensure it is having an impact on progress.
As a school community we are committed to delivering a world class education locally. We work in synergy with other schools as well as across subject areas and all levels of leadership to quality assure the curriculum that our young people receive. These activities have a strong element of pupil voice as well as working in partnership with parents, families and wider professionals.
As a result, we are restless in our ambition for our young people, our professional learning, and providing a high-quality education.
