Curriculum Intent

We teach the national curriculum and more.

Mossley Hollins High School – Our Whole School Curriculum Intent

Our school curriculum is: ambitious for all our students; as broad and balanced as possible for as long as possible; even deeper and richer than the national curriculum; coherently planned and carefully sequenced; academically and technically rigorous; and, adapted well for students with special educational needs. Our students, at the right age and stage, will be exposed to the best that has been thought, said and written.

We offer Education with Substance in the following domains to guarantee breadth and balance for all:

We offer Education with Character and Culture in the taught curriculum and wider curriculum (beyond the classroom):

Our whole school educational offer & our subject schemes of learning describe what our learners will know, understand and be able to do in each year and by the end of each key stage. We offer education with substance.

Subject Intents:

1. The key, deep and rich knowledge, understanding & skills in each subject

In each subject what the school intends its students to learn (know, understand and be able to do) will be laid out clearly by key stage, year and term in an ambitious, coherently planned, carefully sequenced, inclusive and academically rigorous Programme of Study separated into Schemes of Work.

At Key Stage 3 this programme will provide for the implementation and teaching of at least the National Curriculum aims and content at Key Stage 3 and, as appropriate, at Key Stage 4. At Key Stage 4 the requirements of the syllabus will also be implemented and taught.

The Programme of Study will be planned and sequenced such as to allow all students, regardless of socio-economic and educational background or special need, to progress to suitably challenging post-16 study, with the character and personal development to prepare them for rigorous school study and post-16 expectations.

2. The literacy (and numeracy) required in each subject

The study of English (reading, writing and speaking within and beyond English subject studies) has a pre-eminent place in our curriculum. In all subjects, students will be taught and will have opportunities to practise reading, writing and speaking to at least an age-appropriate standard. Significant curriculum time is given to the study and practice of literacy and English and accounts for our longer school day for Year 11, as required, and with two longer days in Years 7 and 8 for those whose literacy needs to ‘catch-up’.

A high level of competence in the use of number has a significant place in our curriculum. In many subjects, students will be taught and will have opportunities to practise the use of number in specific subject applications and in preparation for later life and the world of work. As above, this accounts for our longer week for all students in Y11 and the two longer days in Years 7 and 8 for those whose numeracy needs to ‘catch-up’.

3. The value of the subject & our curriculum to the person, the world of work and to society

In the Programme of Study and associated Schemes of Work in each subject, students will learn not just the content of the subject at each Key Stage but the value of that subject to the person, the world of work and to society. For example, in Geography there will be a deep conversation, over time, about the earth as home to humankind, the beauty and power of the natural world and a deep understanding of many of our contemporary challenges (climate change, food security and energy choices).

Allied to this, there is a five year programme of Life (& Society) Skills where students will learn personal, social and health education, citizenship, sex and relationships education, financial literacy (and numeracy) and careers’ education, information and guidance: together this programme teaches students about the value of each subject and of essential and desirable Life (& Society) Skills to them as people, to them as employees (and future employers) and to their contribution to our local, regional, national (and global) society and community.

4. The ethical dimension to the subject & our whole-school curriculum

In the Programme of Study and associated Schemes of Work in each subject, students will learn not just the content of the subject at each Key Stage but the ethical (social, moral, spiritual and cultural) dimensions of the subject. For example, in science, the students will be taught a curriculum that provides for them an appreciation of the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity, and an understanding of the need for the highest ethical standards in, and in relation to, scientific work.

This learning will be complemented by the teaching of a fire year programme of Life (& Society) Skills where a full range of the most significant contemporary moral issues for them, as people and citizens, will be taught, debated and explored.

The wider curriculum (enrichment, extra-curricular and planned and sequenced cultural capital opportunities for all) and the hidden curriculum (that absorbed in a consciously planned school culture (from Character Teaching, to our College System, to Assemblies, Form Time, Drop-Down days and year-group and whole school events) complement a broad, deep and rich ethical dimension to our curriculum.

5. What makes the subject distinctive

In the Programme of Study and associated Schemes of Work in each subject, students will learn not just the content of the national curriculum for the subject at each Key Stage, but will learn about what makes the subject distinctive from the others and distinctive to our school.

For example: in history our students gain historical perspective by making connections between local, regional, national and international events; in geography there are significant field trips looking at urbanisation in our British Isles – with a focus on Manchester and Salford; in Modern Foreign Languages there are foreign language and cultural international educational visits; and, in Life Skills the students learn from visiting theatre companies, local businesses and employers.