The curriculum is sequenced coherently, allowing the interweaving of topics to support the acquisition of key concepts; it is compatible with the key requirements of the National Curriculum and robust collaboration between primary and secondary phases ensures progression.
Curriculum components are repeated over time, ensuring all pupils practice retrieval, master skills and concepts, develop long term memory and make progress from starting points. Retrieval tasks are built into all lessons to enable pupils to remember more.
The ‘Bigger Picture’ is shared with pupils, providing them with a rationale for their learning and to make links between lessons, allowing them to know more and remember more.
Teachers ensure lessons provide a supportive environment for all pupils including those with SEND, removing barriers to learning and participation through adaptive planning, modelling, scaffolding, explicit instruction and metacognitive strategies.
Accurate, regular assessment enables an informed and systematic judgement to be made about a pupil’s knowledge, understanding, skills and attitude. Pupils are provided with feedback and set ‘perfecting our work’ targets to close any learning gaps.
Teachers provide a language-rich environment. Key tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary is mapped out carefully across the curriculum to enable our pupils to learn the correct words and phrases in the right order. A phonics-led approach is used to improve reading and spelling. Carefully selected texts are used to foster a culture of scholarly reading.
Pupils are given opportunities to consider how their learning links to future study and careers, and the importance of British Values. Within our very own personal development curriculum, pupils explore key individuals in the world of mathematics, using these individuals to explore key concepts such as protected characteristics as well as deepen their understanding of British Values.
The curriculum is enriched to include experiences outside the classroom, such as Trust Maths Challenges – these are held annually for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. Students compete with other schools in the Trust to display their knowledge of the subject.
Students are provided with a range of recommended reading materials to support and extend their journey through the curriculum. These are designed to be accessible and informative for all students and provide an opportunity for students to investigate the wider context of their learning.
