The Boldon School curriculum is centred around the whole child. Our education programme is about teaching the knowledge, skills and understanding they require to be effective lifelong learners.
Students are empowered to make decisions, within a complex and ever changing world, so they are able to positively adapt and lead successful and happy lives. The school aims of Innovate Focus Achieve are a main focus within all curriculum areas.
Each subject area provides a curriculum which embeds knowledge, skills and understanding within the context of strong shared values of mutual respect, so that across all of their learning our students reflect and become increasingly resilient.
This embeds the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect of those with different faiths and beliefs are taught explicitly and reinforced in the way in which the school operates. This is supported by strong and outstanding personal development opportunities embedded in our Relationships and Sex Education and Careers programme. The school closely follows the Gatsby benchmarks that underpin a diverse and extensive careers education programme.
The curriculum is designed to be progressive, interleaved and sequenced to develop our students and provide a wide range of courses that challenge, engage and raise the aspirations of all. It has never been more important to build a set of essential skills to succeed in life for our young people: the ability to creatively solve problems, to self-manage, to communicate effectively, and to work well with others. We use the Skills Builder Universal Framework to support our young people so they can build these essential skills to succeed in education, employment and beyond.
Our aim is for all students to develop a thirst for learning, acquiring subject specific knowledge to develop breadth and depth through a three year Key Stage 3 programme. This structure enables our students to make informed choices and follow their own personal interests at Key Stage 4. Flexibility in the curriculum allows for adaptations to be made that are responsive to the needs of both individuals and groups of students as they progress through our school. Every child should achieve their full potential regardless of their starting point.
This is supported by an extensive extra curricular programme where students are encouraged to attend clubs and activities for enjoyment, be part of a team or spend time with their friends away from the classroom environment.
Our intent is to provide a curriculum that all learners can access and flourish to reach their full potential. To design and construct this across all areas of our school and be ambitious and give all learners, particularly disadvantaged students and those with SEND the knowledge, skills, understanding and cultural capital to succeed in life. We aim to build on the skills and understanding that our students received at Key Stage 2 in a broad range of subjects, and be reflective in practice with coherent and sequential planning. Faculty Leaders constantly review the curriculum and its effectiveness, ensuring that there is a lesson by lesson focus on all aspects of learning.Our aim is to have Ebacc at the forefront of our curriculum.
The curriculum is effectively implemented across each subject area. All leaders and teachers have the expertise and subject knowledge to present the courses they teach with clear subject matter, promoting appropriate discussions with a strong emphasis on long term memory. Lessons are centred on retention and retrieval of information to get the very best out of our students, with a broad range of strategies and resources to support. This is achieved through challenging and demanding content but at an appropriate level for each student with effective assessment. We have a rigorous and sequential approach to the reading curriculum through an accelerated reading programme. This is fully supported in every subject area through the content taught and promotion of subject specific literacy.
We strive to ensure that our curriculum has a positive impact on each student from the education they have received. This is through a well-taught and well-constructed curriculum and the lessons we provide, any required support, robust intervention programmes and other enriching experiences will develop their skills and knowledge across the curriculum. It is our aim for the impact of this to be reflected in our students’ results from national tests and examinations, leaving Boldon School ready for the next stage of their education, employment or training.
For any further information or queries regarding our school curriculum, please contact Mrs L Baty.