Curriculum Overview

We believe that providing a broad, rich and deep range of learning experiences is essential for the development of the young people who study with us. A well-planned, personalised curriculum, delivered through excellent teaching, will provide our students the opportunities to Excel, Exceed and Explore in response to the challenges of a rapidly developing world.

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Scope

We define the curriculum as:

• the intent behind the plans for teaching and learning
• the body of knowledge and understanding which we wish for students to develop
• the learning skills and approaches which we wish for students to develop
• the wider curriculum, including enrichment and extra-curricular activities facilitated by school.

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Beliefs and ethos

We believe that a well-designed curriculum is essential for tackling educational disadvantage. Our rationale is founded on the following ten principles.

• The curriculum must assist all students in securing high-quality qualifications that will best prepare them for their future education, employment and training.
• All students must study a personalised curriculum which is wide-ranging, balanced and rigorous.
• The curriculum must be designed around effective understanding of the transition from primary to secondary education and the subsequent transition into further and higher education.
• The curriculum must be engaging; learning is fun and it must be rewarding for all.
• The foundation of all learning is knowledge, so we plan and deliver a knowledge-rich curriculum.
• Learning is ‘sticky’ and generative; the more students learn, the more they can learn in the future.
• Core skills are to be mastered within and across all subjects, so the development of skills is also a keen focus of our planning.
• Enrichment, both within the curriculum and beyond, is essential in bringing learning to life, and so must be explicitly planned.
• Employability and preparedness for work must be incorporated into curriculum planning.
• The curriculum must help students to develop spiritually, morally, culturally and socially.

For further details or to discuss any element of the curriculum please contact r.tannahill@harrischaffordhundred.org.uk or call 01375 484580.

The full curriculum policy can be downloaded from our Teaching and Learning page.

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