The primary focus of Curriculum Enhancement is to provide students with skills and qualities which will prepare them for the World of Work.

Below is an outline of the Key Stage 4 Programme of Study for 2021-2022 (Please note that some of these activities may change in the future due to staff expertise).

YEAR 9

First Aid and ASDAN Short Courses

All students completed the St John’s Ambulance Key Stage 4 First Aid Certificate

Being able to administer First Aid is an essential life skill as well as being highly regarded within the workplace

In order to gain a flavour of what is expected within a career, students select an ASDAN course to study. These courses are bespoke and include topics such as animal care, construction, hair and beauty, uniformed services, personal finance and foodwise. ASDAN courses are designed to cover the six main priorities identified by employers. These are:

Teamwork

Being able to learn new skills independently

Coping with Problems

Use of IT

Use of English

Use of Maths

All students gain a certificate at the end of the course which demonstrates their knowledge and understanding.

Although students who participate in Curriculum Enhancement no longer follow a GCSE in Modern Foreign Languages, we believe that an appreciation of different cultures is extremely valuable. In view of this, all students completed the ASDAN Languages short course. Once again, the skills identified above were reinforced and lessons were delivered by qualified Language Teachers.

 

YEAR 10

Football and Fitness Course, Professional Boxing Coaching and Landscaping

Results from the student voice questionnaire indicated that pupils preferred to take part in more practical activities. In view of this we introduced the Football and Fitness Course, Landscaping and Professional Boxing Coaching (delivered by an outside agency).

The Football and Fitness course predominantly focused upon developing coaching and leadership skills with learners being given the opportunity to coach younger pupils within the school. With regards to Landscaping, students were allocated an area behind the 6th Form Block to clear and then construct flower beds with sleepers. In the future we are hoping to develop the area around the pond with the intention of creating a wildlife zone.

One specific group of students were also given the opportunity to attend a Professional Boxing Coaching course. This 10 week option not only increased personal fitness levels but it also developed confidence, self-esteem, focus, perseverance and discipline.

Year 11

Additional English Support and Sport and Fitness Course

In Year 11 we were fortunate enough to have the expertise of qualified English teachers as part of the Curriculum Enhancement programme. In view of this, all students received targeted support to help them realise their full potential in this subject. In order to make sure that learners also had the opportunity to spend time outside of the classroom we ran a Sport and Fitness course to develop coaching and leadership skills as the latter in particular are well regarded within the workplace.

All Years

It is important to add that throughout the year, each year group were given a period of time before their internal examinations to focus upon revision techniques. Furthermore, each student was given a pack of resources and a wide range of activities on google classroom to complete. These resources were provided by Department Leaders and deemed to be extremely valuable support for all Curriculum Enhancement learners.