Curriculum
Our Curriculum is underpinned by our core values
Ambition Inclusivity Excellence
Kindness Resilience Leadership
The Joseph Whitaker School aims to provide a curriculum which:
- Is rich, broad and balanced – designed to inspire and motivate students and to broaden their horizons
- Is well sequenced to ensure that foundations are well placed to enable future progression
- Provides appropriate levels of challenge, and is ambitious for students of all abilities
- Is adapted to ensure inclusivity for students who require a bespoke approach to education
- Continually provides opportunities for reading, leading to the development of students’ fluency, confidence and enjoyment
- Provides students with the choices and support to secure a broad range of academic and vocational qualifications and high levels of academic success
- Uses the school’s specialism of Sports and Performing Arts to provide students with opportunities to promote and support the development of their character, health and well-being
- Enables students to nurture existing talents and interests as well as supporting the development of new ones
- Invites all students to take their learning beyond the classroom, participating in activities beyond their comfort zones, and encouraging them to think creatively
- Supports students to raise their aspirations, by facilitating the development of the knowledge and skills required for their chosen careers
- Enables students to become knowledgeable and confident through the various leadership opportunities provided
- Engenders a culture for students to play a positive role in creating a school environment in which all are educated to appreciate and value our individual differences and understand that bullying, harassment and violence have no place in our society. Ensuring that students are well-rounded and fully prepared for life in modern Britain
The Curriculum and Covid-19 Recovery
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures have affected many of our students and their families with not only a loss of learning but also a loss of routine and wellbeing that are essential to a successful education. Support needed during this recovery phase will differ from student to student and will range from academic to pastoral support. We regularly review our curriculum by making short and long-term adjustments to ensure that any learning gaps in knowledge are filled and students are confident in the fundamentals of each subject discipline.
Additional intervention has been put in place to assist some students who have found the transition back to full time education challenging. We aim to support both students and families to re-establish the routines and high expectations of all of our students through interventions and pastoral care.
Catch-up tutors offer individual or small group support in the core areas or English, Maths and reading. Students are selected through a combination of student data and teacher recommendation.
Our Curriculum Experience
The Joseph Whitaker School has clear values and ambition for all our students both academically and in the wider curriculum. It is important that our students gain a variety of experiences and skills that will ensure our young people are ready to thrive in the world. We endeavour to achieve this through our formal and informal curricula which runs in parallel to our extra-curricular offer.
| Values | Formal | Informal | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambition Inclusivity Kindness Resilience Excellence Leadership | 25 lessons per week Broad and balanced Catch-up & Interventions Reading Focus Lexia and Switch-on Reading PSHE On-line learning platforms e.g. Hegarty/Sparks Google Classroom | Student Mentoring Leadership Sports and Performing Arts Specialism Assemblies Careers Well-being SMSC British Values Celebration of Diversity Remembrance | After school Clubs School performances Music Recitals School Council Student Voice Trips and visits Competitions Anti-bullying Ambassadors Charity Work Prom and Rewards Evenings |
