Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
Elizabeth Woodville School is committed to implementing our vision of “Excellence, Wellbeing and Success”. Our whole school vision is underpinned by the school’s values of ambition, confidence, curiosity, leadership, and respect whereby we strive to grow confident leaders for the future. We pride ourselves in our inclusivity and that our curriculum strives to ensure excellence for all whether a student chooses to take a traditional academic approach to their learning or a more vocational route. Our bespoke and organic pedagogy of ‘Know, Show, Grow’ (started May 2022) ensures the curricula offered is implemented via teaching and learning which again is committed to our values. Our unapologetic nurturing of everyone’s wellbeing is also demonstrated via our curriculum which is ultimately inclusive whilst fostering each child’s personal development via our pastoral system, PSHE, careers and extra-curricular curricula provision. Our aim is to ensure that every student who leaves Elizabeth Woodville School has achieved successful outcomes which will enable them to be confident leaders for our community’s future.
Our curriculum is designed to:
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Encourage an interest in learning that will last a lifetime.
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Build new knowledge in a sequential manner, based upon what our students have learnt previously.
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Build knowledge that students need to use in later life using clear start points and clear end points.
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Equip students with the skills, knowledge and qualifications needed to progress to further and higher education, apprenticeships or work-based training.
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Provide all students the opportunity to pursue the English Baccalaureate Route at Key Stage 4.
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Encourage students to take risks and be prepared to make mistakes in order to be successful.
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Enable students to make positive choices about their futures and prepare them for the world of work.
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Help students to make a positive contribution to modern British society as active citizens.
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Actively promote British values.
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Help students become healthy and active adults.
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Raise standards of attainment, over time.
Curriculum Principles
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Clear progress over five years, where students learn more, know more and remember more.
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Additional time is given to English and Mathematics to ensure that students have the essential skills needed for life and to access the full curriculum.
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Targeted support and additional challenge to ensure that provision is in place to enable all students make progress in line with national expectations.
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Zero narrowing of the curriculum for SEND students, whenever appropriate.
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Drop-down Days to address SMSC principles and raise aspirations.
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Additional time will be offered through an extra-curricular programme.
For each area of the curriculum, we have Curriculum Learning Leaders who are highly skilled and passionate that our students receive the best experience of the subject possible, with teaching staff who are continuously developing their practice, ensuring that students learn more, know more and remember more.
Curriculum Implementation:
In order to fulfil our ideals, our five-year model requires students to engage with a wide range of subjects in KS3 and then provides a more bespoke approach through our “future choices” in KS4.
The implementation of our curriculum is driven by quality first teaching and learning in the classroom, led by highly skilled teachers. In Key Stage 3 (years 7 to 9), the majority of subjects are taught in mixed ability groups. Learning Leaders ensure that learning is sequential through schemes of learning that are linear and demanding. Learning is reviewed through a regular assessment cycle, with ‘next steps’ feedback for improvement provided by teaching staff. Where classes are set at Key Stage 3, we ensure students receive the relevant demanding work and ensure that all students are challenged.
More details about our Key Stage 3 Curriculum can be found here.
In Key Stage 4, now Years 10 & 11, students continue with the Core Curriculum and choose 4 additional subjects, one of which must be History or Geography, which build on knowledge, skills and understanding developed in the KS3 curriculum. More details about our Key Stage 4 Curriculum can be found here.