
Our aim is to provide an excellent education for all our students, which brings out the best in all of them and prepares them for success in life.
Our curriculum provides children with the core knowledge they need for success in education and later life, maximises their cognitive development, develops the whole person and the talents of the individual and allows all children to become active citizens and economically self-sufficient.
United Learning Curriculum is built upon these key principles:
- Entitlement – We believe that all children have right to learn what is in the United Learning Curriculum; schools have a duty to ensure that all children are taught the whole of it.
- Mastery – We want all students to achieve a full understanding of the knowledge specified in the Curriculum for each year, and teaching should not move on until this is achieved.
- Stability – We won’t constantly amend the Curriculum: while we should make occasional adjustments in the light of feedback and experience, we will aim for stability over many years, so that teachers can develop expertise, and we constantly build assessments and teaching materials to support.
- Concepts not context – The Curriculum is intended as a concise specification of knowledge and content to be taught and learned; it is for schools and teachers to decide how to teach and bring it to life.
Because the United Learning Curriculum is an ‘entitlement curriculum’, we expect the school curriculum to go beyond this core, in a number of ways:
- Breadth and depth within subjects – Teachers and schools introduce concepts beyond the core which interest and inspire them in order to excite children about their subjects.
- Subjects currently outside the ‘core’ – Schools need to cover the full National Curriculum and other statutory responsibilities as well as the United Learning Curriculum.
- Education with character – Everything from which children learn in school – the taught subject timetable, the approach to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, the co-curricular provision and the ethos and ‘hidden curriculum’ of the school – are to be seen as part of the school curriculum. Our principle of ‘Education with Character’ is delivered through the curriculum in this broadest sense.
- Catch-up – In order to allow the mastery approach to be effective (i.e. children learn what they are expected to in the year they are expected to), early catch up is essential: we aim that all students catch up with age related expectations by the end of Y8 so that they can access the full curriculum.
Shoreham Academy Curriculum Aims
Curriculum Intent
At Shoreham Academy, our core values of hard work, integrity, excellence are at the heart of everything we do. We set high expectations to ensure that every student excels across all aspects of academy life.
Our intention is to ensure students make outstanding progress and that the curriculum removes any potential barriers to learning.
We want our students to leave with knowledge and skills which will not only create excellent life opportunities but will also prepare them exceptionally well for life beyond the academy.
It is our aim that we achieve this for every student through a knowledge-rich curriculum that is cohesive, cumulative and highly sequenced. Our carefully mapped curriculum is ambitious, rigorously academic, and designed with long-term memory in mind. Student’s knowledge, skills and understanding are cemented by frequent and systematic revisiting, along with mapped assessment points.
At Shoreham Academy, students will,
- experience a broad, deep and knowledge rich curriculum;
- be literate and numerate;
- have high expectations for their achievement and build their character;
- develop their cultural, social, moral, mental and physical development;
- secure foundations for progression.
Students experience a broad, deep and knowledge rich curriculum
Our academy curriculum helps students to achieve high standards and make excellent progress. At KS3, the curriculum is broad and students learn essential knowledge to ensure they have a deep understanding across a range of subjects. There are many opportunities built into lessons to secure the need to recall and retrieve previous learning so that knowledge is fully embedded.
Many students have a clear idea of subjects they like the most and by the middle of Year 8 students choose to select one subject to study further in depth as part of their Y9 Curriculum. We believe this engages students and parents as partners in their learning and leads to improved outcomes for students. These courses are not externally examined in Y9 but can go on to form one of their GCSE subjects studied and examined in Y10.
At KS4 and KS5 courses are carefully planned to ensure that content is thoroughly revisited, and this undoubtedly prepares students for external examinations at the end of the course.
Students will be literate and numerate
The development of student language and oracy is at the forefront of our curriculum as we understand how vital it is for our students to build confidence in communication skills not only for their time in school but also to prepare them for working life. We ensure students have opportunities in all subjects to discuss, challenge and build on other points of view and to develop their formality of language both in written and spoken form. One of the key academy priorities this year is for all our students to be vocabulary rich literate learners. Please see Literacy policy here. Numeracy skills are embedded across the curriculum. Students who arrive with below age-related expected maths or literacy skills are quickly caught up through expert teaching and incisive intervention. As part of our KS3 mentor time curriculum students read challenging texts with their teacher, three times a week. A significant proportion of homework is dedicated to reading each week. The academy ensures that students are literate and numerate enabling them to flourish, thrive and access the next stage of their education, employment or training. Please see Catch up curriculum for more information on this.
Students will have high expectations for their achievement and build their character
As part of the United Learning group one of our key principles is developing Education with Character. At the academy, we are completely committed to improving the life chances and aspirations of students. Our student’s complete pledges that support them to see the bigger picture of their education and contribute the community they live in. An extensive enrichment programme supports the development of students into well rounded citizens inclusive of a drop-down Experience week in the summer term.
Students will develop their cultural, social, moral, mental and physical development
We aim that students leave Shoreham Academy prepared for a successful life in a modern Britain. Our mentor, careers and PSHCE programme lead curriculum opportunities for learning to be linked to real world experiences and RSE. Students participate in a range of workshops and programmes to support them develop as a whole not just academically. Students are encouraged to take part in a range of sporting, cultural and charitable activities. Links with local and national business enrich the curriculum offer and help to contextualise learning. Student emotional and mental health is highlighted throughout their education through our focus on the five ways to wellbeing. Please see more information regarding this here ( mental health statement link)
Students will secure foundations for progression
It is our intention at the academy to ensure students have secure foundations for progression into further education and apprenticeships. From Year 7- Y13 students receive careers information with a clear focus on the Gatsby benchmarks and this is supported through our mentor time and PSHCE programme throughout the academic year. Over the course of 5 years, students receive a rigorous and bespoke mentor time programme that exposes our students to a huge range of voices and experiences and incorporate academic resilience as well as mental and emotional wellbeing. We have excellent links to Universities, businesses and our Alumni which frequently broaden the aspirations and experience of our students. (Link to alumni, Gatsby, careers info here)
Curriculum Implementation
Shoreham Academy believes that a carefully planned and structured curriculum is the foundation upon which excellent learning and development is built. Our curriculum is a seven year journey, designed and implemented in such a way that it builds on prior knowledge and prepares students for the next stage in their education. This is complimented by the academy's teaching and learning approach, which is underpinned by Barak Rosenshine’s Principles 2012.
Development of language and building knowledge are integral to curriculum planning. Subject Leaders, who are experts in their subjects, carefully construct a curriculum that promotes a deep understanding of a wide range of topics. Teachers plan learning that allows students to embed and recall knowledge through techniques such as interleaving of topics and spaced practice. This builds firm foundations for progression to the next level and exam success.