English
INTENT
Our intent is to produce critical thinkers, accomplished writers, thoughtful readers and lifelong learners.
Implementation
- We study a range of key literary texts, including heritage texts, to ensure that pupils develop a broad understanding of English literature.
- We identify core knowledge and revisit key elements of this across several units and several years so that pupils become familiar with this knowledge and can apply it in a range of circumstances.
- We focus on quality writing, explicitly teaching the rules of grammar and the effective construction of sentences to develop pupils’ written expression.
- We focus on developing pupils’ skills in oracy, so that pupils are able to express themselves verbally with confidence and fluency.
- We encourage pupils to view the skills they develop in reading, writing and oracy as key to their success across the curriculum and as crucial to their lifelong learning journey.
- We support all pupils with scaffolding and support when appropriate, particularly those with SEND.
- We have high expectations of all of our learners and encourage them to develop their accuracy, creativity and confidence in all areas of English.
- We focus on the whole child and believe that everybody has a story to tell, something to gain from reading the stories of those that have gone before, a voice that deserves to be heard and the right to access the power of language and our shared literary heritage.
Life Skills Introduction
The Life Skills course teaches a variety of skills that aim to enable you to achieve your best across the whole curriculum. You will practise your literacy skills, numeracy skills, IT skills, research skills and communication skills.
The Life Skills course will also introduce you to topics that will help you in later life, when you are in employment and running a household. These include cookery skills, budgeting, understanding finances, health and safety and how to maintain good physical and mental health.
In addition, you will have the opportunity to experience lots of taster sessions in practical areas that you might one day be interested in working in. For example, you will learn how to operate safely in a kitchen, how to decorate a cake, how to plan and cook a meal from scratch, how to administer first aid, how to be a journalist or podcaster and how to design and create a practical project.
You will also receive lots of help, advice and support in planning your career path. This will include careers interviews, help with CV writing, interview practise and help finding work experience placements.
The tasks that you complete will go towards achieving your Personal Development Award. This is a way of recognising all of the hard work you have completed throughout Year 10 and 11. A Bronze certificate is awarded for 6 credits, a Silver certificate for 12 credits and a Gold certificate for 18 credits. You can see how many credits each task is worth on the medium term plan you have been given. There is no exam for this certificate; instead, you will keep a folder of evidence to showcase the tasks you have completed.
In addition to this, you will also study for certificates in Health and Safety in the Workplace, Basic Food Hygiene and First Aid.
Many of you will also take Functional Skills examinations in English and Maths at Level 1 and/or Level 2 in Year 11, alongside your other GCSEs.
Your interests and hobbies outside of school can also be included in your evidence folder. If you regularly play a sport, play a musical instrument, complete DofE or volunteer, for example, these can all be used to achieve credits for your Personal Development Award.
We hope you enjoy the course!
