About Our Curriculum
RWBA fully appreciates that the content and quality of our school curriculum is vital in ensuring all students in our care achieve both academic and social success now and in their future lives.
Curriculum Intent
In summary our curriculum intent encompasses the following goals;
- Ambitious subject knowledge intelligently sequenced
- Inclusive and Accessible
- Focus on Literacy
- Positive Contributors to society
At the end of their schooling, our students will have enjoyed accumulating an array of knowledge and skills learnt across a wide range of academic disciplines and be able to apply this knowledge in a variety of ways. Students will develop and maintain a passion for reading and understand that reading broadly and well is inextricably linked to their future chances. The strong progress and outcomes that students achieve will put them in control of their future choices. They will therefore be ready to take their next steps in education and will do so with the confidence and determination to fully discover who they are and where their interests lie.
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As they mature into young adults, RWBA students will have developed an independence that enables them to create and sustain positive relationships that improve their quality of life and contribute to their interpretation of it. Our students will know how to spend time constructively, both on their own and with others, and will have developed pastimes that aid their ability to keep well, but which also deepen their cultural appreciation and broaden their world view. The scope of our students’ interests and their continuing curiosity will encourage an enjoyment of ideas within and beyond their field of interest, whilst their excellent communication skills will ensure they are able to engage meaningfully in discussion and debate across a range of spheres.Â
RWBA Students leave us as enriched individuals who are active contributors to society.
Implementation
At RWBA the curriculum is defined as the planned learning experiences that support students in their holistic development during the time they are in the school. The curriculum underpins every moment of students’ educational journey and should imbue the feelings of safety, happiness and confidence. It equips our students with a knowledge and skill set that promotes academic curiosity enabling students to think flexibly and thus be adaptable in their preparation for the excitement and challenges of adulthood.
The school recognises the significance of all aspects of the curriculum and understands that the studied, pastoral and wider curricular have equal bearing on students’ future success and are mutually supportive of one another. Whilst the school curriculum has consistent ambitions for every student, the school understands that, to provide an inclusive and equitable educational experience, bespoke adaptations will be required to best support all students in achieving academic and social success, which is the principal mission of the school.
RWBA ensures that the knowledge and skills associated with each aspect of the curriculum are effectively sequenced and structured over time, to ensure they are relevant to the needs and context of all students at every stage of their development. The school is firmly committed to evaluating the curriculum, adapting it where needed, to provide the very best experiences and opportunities for all.
To achieve our goals, we:
- Use the National Curriculum as the source for a broad and balanced provision in KS3, which builds from the new learning taking place in KS2 and provides a springboard for specialisation at KS4 and KS5
- Provide extra time and support for numeracy and literacy, with a particular focus on reading. All staff are actively involved in nurturing these skills as we recognise their importance not only for progress within our subjects but also for students’ wider development and application to different situations.
- Recognise that deep learning is not transitory. We therefore encourage students to own their learning so that they can make sense of knowledge, apply it across subjects and share it with their peers to ensure it is embedded in long-term memory. In order to achieve this level of understanding, our teachers purposefully combine the acquisition of key knowledge with the development of disciplinary skills.
- Success is built on outstanding teachers so we recruit, retain and develop the best teachers ensuring that our curriculum is consistently delivered by committed and highly skilled professionals. They have expert knowledge of the subjects they teach, an understanding of current pedagogy and, most importantly, genuine commitment to young people. Equally, as outstanding teachers, we acknowledge that learning is not static; we have a major emphasis on prioritising our CPD programme and our own individual professional development.
- Embed our focus on pastoral and transition support and skills into everyday lessons, but also provide more extended activities in these areas on immersion days, trips and events
- Ensure pupils are aware of how the curriculum generates a variety of progression routes through KS4 and on to post-16 courses, apprenticeships, work or university.
To view our available courses please click here
To view out Year 9 Options Booklet for 2023-34 please click here
For more information please contactÂ
Mrs A Bell
abell@rwba.org.uk
