Curriculum

In all CET schools each child will be taught a curriculum which is at least as ambitious at the national curriculum from years 7 to 9.  Each programme of study will be clearly sequenced, with interleaving themes taught at appropriate times across different subject areas.

For years 8 and 9, in order to help our students become ‘the best they can be’ we have introduced an exciting, challenging and rewarding Creative Curriculum.  This allows students to select from 3 subject options per year, studying one choice per term. Our Creative Curriculum will give students the chance to really explore practical learning, focus on projects and, when appropriate, take part in off-site learning.

Students can pick from a range of options:
• Arts Award (T)
• STEM Award (T)
• Creative Media & Design (T)
• Food Nutrition and Preparation (T)
• Outdoor Learning
• Philosophy and Politics

Our Creative Curriculum for Years 8 and 9 aims to:

• Incorporate high-quality STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), outdoor learning and cultural capital experiences.
• Ensure students have full access to a rich technology programme of study.
• Maximise the potential of a strong, creative staff body drawing fully on their professional, creative and academic backgrounds.
• Engage and inspire students in creative learning following multiple lockdowns.
• Develop students’ oracy, literacy, group skills, well-being, and practical creativity.

At the heart of an effective key stage 4 curriculum is a strong academic core: the EBacc. The government’s response to its EBacc consultation, published in July 2017, confirmed that the large majority of pupils should be expected to study the EBacc. It is therefore the government’s ambition that 75% of Year 10 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools should be starting to study EBacc GCSE courses nationally by 2022 (taking their examinations in 2024), rising to 90% by 2025 (taking their examinations in 2027).  CET intend our schools to work towards the government’s ambition, taking account of different students and their different starting points.  All schools within CET will guide students who’s prior attainment suggests they will be successful in the EBacc towards this pathway.  As a minimum it is expected that all CET schools will have a broadly similar proportion of students studying the EBacc as the national average by 2022 (taking examinations in 2024).

The arts (comprising art and design, music, dance, drama and media arts), design and technology, the humanities (comprising geography and history) and modern foreign language are not compulsory national curriculum subjects after the age of 14, but all pupils in maintained schools have a statutory entitlement to be able to study a subject in each of those four areas.

The statutory requirements in relation to the entitlement areas are:

• Schools must provide access to a minimum of one course in each of the four entitlement areas
• Schools must provide the opportunity for pupils to take a course in all four areas, should they wish to do so
• A course that meets the entitlement requirements must give pupils the opportunity to obtain an approved qualification.

It is CET’s intention that all students will have access to at least one course in each of the four entitlement areas.

Guided learning hours and option subjects

Recommendations are that GCSE subjects receive between 120-140 guided learning hours over the duration of the course. Schools will manage their curriculum to provide appropriate curriculum time for all subjects. The number of option subjects studied by students should allow sufficient time to learn all the content and practice the relevant skills for the course.

Typically a student’s core diet at Key Stage 4 will consist of:

English (language and literature)

Mathematics

Science (Trilogy or Triple- see below)

Personal Development (including Citizenship and CEIAG)

Physical Education

Provision for triple science should be made where appropriate and students must be provided with additional time to study all three sciences.

A further three options will be chosen from a suite of subjects, arranged to ensure students take an appropriate balance of subjects for them.  They will choose these from subject areas including Humanities, the Arts (including music), ICT & Computing, Modern Foreign Languages, Design Technology, PE/Sport and vocational learning.  Some schools may choose to offer more than three option subjects to some students, where sufficient guided learning hours can be provided to ensure sufficient knowledge is retained to enable success for these students.  No student should be placed at a disadvantage because they are studying more GCSE’s than their peers with the resultant workload, nor should students be asked to sit more than the expected number of qualifications outlined above, where to do so would not benefit them in preparing them for further study or the workplace.

The CET key stage 5 curriculum consists of three pathways which are aimed at meeting the personalised needs of all students.

The A Level Pathway

Consists of many subjects and all students will additionally study core maths or an extended project, subjects on offer include the facilitating subjects of Biology, MFL, Further Maths, History, Physics, Chemistry, English Literature, Geography and Maths.

The Combined Pathway

Offers a choice of A Levels, extended project and vocational level 3 qualifications. The vocational subjects include BTECs in Business Studies, Drama, Sports Studies, Science and Childcare.

The Vocational Pathway

Consists of a choice of vocational subjects or completion of an extended diploma.

All the above pathways also offer students PSHE/Citizenship and CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance) opportunities.