Curriculum Intent Statement

AchievementCare and Equality underpin the curriculum at Felpham Community College

Intent

The curriculum at Felpham Community College is broad and ambitious.  It is designed to provide all students with a high-quality education appropriate to their needs, leading to high achievement, and in order to prepare them academically, socially and personally for the opportunities and challenges of further or higher education, employment and adult life.

Students do not get a second chance at secondary education.  A well planned, differentiated and whole student approach coupled with a pastoral system that caters for all needs, breaks down barriers to ensure everyone has the care, knowledge and skills to be successful.  A safe and nurturing teaching environment achieves this through the progressive acquisition of knowledge and skills to enable students to understand the links within, and between, subjects.

Implementation

As an 11-18 Rights Respecting School we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing environment and believe in equality of education through implementing a curriculum that ensures individuality to maximise students’ potential.  A broad and balanced 3-year Key Stage 3 curriculum provides students with the time and space to gain a secure understanding of each subject.  This continues into Key Stage 4 and 5 where students have the opportunity to specialise in subjects while continuing to develop lifelong skills in literacy, numeracy, finance, and health and wellbeing.   A varied and vibrant extra-curricular and careers provision builds on the skills learned in lessons, ensuring students are not trapped by the limits of their experiences.

Quality first teaching is key to the success of the curriculum.  Excellent teaching and learning leads to successful outcomes, excellent student behaviour, and positive wellbeing; this is underpinned by the Felpham Five:

Challenge – the provision of difficult work that cause students to think deeply and engage in healthy and productive struggle, against an ethos where high-level language is celebrated.

Planning – teachers using a variety of data to shape students’ understanding and progression through setting and adjusting pace and challenge, whilst responding to the needs of the students in front of them.

Modelling – supporting students to grasp processes and concepts through providing models and examples – enabling them to focus on each step involved in understanding new material, so that they can apply it to new situations in independent practice.

Questioning – building on Coe’s adage that ‘Learning happens when people have to think hard’, thinking is unlocked through the use of strategies including cold call; no opt out; check for understanding; probing questioning; Think Pair Share; say again – but better, and whole class response.

Feedback – in line with EEF’s findings that feedback has one of the highest impacts on student attainment, a range of techniques is adopted so that ongoing reflection and feedback guides students’ practice of new material.

Impact

Achievement in character development and exams are key aspects of a student’s journey at Felpham, ensuring students leave with the skills and qualifications to access the next stage of their life with confidence and high aspirations.  Summative assessments are taken at key points of the year, enabling students to demonstrate their growing knowledge and understanding.  Literacy and vocabulary are pivotal in unlocking potential across the curriculum, and students are exposed to tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, as well as a tutor time reading programme, throughout the year.