Curriculum

 

Curriculum

This page is designed as a guide for current and prospective parents, students, and staff.

For a detailed overview of the curriculum at CHS see our Curriculum policy here


If you require further information about the CHS curriculum or alternative formats, please contact the school directly here


1. CHS Curriculum intent

Senior leaders and subject leaders have designed a curriculum that is ambitious for all students at all key stages. This reflects our goal that all students ENJOY, ENDEAVOUR, EXCEL in their time at school and are thoroughly prepared for their life beyond. We intend that our curriculum supports our Trust ambition that we ‘inspire learners and change lives’.  We do this by offering an exciting, creative, broad, and balanced curriculum that aims to provide all students with the core and facilitating knowledge and skills that enable them to leave our school academically, socially, and morally successful.  We intend that, by experiencing this curriculum, all students will be able to access the best further and higher education pathways, apprenticeships, or the world of work, and lead successful, happy, and fulfilling lives as citizens in our 21st-century world.

The curriculum across all subjects is carefully sequenced so that prior core declarative and procedural knowledge is built upon, with continual opportunities for core knowledge to be interleaved throughout both key stages so that students know more, remember more, and can apply that knowledge in a range of contexts.  Facilitating knowledge adds important local, national, and global context to core knowledge, and our curriculum intends to provide a richness and diversity that enables our students to experience learning in real-life contexts.

The school curriculum is built so that it is aspirational,  accessible, and diverse to meet all needs. This happens through;

  • READING and comprehension that aims to ensure all students leave with a reading age at least equivalent to their chronological age

  • ENJOY: Learning is fulfilling, enriching, creative, safe, and happy in disruption-free classrooms. Knowledge is delivered by expert, passionate teachers.  

  • ENDEAVOUR: There is challenge in our curriculum through the breadth of subject offer and through the resilience and perseverance that is developed in all learners. Working hard at CHS  is a  key value.

  • EXCEL: All pupils will be supported and challenged to achieve academic excellence and to participate in the wider extra-curricular. Alongside this, the curriculum will develop students to be global 21st Citizens.

To ensure any gaps in prior or new knowledge are quickly identified, we check progress frequently through a range of assessment opportunities, from lesson-by-lesson declarative knowledge tests, end of topic tests that assess knowledge retention and application, to more cumulative common assessments that assess students’ ability to remember and apply knowledge in a range of contexts.  The information from these assessments is used to adapt the curriculum, intending to quickly close gaps in knowledge and keep students on track to achieve at our ambitious academic flight paths.

For pupils with additional needs we support them to Enjoy, Endeavour and Excel through deliberately planning and  supporting purposeful talk, using and explaining challenging tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, one to one support, and allowing pupils to work with their peers.

Our whole school approach to oracy supports all our pupils in participating in our wider 21st Century world.  All teachers will engage pupils in speaking and listening through; group work, presentations, and  planned questioning. At CHS our pupils are always the voice of our school. It is pupils who are our tour guides, speakers, ambassadors, meeters and greeters, school performances and peer mentoring, deliberately encouraging and preparing them to be confident and fluent speakers beyond CHS.

At KS3 students access all subjects within the ‘basic’ curriculum and our school curriculum meets and often extends National Curriculum requirements, lasting for 3 years to ensure breadth and depth.  We are ambitious in what we expect students to achieve during this key stage and aspire for all our students to make strong progress from their entry points to the school that enables them to confidently access Level 2 courses at KS4.

At KS4, we intend that all students continue to follow a broad ‘basic’ curriculum over 2 years building on the breadth of experience at KS3.  All students have the option of studying the suite of EBacc subjects. Students and their parents/carers receive careful guidance to help them make informed choices to ensure the highest education pathways post GCSE studies.

At KS5, we offer a range of Level 3 academic and applied courses that intend to build on KS4 studies over 2 years and prepare students for higher study at university, degree apprenticeships, or high-quality jobs.  

The main school curriculum is enhanced by our extensive co-curricular opportunities in areas of sports, the Arts, catch-up sessions, wellbeing, visits to places of interest, and visitors coming into our school.

2. How this intent is implemented:

The curriculum is delivered in key stages and through subjects.

Each subject’s curriculum is unique and adds to the richness, depth and breadth of knowledge, skills and experiences students experience here.

To find out more about each curriculum area click on the subject page to the left.


Key stage 3

·        At Key Stage 3 students follow the National Curriculum: all students follow a broad and balanced curriculum that includes the core subjects of English, Maths, and Science, the Humanities, the Arts, and a Modern Foreign Language.

·        A significant commitment to physical wellbeing is designed to ensure students have a clear understanding and passion for physical education and active healthy lifestyles

·        In addition, the curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that we are able to prepare students for success at GCSE with clear pathways to support progress at appropriate levels of pace and depth

·        The planning of the curriculum in the foundation subjects has been informed by the fact that many students will not follow the subject beyond Year 8, ensuring that they have the knowledge and skills for life long access to these disciplines

·        Students are taught in a mixture of mixed ability and streamed classes informed by the best available evidence about the structure that best supports progress academically and socially

·        A three year Key Stage 3 allows for a full, rounded, balanced, and broad experience for all students

·        For students with significant additional needs, our bespoke ARC3 curriculum supports this group of students achieving our curriculum goals. This is through an adapted provision, specialist teaching, additional staffing, and tailored interventions

·        Literacy and numeracy interventions support students who need this support across the key stage

Ks3

 


Key Stage 4

·        At Key Stage 4 the options process is personalised to ensure that students are able to follow a curriculum that will prepare them for the next stages

·        All Key Stage 4 pathways can lead on to higher education

·        For most, in addition to the core - English, Maths, and Science - students have the opportunity to follow subjects that allow them to fulfil the English Baccalaureate suite of qualifications

·        Other qualifications are offered where they better suit particular types of learners and also better motivate and interest students. This allows these students to access further education or to enter employment when they leave school 

·        The curriculum is designed to ensure that concepts, skills and content are revisited and reviewed and embedded

·        Students are taught in a mixture of mixed ability and streamed classes informed by the best available evidence about the structure that best supports progress academically and socially

·        For students with significant additional needs our bespoke ARC4 curriculum supports this group of students achieving our curriculum goals. This is through an adapted provision, specialist teaching, additional staffing and tailored interventions.

Ks4


Key Stage 5

·        All Key Stage 5 pathways allow students to access further education and go to university

·        Students follow a course of three - and in some cases four - Level 3 awards: most students follow three A-Levels, some students choose vocational courses - Cambridge Technical Awards, Diplomas or BTECs - or a mixture of both.

·        A thriving Sports Academy provides a pathway to university and the world of work for learners who enjoy and excel in a more vocational pathway

·        Opportunities are designed to support the students personal development, employability and to enhance their academic study. In addition, to support those students who have not yet met the requirements of Level 3 courses we offer the opportunity to study the core GCSE courses alongside additional Level 2 courses.

·        We prepare students for their next steps through a comprehensive work experience program, support with university applications, support with a range of apprenticeship applications and moves into employment

·        Students complete community service within the school

Ks5


Vocational journey at chs