14-16 Curriculum Overview

CURRICULUM AIM

What does the Curriculum empower our students to achieve?  

The curriculum is designed to help students realise:

• Confidence through personal and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• Relevant opportunities, experiences and responsibilities
• How to integrate process and functional skills
• Concepts, thinking, understanding and reasoning
• An appreciation of human creativity and successful, personalised achievement

CURRICULUM TARGETS

• To empower students to find and collect appropriate information
• To empower students to give reasons for opinions and actions
• To empower students to generate and extend ideas
• To empower students to develop as individuals
• To empower students to evaluate and make judgements
• To empower students to make contributions to society
• To empower students to recognise success

LEARNING FOR LIFE & WORK

What areas of learning for life and future work / training do we develop through the current curriculum?  

• Personal Development
• Local and Global Citizenship
• Employability
• Financial Capability
• Home Economics

KEY ELEMENTS

What are the fundamental components that underpin skills and knowledge across the curriculum?

• Personal understanding
• Mutual understanding
• Personal health
• Moral character & spiritual awareness
• Citizenship
• Cultural understanding
• Media awareness
• Equality and diversity
• Employability
• Economic awareness
• Education for sustainable development

CROSS-CURRICULAR SKILLS & THINKING SKILLS

What cross-curricular skills do we value?

What range of thinking skills are used to develop learning?

Ensuring learning difficulties and disabilities are matched to thinking skills.

• Communication
• Reading & writing
• Using Numeracy & ICT
• Working with others & social engagement
• Organisational skills
• Independence & responsibility
• Self-esteem & confidence
• Self-worth & self-value
• Respect for self and others

Students are given opportunities to learn how to: 

• Define a problem, enquire and predict outcomes
• Understand cause & effect
• Make connections, investigate, sort and classify, sequence and summarise
• Memorise and recall, compare and contrast, imagine, modify and make deductions
• Draw inferences, reason, explain, evaluate and create

AREAS OF LEARNING

Subjects / topics / opportunities etc.

• Core
• English (Literacy), Maths (Numeracy), Science
• Foundation
• ICT, PE, Citizenship
• Entitlement
• The Arts (Art & Design, Music, Dance, Drama)
• Design & Technology (Design Technology)
• Humanities (Geography, History)
• MFL (French)
• Religions & Culture (RE, Sex & Relationships Education)
• Complimentary activities: where appropriate - Food Technology, Horticulture, physiotherapy, warm-water swimming, occupational therapy and equine therapy

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

How are students engaged and their learning optimized to help with real-world challenges?

• Integrated skills
• Offers choice
• Enquiry-based
• Collaboration and partnership working
• Investigation & problem solving
• Relevant to daily experiences 
• Challenging and enjoyable
• Media-rich and creative
• Encouraging independence
• Active and hands-on
• Student-centred 
• Supportive and caring
• Culturally diverse
• Positive reinforcement
• Differentiated and reflective
• Structured yet flexible
• Understanding boundaries
• Knowing about expectations
• Links to KS3 and 16+

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

How does assessment aid the students’ learning?

Through assessment in 14-16 we:

• Advise on what to improve and how to improve it
• Celebrate success
• Encourage peer and self-evaluation of learning
• Build an open relationship between the students, teachers and support staff
• Share learning intentions with students
• Have whole group and individual target setting
• Take risks to enhance learning
• Advise on what to improve and how to improve it
• Celebrate success
• Encourage peer and self-evaluation of learning

ATTITUDES & DISPOSITIONS

What attitudes to learning and dispositions are clearly evident across the 14-16 Curriculum?

• Compassion – Achievement – Respect - Responsibility
• A right to be heard
• Support & concern for others
• Sharing worries
• Understanding personalities
• Commitment, determination, self-belief & optimism
• Tolerance & flexibility
• Community spirit
• Curiosity
• Protective behaviours