Curriculum

Curriculum Leader: Mr A Abbass
Email: aabbass@fleetwoodhs.org.uk
Tel: 01253 876757

Curriculum Overview

The Curriculum 2024-25

• At Fleetwood High School, we ensure learners thrive. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum at each Key Stage, which is both diverse and enriching and ensuring their potential is achieved, leading to progress on to appropriate career pathways and success in all aspects of their future lives. Our curriculum aims to ensure our students, from all starting points, master a body of knowledge and skills that will fully prepare them for their life when they leave school. The fundamental modern British values of democracy, liberty and rule of law promoted, with mutual respect and tolerance towards different faiths and a rejection of extremism. Religious education is broadly Christian with principles of ‘SACRE’ in mind.

• The curriculum is ambitious and designed with clear statements of what students should know and be able to do at each point of their school journey to enable them to successfully progress on to the next stage of the curriculum. The curriculum is tiered sequentially to build on previous learning and regular Question Level Analysis allows teachers to identify knowledge and skill gaps to address through future teaching. Content and delivery are adapted in all subjects to better meet the learning needs of all, including SEN pupils with ‘Cognitive and Learning’ focus.

• Key Stage 3 aims to giving students a fully rounded and enriching experience which equips them with the knowledge and skills needed for GCSE and beyond. This includes inspiring lessons of English, Maths, Science, Geography, History, Religious Studies and Spanish. Students continue to study these EBacc subjects until the end of Year 9, ensuring all cover KS3 national curriculum and are equipped with the required knowledge, skills and resilience.

• A full suite of Art, Design and Technology are delivered at Key Stage 3, including Art, Art-Graphics, Catering, Textiles, and Product Design as we believe in fostering a curiosity and passion for design and creativity. Performing Arts offers students lessons in Dance, Drama and Music, which provide a variety of opportunities for creativity, along with exploration and appreciation of performance. Both Computing and Physical Education, as with all other subjects, empowers young people to develop fundamental transferable skills for later life, such as confidence, communication, and co-operation. Essentially, our curriculum gives every child the opportunity to strive for personal excellence through design and expression, during lesson delivery, which is interesting, varied and above all, enjoyable

Beyond our full national curriculum coverage, subjects promote well-being and personal development. Physical Education, for example, provides many sporting opportunities, both in-school and extra-curricular. Additional contextual content is delivered which provides the opportunity to positively develop literacy, cultural capital, emotional health, self-regulation, and self-esteem, to provide students with the best chance to succeed in their career and their life. This is supported by the delivery of PSHE, which includes Healthy living, Relationships and Sex Education and Career Guidance, alongside career interviews. Educational visits, guest speakers, D of E and ‘Leading Edge’ provide a consummate learning experience. This is designed with equity in mind and aims to specifically ensure those students who are disadvantaged have access to the same cultural capital, experiences and opportunities as others. Many of our learners, including pupil premium, benefit from additional focus in closing their knowledge gap, in preparation for future studies, given that support in acquiring knowledge at home can be variable.

• In Key Stage 4, our objective is for students to thrive in their Further Education Courses, and Higher-Level Studies, including those delivered by universities. All are provided a comprehensive independent careers advice and guidance in advance of, and after, making their option choices.

• All learners develop an appropriate body of knowledge and a skill set in English (both Language and Literature), Maths and either Combined Science or Triple Science along with Core PE, to independently learn and consistently apply higher order thinking skills. The Curriculum challenges and supports pupils in reaching potential on all routes towards their aspirations and chosen professions. Most students study E-Bacc subjects of History or Geography; many continue to do so Post 16. Modern Foreign Language uptake is growing with Spanish.

• Further options include and the increasingly popular Computing subjects of Computer Science and Digital Information Technology which are highly linked to career pathways and future employment availability. The GCSE Design Technology subjects of Art & Design, 3D Design, and Art-Graphics offer a creative range to cater for pupils’ varied skill sets, as does the Performing Arts subjects of Music with annual results higher than national standard. and Sports Science course, providing a practical approach to learning alongside academic subjects.

• Being mindful of the most recent Labour Market Information (through Lancashire Enterprise Partnership) regarding Sectors with greater demand in our Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre travel-to-work area, GCSE and vocational qualifications are studied which allow students an excellent route into specific College courses and Work-based Apprenticeships. We have strong uptake in Business, Health & Social Care and Hospitality & Catering. These complement 3 of the sectors with larger predicted demand over the next few years (’Catering’, ‘Technical’, and ‘Health & Social Care’).

• We ensure our comprehensive extra-curricular programme incorporates sporting, cultural and aspiration building dimensions and is monitored to ensure appropriate take-up from all sections of the student body.

• Following the ‘Baker Clause’, we ensure there is opportunity for a range of education and training providers to work with all pupils in year 8 to 11, informing them of their educational or training offer. This includes academic A-level qualifications, technical education (including T-Levels) and apprenticeships delivered by our main providers: Blackpool & Fylde College and Blackpool Sixth.

• An alternative curriculum is designed for the needs of learners who require further time to develop their skills and focus on resilience, teamwork, and independent skills. Literacy, Numeracy and a variety of engaging qualifications are taught through project-based learning. Additional provision is offered on a needs basis for learners who would benefit from a more vocationally based setting, such as Hair & Beauty with Blackpool & The Fylde College and Motor Vehicle delivered through the McKee Centre. Those on such courses flourish and, recently, our students have won the North-West Community Impact Award and the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award at Blackpool & Fylde College. Students at risk of permanent exclusion access be-spoke alternative curriculum either in school (AP3 or AP4), with alternative providers, appropriate to need.

• Oracy, literacy and reading are developed in all subject areas to ensure students from all backgrounds build up the vocabulary needed to fully access all curriculum areas. Students in all year groups are placed into a reading pathway, following assessment, to provide targeted, bespoke support and challenge to all readers. Peer reading programme are now established to support students and tutor time reading is adapted to increase engagement and understanding. Bespoke support is used to further develop comprehension.

• Teaching for memory is a key focus of the curriculum to ensure that key knowledge is retained and can be applied to different contexts as appropriate. Interleaved Retrieval Practice is delivered throughout the curriculum along with a range of other approaches to facilitate knowledge retention. Years 7 and 8 have weekly knowledge tests in form period which re-enforce knowledge from across the curriculum. Students learn multiple strategies to support their retention of learning including the creation of knowledge & skills organisers and development of their own mind maps.

• Our curriculum is reviewed annually, to ensure it remains fit for purpose. This ongoing review involves senior leaders and subject leaders to achieve a shared curriculum vision and establish agreed principles. The school will always make curriculum decisions, not based on maximising performance table points for the school, but those which are in the best interests of keeping our young people in education, reaching their potential, preparing them for progression onto appropriate career pathways and on a trajectory towards a fulfilling life.