Implementation and Impact

Our inclusive curriculum is one of ‘success for all through hard work and harmony’, promoting the values of pride, persistence, patience, preparation, and progress.

What should the implementation of our curriculum look like in the classroom?

Our curriculum is ambitious, providing in-depth knowledge and mastery of subject expertise. Our students deserve the very best education, and we provide this by ensuring our learners become critical thinkers with a broad range of vocabulary, developing minds that make connections in the world around them. Our common goal is for both students and staff to be the best they can be in a thriving and joyful school community, fostering a love of learning, demonstrating confidence to succeed and achieve.

Key knowledge is sequenced with regular knowledge recall so that students commit learning to memory. There is a common assessment framework so that students know how to improve. Students are appropriately stretched in their learning and taught to take appropriate risks to achieve, recognising failure as an opportunity to learn. Our curriculum focuses on knowledge, and we teach to the top. Key Stage 3 provides a firm foundation as students develop core knowledge and disciplinary knowledge for each subject. A common learning challenge is high literacy demands and teaching is planned and adapted to help combat this with scaffolding.

There is an interconnected process between curriculum maps, medium term plans, and teaching and learning in the classroom. Departments continuously improve the curriculum; it does not stand still, but is informed by evidence-based research and feedback from staff and students. We recruit, retain, support, and train educators to become experts in their fields and know the best pedagogical approaches to teach their subject discipline.

We provide quality first wave teaching to all learners, with a graduated approach of assess, plan, do, review. Lessons incorporate all learners in the learning process as individuals, as no student is alike to another. Each student has their own learning challenges, and teachers use all the information provided by the SEND team to plan effective and engaging lessons for all learners. All teachers are teachers of SEND students.

Departments plan collaboratively, respecting the integrity of each subject discipline, and engage in the education conversations in their subject communities with memberships in subject associations. Departments have agreed expectations to provide the best lessons in their subject, and meet regularly to collaboratively plan upcoming learning sequences. Standardised assessments are designed and moderated as a subject team.

Impact

The school will measure the impact of the curriculum in a number of ways including:

• Subject reviews (deep dives, external reviews, curriculum summaries)
• External examination results at BTEC, GCSE and A Level, with a focus on progress
• Tracking, through termly data drops and annual reporting
• Participation of students in extra-curricular activities, trips and visits
• Destinations of leavers, both in Year 11 and Year 13
• Retention of Year 11 students into Year 12 and Year 12 into Year 13
• Quality assurance through Leadership Team monitoring
• Attendance and conduct summaries
• Subject calculators
• Department and Pastoral Development Plans
• KS3 Pathways
• Option trends in KS4 and KS5
• Data Analytics – trends and patterns in invested platforms such as SISRA, ALPS, FFT, Bromcom
• Nationally generated performance information about pupil progress and attainment (School Inspection Data Summary Report)
• Birmingham City Council contextual comparison for Birmingham/National attainment and progress data.

The Headteacher is responsible for ensuring that all required elements of the curriculum have objectives which reflect the aims and vision of the school and indicate how the needs of all students will be met.  The Senior Leadership Team will monitor the curriculum through regular data drops, lesson visits. learning walks, deep dives, curriculum reviews, commissioned external reviews, student and staff surveys, student focus groups and discussions in SLT fortnightly line management meetings with curriculum leaders.

Governors will monitor whether the school is complying with its funding agreement and teaching a broad and balanced curriculum which is at least as ambitious as the national curriculum and includes the required subjects. This will be done through school visits from the appropriate link governors and reports submitted to the Local Governing Body. Mr Bonner (Assistant Headteacher – Curriculum) will also report back to governors about the curriculum via the annual calendared meetings.

We strongly uphold “success for all through hard work and harmony”.