Engage & Achieve
Our Curriculum
Invested Education Curriculum Intent
At Invested Education, we firmly believe that all children, irrespective of their starting point, are entitled to a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum. We have created an engaging and knowledge-rich curriculum, which enables all student within our school to fulfil their potential and develop the all-important skills and qualities, which will allow them to have a successful, happy future.
Our curriculum focuses on the needs of the whole child, allowing children to develop not only academically, but also socially, emotionally and behaviourally. It is designed to give all students the opportunity to develop as enquiring individuals who feel valued and respected, so that they, in turn, learn to value those around them.
Our core school values (INVEST) are reflected in our curriculum design and delivery. SMSC and Careers also underpin our curriculum. We believe these hallmarks are key to ensuring that our curriculum is meaningful and allows our pupils to experience holistic success.
We recognise the importance of vocabulary in ensuring our students know more, can do more and remember more and we have therefore ensured this is evident across the curriculum. We aim to ensure all students, build their knowledge and understanding and we accept vocabulary size is crucial for academic success. Our curriculum is carefully designed so that knowledge gained does not sit as isolated Information but rather our aim is for it to be connected across subject disciplines and we encourage our staff to work collectively to ensure that the right components are embedded in long term memory.
Our curriculum is well designed, context driven, inclusive and carefully sequenced to provide all students with a rigorous foundation for future progression. Our curriculum provides a rich, inspiring and broad learning experience that engenders high expectations and challenge in order to build students’ resilience and self-belief.
We celebrate the development of students’ character, personal development, health and wellbeing through the unique experiences that our curriculum provides. Students have vast opportunities to take their knowledge and skills beyond the classroom and therefore develop their love of learning, independence and creative thinking. We want our students to be lifelong learners with aspirations for their future.
The depth of our curriculum enables students to master the key knowledge and skills essential for maximising their full potential both academically and emotionally, including a range of opportunities to explore and understand the rule of law; individual liberty; mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.
Alongside our commitment to effective, research based pedagogy and the evidence most pertinent to pupils with extra needs, we guide all students to be brave when taking learning risks and embracing failure, leading to the widest range of personalised pathways and thus preparing them for their future.
A broad, balanced and knowledge-rich curriculum
The curriculum at Invested Education is far reaching, allowing students to develop the skills, resilience and depth of learning to successfully access the next phase of their education. Each subject has a planned learning journey with clear objectives setting out what students need to know, understand and do to reach their aspirational target grades.
At Invested, we believe that a carefully planned and structured curriculum is the foundation upon which excellent learning and development is built. The curriculum is designed and implemented in such a way that it builds on prior knowledge, whilst allowing for plenty of opportunities to revisit, and therefore reinforce, key concepts. Through a carefully planned and sequenced curriculum and through good teaching, the school equips each and every student with the skills and knowledge needed for a successful future.
Students have extensive opportunities to take their knowledge and skills beyond the classroom and therefore develop their love of learning, independence and confidence, and cultural capital.
At Invested Education, we recognise that many pupils have had disrupted educational experiences and challenges they need to overcome. We recognise the importance of gaining an in-depth understanding of where a student is at and gaining a strong baseline in all curriculum areas when a pupil joins us. As part of our curriculum, we ensure we are aware of curriculum stages from primary to secondary and ensure that the work set in Year 7 remains ambitious and builds on progress made at KS2. Our KS3 curriculum is broad, balanced, exciting and rooted in the principal knowledge and skills detailed in the National Curriculum. Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure students master essential knowledge and skills in Maths and English, key knowledge in the foundation subjects and important links between subjects, thus ensuring a solid foundation for future learning. The KS3 curriculum is enriched further and underpinned by our school values, SMSC and Careers in order to deepen understanding and awareness of how students should keep themselves healthy, safe and prepared for life and work. The sequencing of cross-curricular knowledge and subject specific vocabulary is a key focus in further consolidating knowledge acquisition and developing important cross-curricular links.
At KS4 all staff enrich teaching to ensure that students are introduced to knowledge and skills beyond the GCSE specification. We do not teach to a test, but aim to enrich pupil's lives and give them knowledge and skills that will allow them to successfully move to the next part of their educational journey. This develops student interest and ensures that students are ready and prepared for the challenges of further study and the world of work. Retrieval practice, interleaving and other memory strategies are embedded to enhance knowledge acquisition for students of all abilities. In addition, opportunities for independent learning and thinking hard are prioritised. The sequencing of cross-curricular knowledge and subject specific vocabulary remains a key focus in further consolidating knowledge acquisition and developing important cross-curricular links.
High expectations of behaviour, progress and aspirations
The school is ambitious for all, ensuring high expectations of student behaviour are embedded to establish an environment in which all students can thrive academically and socially. Progress is a focus in all lessons, with a clear understanding that it supports outcomes and therefore life chances and choices. All students are challenged to maximise their progress and are supported to achieve their goals and ambitions.
High expectations are set with regards to behaviour at the school and students are guided into understanding how and why it is important to manage behaviour appropriately and therefore become self-regulated learners. Through the curriculum, students are taught how to make healthy life choices that will support their well-being. The school pastoral strategy ensures support for students to help develop positive mental health and recognises that some students may require more focused support than others, so maintains a personalised approach, using school systems and engaging external services as appropriate.
Throughout their time at the school, students receive high quality careers information with a clear focus on Gatsby benchmarks. Students are exposed to a range of experiences and professionals including personal guidance and 1 to 1 Careers sessions, employability sessions and signposting to other resources. There are opportunities to experience the world of work, support for the processes of job search, CVs, applications, preparing for interviews, as well as advice on the best combination of subjects for different careers.
Equality and inclusion
At Invested we are committed to offering a fully inclusive curriculum to ensure the best possible progress for all our students, whatever their race, gender, gender identity, background, physical need or learning ability. Students develop their understanding of cultural, social, moral and personal development through tutor sessions, Votes for School, PSHE lessons, Citizenships lessons and through the wider school curriculum. There is a focus on British values and individuals’ rights and responsibilities, where students learn how their choices impact on themselves and the wider community. Our SENDCo and pastoral/curriculum teams effectively coordinate information, care and guidance to ensure that all students are able to make excellent progress across the curriculum.
The Curriculum at Invested Education therefore intends to:
-
Provide a broad and balanced education for all pupils that is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge for skills and future learning and employment.
-
Support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
-
Support pupils’ physical development and responsibility for their own health and enable them to be active.
-
Promote a positive attitude towards learning.
-
Ensure equal access to learning for all pupils, with high expectations for every pupil and appropriate levels of challenge and support.
-
Have a high academic/vocational/technical ambition for all pupils.
-
Provide subject choices that support pupils’ learning and progression needs and enable them to work towards achieving their goals.
-
Provide a curriculum prioritising core academic subjects as well as BTEC vocational options.
-
Provide clear end points the curriculum is building towards and what pupils need to know and be able to do to reach those end points.
-
Be carefully planned and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and towards its clearly defined end points.
-
Reflect the school’s local context by addressing typical gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills.
-
Remain as broad as possible for as long as possible. Pupils are able to study a range of academic core of subjects.
-
Offer a high academic/vocational/technical ambition for all pupils, and the school does not offer disadvantaged pupils or pupils with SEND a reduced curriculum.
The Curriculum at Invested Education intends to:
-
Provide a broad and balanced education for all pupils that is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge for skills and future learning and employment.
-
Support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
-
Support pupils’ physical development and responsibility for their own health and enable them to be active.
-
Promote a positive attitude towards learning.
-
Ensure equal access to learning for all pupils, with high expectations for every pupil and appropriate levels of challenge and support.
-
Have a high academic/vocational/technical ambition for all pupils.
-
Provide subject choices that support pupils’ learning and progression needs and enable them to work towards achieving their goals.
-
Provide a curriculum prioritising core academic subjects as well as BTEC vocational options
-
It is clear what end points the curriculum is building towards and what pupils need to know and be able to do to reach those end points.
-
The school’s curriculum is planned and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and towards its clearly defined end points.
-
The curriculum reflects the school’s local context by addressing typical gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills.
-
The curriculum remains as broad as possible for as long as possible. Pupils are able to study a range of academic core of subjects.
-
There is high academic/vocational/technical ambition for all pupils, and the school does not offer disadvantaged pupils or pupils with SEND a reduced curriculum.
Implementation
We do this by ensuring:
-
Teachers have expert knowledge of the subjects that they teach. If they do not, they are supported to address gaps in their knowledge so that pupils are not disadvantaged by ineffective teaching.
-
Teachers enable pupils to understand key concepts, presenting information clearly and encourage appropriate discussion.
-
Teachers check pupils’ understanding effectively and identify and correct misunderstandings.
-
Teachers ensure that pupils embed key concepts in their long-term memory and apply them fluently.
-
The subject curriculum is designed and delivered in a way that allows pupils to transfer key knowledge to long-term memory. It is sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and pupils can work towards clearly defined end points.
-
Teachers use assessment to check pupils’ understanding in order to inform teaching, and to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently and develop their understanding, and not simply memorise disconnected facts.
At KS3 pupils will study a broad and balanced curriculum that academically challenges and engages them.
Across KS3, pupils at Invested Education will study:
-
English
-
Mathematics
-
Science
-
Physical Education
-
Citizenship
-
PSHE
Pupils will also study our Breaking Barriers Program which combines Humanities, Art and Design and outdoor learning to push our pupils’ understanding of topics in the real world whilst consolidating Core and Foundation subjects. The aim of the Breaking Barriers curriculum is to provide opportunities for students to develop all aspects of their character and allow them to develop into strong, knowledgeable adults with a deeper understanding of the world around them.
At KS4, Invested Education offers a rich and diverse curriculum to pupils. They have the opportunity to work towards several GCSE qualifications and other accredited courses. The qualifications offered are
BTEC Level 1 Certificate in Sport and Active Leisure (QCF)
BTEC Digital Information Technology
Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills English
Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills Mathematic
Personal, Social, and Health Education (PSHE) is also an essential part of our KS4 Curriculum alongside Physical Education, both of which will help build the understanding of respect, tolerance and promote good mental health, physical health and emotional resilience.
Impact
-
Pupils' gain the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.
-
Pupils’ independent learning skills and resilience are developed, to equip them for further/higher education and employment.
-
Pupils' have improved wellbeing, self-esteem, character development and a sense of belonging, whilst increasing trust in the support offered.
-
Pupils' gain a range of qualifications to support them on their post 16 journey.
We help students to develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed academically whilst also providing understanding relevant to workplace settings. Aspirational career links are woven into both key stages, complimented by regular discrete careers lessons. Invested Education's curriculum also increases employability through growing partnerships with community and business organisations.
We believe that every child should leave Invested Education prepared for life in an ever-changing modern society. Therefore, SMSC is a cornerstone for our curriculum, and we integrate British Values to develop the skills and behaviours every young person needs to succeed in all aspects of life.
For more information regarding our curriculum offer please visit the links to each subject area, or contact our curriculum lead Mrs Sara O’Grady.