Curriculum Information

CURRICULUM STATEMENT

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The 7 key principles underlying our curriculum design are:

1. A broad, balanced and rigorous curriculum that ensures challenge and support for all to fulfil their unique potential
2. A curriculum that develops a love of learning, nurtures creativity and instils independent thinking
3. A curriculum that celebrates diversity, promotes equality and has effective transition built into each key stage
4. A curriculum that reinforces prior learning and increases cognitive complexity through the effective teaching of reading, literacy, reasoning and problem solving
5. A curriculum that delivers opportunities for students to learn to be successful, to gain useful transferable skills whilst also building relevant knowledge
6. A curriculum that fosters a strength of character, and resilience that will help pupils to cope with choices and overcome the challenges they are likely to encounter in life
7. A curriculum that expands students’ horizons through a range of spiritual, moral, social and cultural opportunities to promote their sense of moral and social responsibility

To do this we aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that supports inclusion, meets the needs of all our students and sets high standards. The intention is to provide support and intervention earlier in the students’ school life to ensure that they are confident and secure in their literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. In partnership with the London Borough of Newham, parents and the community, we aim to provide clear progression and continuity across Key Stages 3 and 4 by building on and developing learning through links with our partner primary schools, the Manor Park Schools Community Partnership and KS5 partners.

In Years 7 and 8 students follow a broad curriculum that develops their skills, knowledge and understanding in English, maths, science, history, geography, art, design and technology, MFL (Spanish/French), music, drama, ICT, RE and PE. Students also have the choice of following a particular passion through Careers School, in a double lesson every alternate week such as: Digital expressive arts; a foreign language newspaper; music production, into film and Upcycling.

Students in Year 8 choose four GCSE subjects to study in Year 9 – 11 combined with our core GCSEs of English Language and Literature; Mathematics and Science. Alongside this, students will study core PE and RE. This curriculum aims to support most students to achieve at least eight 9 – 4 grades at GCSE, as well as achieving the EBACC.

Transition to a three year Key Stage 3:

The decision has been made in consultation with key stakeholders to make the adjustment from a two to a three year Key Stage 3 curriculum.  

We believe a three year Key Stage 3 will:

• Enable students to experience a broader, richer and more rounded curriculum for longer; helping them to build vital cultural capital, which is key to levelling the playing field for our students.
• Ensure students are exposed to a KS3 curriculum that is at least, if not more ambitious than the National Curriculum, and will allow for meaningful collaboration between subjects.
• Ensure we are maximising every year of students’ time at LIS, particularly Year 9, to broaden their experience and learning, rather than use this year to extend a 2 year course across 3 years.
• Ensure we are placing equal value on the role of all subjects in the development of our students.
• Ensure students are making decisions regarding their options when they have both the maturity and knowledge of individual subjects to make informed choices.
• Ensure when students enter into KS4 they have the appropriate level of maturity to understand, deal with and tackle key concepts, knowledge and skills at that level.

It is also worth noting that the prior attainment of our intake is considerably higher than it has been historically.  Consequently, a deficit model is no longer necessary.  

What would shifting from a 2 to 3 year Key Stage 3 look like in reality?

This would mean:

• First teaching of the new Key Stage 3 model would begin in September 2022

• First teaching of the reviewed 2 year Key Stage 4 would begin in September 2023

Our approach:

Planning for the transition of our curriculum is well underway and has been carefully planned in order to ensure it is grounded in the most up to date curriculum research.

Curriculum documents