Our Curriculum

At our school, we believe that every student should have access to a curriculum that is ambitious, personalised and designed around their individual needs.

As our school continues to grow and evolve, we have expanded our curriculum offer to provide students with a wider range of academic, vocational and practical opportunities. Our current offer includes:

• GCSE Biology
• GCSE Business Studies
• Humanities
• Employability
• GCSE Hospitality and Catering

Our aim is to provide every student with clear pathways for progression, recognised qualifications and the knowledge, skills and confidence they need for their next stage of education, training, employment and adult life.

Individualised Learning Pathways

Every student completes a series of banded assessments to establish their individual starting points, strengths and areas for development.

The information gathered through assessment helps us to create an Individual Educational Programme for each student. This ensures that learning is appropriately challenging, achievable and responsive to individual needs.

Students are not limited by their chronological age or year group. Instead, learning is planned around what each student already knows, what they need to develop next and the most appropriate pathway for future progression.

Core Subject Pathways

All students have access to a core pathway in English and Mathematics.

Depending on their individual starting point and progress, students can work towards appropriate nationally recognised qualifications, including:

• GCSE qualifications;
• Functional Skills qualifications; and
• Entry Level qualifications.

Providing different accreditation routes enables students to experience success while continuing to develop their knowledge and skills.

Entry Level qualifications in English and Mathematics can also provide important stepping stones towards Functional Skills and GCSE study, helping students to build confidence and recognise their progress.

Our Banded Curriculum

Our Banded Curriculum is a bespoke approach developed by the school to provide personalised learning programmes for our students.

Rather than placing students within a curriculum based solely on their age, students are assessed and placed within curriculum bands according to their current knowledge, understanding and skills.

Each band provides a carefully sequenced programme of learning which builds upon previous knowledge and prepares students for their next stage.

One of the key strengths of our Banded Curriculum is its flexibility. Students may access learning from different Key Stages during the same academic year where this is appropriate to their individual needs.

This enables students to:

• address gaps in previous learning;
• consolidate important knowledge and skills;
• progress at an appropriate pace;
• access learning at the right level of challenge;
• develop greater confidence in their abilities;
• work towards recognised qualifications; and
• prepare successfully for their next stage of education, training or employment.

Progress through the bands is regularly reviewed so that students can continue to move forward as their knowledge, skills and confidence develop.

Specialist Intervention

Students also have access to specialist interventions where additional support is required.

Interventions are personalised and may focus on areas such as:

• literacy and numeracy;
• communication and interaction;
• emotional wellbeing;
• confidence and resilience;
• social development;
• learning behaviours;
• independence; and
• identified areas within a student’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Interventions may be academic or emotional and are designed to complement the student’s wider educational programme.

Progress is regularly monitored so that interventions can be reviewed, adapted or changed as individual needs develop.

Preparing Students for Their Future

Our curriculum is ultimately designed to prepare students for life beyond school.

Through a combination of academic learning, vocational opportunities, recognised qualifications, specialist intervention and personalised support, we aim to ensure that every student leaves us with greater:

Knowledge • Skills • Confidence • Independence • Aspiration

Our ambition is for every student to recognise their own potential, experience meaningful success and be well prepared for their next stage of education, training, employment and adult life.