Curriculum Offer

Curriculum Rationale

The curriculum has been designed to deliver a set of learning experiences that meet the needs of our students. Courses across key stage 3 and 4 have been selected that will best prepare our students for life beyond school as well as being able to reintegrate them back into mainstream school. we strive to provide a curriculum that meets the needs of all students as well as one that encourages young people to seek continuous development and improvement; by offering a broad and balanced curriculum, students will be able to meet their full potential. Through our curriculum, students will receive a high-quality education and enable them to aspire through the skills and knowledge they will learn at every stage.

Our aim, through our curriculum is to develop young people:  

• who are confident, prepared to take calculated risks, can cope with change and view failure as part of the learning process, they will learn to become more resilient
• who have high expectations of self and an ambitious vision for their future
• who have a passionate work ethic that results in them achieving, and exceeding, their academic potential 
• who are respectful, tolerant and empathetic towards the values and beliefs of others
• who are self-aware and know their own strengths through reviewing and evaluating their progress
• who have a range of transferrable skills for learning life and work including: communication, collaboration and critical thinking
• who are capable of making informed decisions

KS3

At key stage 3 the curriculum has been designed to mirror, to an extent, that of a national curriculum at mainstream school. This has been done so as students are not disadvantaged should they be reintegrated back into mainstream education. Students will study the following subjects:

• Maths - 2 lessons per week
• English Language and Literature - 2 lessons per week
• Science - 2 lessons per week
• Art - 2 lessons per week
• Performing Arts - 2 lessons per week
• PE - 3 lessons per week
• Home Cooking Skills - 2 lessons per week
• Humanities - 2 lessons per week
• Enrichment / Relationship Sex and Health Education (RSHE) - 2 lessons per week
• Career Planning - 1 lesson per week

This curriculum has been designed to give students the confidence in their learning so that they reintegrate back to school and are able to access the curriculum successfully.

Key Stage 4

Equally at KS4, students will study a broad and balanced curriculum. They will study subjects such as:

• GCSE Maths
• Entry Level Maths
• Functional Skills Maths
• GCSE English Language and Literature
• Functional Skills English
• Science
• GCSE Art 
• Arts Award
• GCSE PE
• Business
• GCSE Religious Studies
• Kings Trust
• Home Cooking
• Construction
• Enrichment / RSHE
• Career Planning

We place great emphasis on Literacy and Numeracy across all subjects; some students will also have targeted interventions to enable them to better access the curriculum and succeed.

The proposed curriculum will be delivered through pathways that meet the needs of all students. These pathways often include ‘blended’ learning experiences with a combination of either vocational or academic subjects or a combination of the two. The purpose of these pathways is to help students to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

The curriculum aims to deliver both excellence in terms of ensuring students acquire a broad range of skills at the highest levels, whilst also delivering equity so that every young person can thrive and have the best opportunity to succeed regardless of their social circumstances or additional needs.

If you require further information about the curriculum or the subjects we offer, please email natasha.salek-haddadi@orchardside.school