English Curriculum Map - Trafalgar School, Portsmouth

Curriculum - English

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. J K Rowling.

Article 31. Every child has the right to join in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.

Curriculum Intent

The ability to communicate freely, cohesively and accurately is a vital skill for all students. The English curriculum should enable students to develop these skills drawing upon a range of challenging and inspiring fiction and nonfiction texts. The department’s aim is to offer a coherent curriculum that allows students to build on their KS2 knowledge, developing these skills through reading, writing and speaking and listening to ensure all students become successful learners, confident communicators and critical citizens. It is our aim to offer students a range of texts to inspire a love of reading and to develop an increasingly sophisticated vocabulary. The curriculum will support cognitive development by ensuring all students have the opportunities to verbalise their thinking and socially construct ideas to ensure complex ideas are captured effectively in writing.

The curriculum should be differentiated to the needs of different students and student groups to ensure that all students make good or outstanding progress regardless of starting point.

Implementation

Long term planning is in place for all courses. Such schemes of learning and curriculum maps will be designed to contain curriculum detail on: skill coverage, vocabulary to be taught explicitly, reading breadth and text choice.
Schemes of learning encourage progression with a view to exceeding national standards;
There is consistency in terms of curriculum delivery across curriculum area;
Appropriate awarding bodies and courses are selected so that they best meet the learning needs of our students;
Assessment is appropriate to the course and the students following particular courses;
There is a consistent approach towards assessment;
Assessment is moderated effectively to ensure accuracy and reliability of data;
They keep the appropriate members of SLT informed of proposed changes to curriculum delivery or content;
All relevant information/data is shared with subject staff. This includes meeting deadlines related to exam entries, data entry on reports etc.
Student performance data is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that any necessary changes in terms of curriculum delivery are planned and carried out in a timely fashion;
They share best practice with other colleagues in terms of curriculum design and delivery;
They review CPD needs of their own and of those in their departments regarding curriculum planning and delivery within their area of responsibility.

Teaching staff will:

Ensure the curriculum is implemented in accordance with this Curriculum Area policy;
Keep up to date with developments in their subjects;
Have access to, and be able to interpret data on each student to inform the design of the curriculum in order that it best meets the needs of each cohort of students;
Contribute to departmental evaluation and development of the curriculum for their subject;
Participate in high quality professional development, working with colleagues to develop their skills in understanding the learning needs of their students and how best to plan a curriculum to address those needs and engage them;
Work in partnership with other agencies to provide an appropriate range of curriculum opportunities.

Students will:

Be treated as partners in their learning;
Have their individual needs addressed, both within the school and extending beyond the school through a curriculum which offers breadth, support and challenge;
Be given additional support with their learning if they are not making expected levels of progress.

Impact

The English curriculum will:

Lead to qualifications that are of worth to employers and for entry to higher level education;
Fulfil statutory requirements;
Enable students to fulfil their potential meeting the needs of students of all abilities;
Provide equal access for all students to a full range of learning experiences beyond statutory guidelines and requirements;
Help students develop lively, enquiring minds, an ability to question, to debate and argue rationally and an ability to apply themselves to challenging levels of work;
Include the following characteristics: breadth, balance, relevance, differentiation, progression, continuity and coherence;
Ensure continuity and progression within the school and between phases of education increasing students’ choices during their time at school;
Help students, where appropriate, develop numeracy and literacy skills which can be applied across the curriculum;
Ensure that students' social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding is at the heart of the school's work in promoting fundamental British values and addressing prejudice and extremism by building resilience, confidence and a sense of belonging.
Make clear links to RRSA.

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