Our core purpose is to prepare students for the next steps in their lives and equip them with the skills, qualifications and knowledge to become high achieving well-rounded individuals, thus enabling them to reach their potential and achieve their aspirations and goals.

Our curriculum, both within and beyond the classroom is designed to provide a high level of challenge in order to motivate students to find their unique strengths.  Students have a range of rich and engaging educational experiences which positively impact on their aspirations and future pathways.  The term ‘educational’ is used in the broadest sense and is about developing confident young people ready to take on the world!

Curriculum Philosophy:

• is broad, balanced, inspiring and inclusive and gives students access to a range of pathways both vocational and academic,
• promotes student wellbeing, 
• builds confidence, resilience and independent working skills, 
• encourages students to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding required to succeed academically, 
• encourages students to participate in a wide variety of activities through a blended approach of remote and face to face learning, 
• places creativity and imagination at the heart of learning to develop enquiring minds, 
• enables students to understand the connections and links between different subjects, 
• raises students’ aspirations through promoting academic excellence, 
• develops students' social and cultural knowledge, skills and understanding, 
• develops students’ respect for spiritual and moral values, and tolerance towards other races, religions and ways of life. 
• gives students the opportunities to put theoretical skills into practice and expand their knowledge beyond the exam specification, 
• prepares students for the world of work in a rapidly changing world, 
• gives students opportunities to extend their learning beyond the classroom through a wide range of extra-curricular activities, 

The impact of our curriculum is measured in broadest sense - mental health, physical health, attendance, first-generation university students etc.

Curriculum Organisation

The curriculum outlines the key knowledge which students need to learn over their time at the Academy in order to be successful; this will then drive what and how we teach students as well as how we assess their learning.  A knowledge rich, challenging curriculum that will require students to think deeply about subject and lesson content.  In other words, the level of challenge in the curriculum sets the bar for the level of challenge in our classrooms.

This is a period of great change in education, we review our curriculum annually to ensure that it best meets the needs of learners. 

Religious Education and PSHCE *

A comprehensive programme of study promotes students' personal development, and enhances their spiritual, moral, social and cultural knowledge and understanding. We prepare students for life in modern Britain and ensure that they are aware of the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and tolerance of different faiths. They learn about diversity, equality and respect across all elements of society, including different religions. Students also receive age-appropriate teaching on relationships, sex and health education; they learn about healthy lifestyles and the importance of maintaining physical and mental wellbeing. Students are also taught about careers and the world of work, preparing them for future success in education, employment or training. We support and encourage all our students to be confident, responsible and respectful individuals. 

PSHCE is delivered across two sessions a week to all students in Years 7 to 13 by their Form Tutor.

* Personal, Social, Health, and Careers Education 

Enrichment 

Our extensive enrichment curriculum enables students to broaden their cultural understanding of the world, learn new skills and take on personal challenges. Alongside our PSHCE lessons which are delivered twice weekly in form time, and 3Rs lessons in Years 7 and 8, students also have access to a wide range of clubs and activities at lunch and after-school for example: 

• The Fandom Zone  
• Art Club  
• Lunchtime Homework Club  
• School Production  
• Young Voices 
• Dance Club  
• Keyboard Skills
• Climbing Wall
• Netball
• LGBTQ Society 

In addition, the school runs an enrichment afternoon each week where students can select from an amazing range of more than 40 activities including: 

• Arts and Crafts  
• Cadets 
• Carpentry
• Chess 
• Climbing Wall
• Drumming 
• Embroidery
• Fencing
• Further Maths
• Italian
• Latin

Our aim is to develop young people who are responsible, resilient, thoughtful and aware of the world around them. The enrichment curriculum is designed to prepare them for life in modern Britain and equip them with the spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills to be respectful, tolerant, caring citizens 

3R's

Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 follow a bespoke programme of study to support and embed our school ethos of being Respectful, Resilient, and Responsible.  We encourage our students to have a growth mindset, practice mindfulness and be aware of their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of people around them, this links into our work of being a Brilliant School and understanding our health and wellbeing. Students will address and develop these skills through a range of activities called Brilliant Me, Brilliant We. The students will also experience a range of different activities involving First Aid skills and learning through being in the outdoors. 

Access to the Curriculum

We believe that all learners are of equal value, and that every student should have equal access to the high-quality education we provide. To achieve this, we are proactive in ensuring that our education meets the needs of all students and complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014. We provide a range of support and also make reasonable adjustments where necessary to ensure that no student is at a disadvantage to their peers.

Key Stage 3

Students in Years 7 and 8 follow a broad curriculum, which seeks to build upon and extend the knowledge and skills developed at primary school.

Our experience of teaching the Mastery Pathway in Years 7 and 8 has allowed us to take the best elements of mastery (identifying learning gaps, and ensuring that students consolidate knowledge, skills and understanding before moving on to a new topic) and adapt them to suit our own needs.

We operate a two-week timetable with the subject allocations for students being broken down as follows:

Expressive arts (Music, Dance, Drama and Art) is taught as a blended curriculum in Year 7 and 8, this allows students the opportunity to study the separate subjects as part of "cross-curricular" themed projects rather than on a rotation.

Key Stage 4

In year 9, we seek to personalise the curriculum to enable all students to pursue their strengths, interests, and career aspirations. Students will typically study four options, alongside the core subjects. We offer a wide range of subjects such as photography, psychology, sociology, enterprise and engineering to name only a few!

For students who would benefit from a more personalised approach, we also offer a Foundation Learning Pathway which offers smaller group support and a more tailored options programme. In the lead up to selecting their options, students and parents/careers receive extensive information, advice, and guidance to enable them to make the right choice. This includes careers work in PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health and Careers Education) lessons and a one-to-one interview with a Senior Leadership Team member. 

Key stage 4 is also operated as a two-week timetable with the subject allocations for students being broken down as follows:

A full list of all the Key Stage 4 courses we offer is included as a link below.

Key Stage 5

Many students stay with us beyond GCSE and join our on-site sixth form.

Initially our programmes of study were predominantly A Levels although more recently we have been able to offer an increasing selection of vocational courses and the T Level in Digital Design and Production which we have been successful in applying for.  All qualifications are taught on-site by specialist subject teachers.

The courses we offer have been carefully selected to reflect students' prior attainment and strengths as well as their personal education and career aspirations.  Combined with bespoke careers advice, weekly personal development sessions, work experience in Year 12 and weekly enrichment opportunities we focus heavily on ensuring all students have some form of progression into the next stage in their lives.

Students who do not achieve GCSE Grade 4+ in English and/or Maths have resit lessons built into their study programme.

Additional information on our sixth form provision is available via the Sixth Form tab above.

A full list of all the Key Stage 5 courses we offer can be found in the course directory.

Curriculum Maps - info for parents

Detailed information on specific subjects KS3-5 Curriculum is available via the below links. Additional curriculum information including careers, homework and options choices can be found under the students tab above.

If you would like any additional information on the curriculum please email Mrs Ward, Assistant Principal (Curriculum) via wardk@elizabethan.notts.sch.uk