There are three inter-related parts to the Heathfield Curriculum:

1. The particular school ethos, iterated through the behaviour and attitudes of both students and teachers; an ethos that led the last Ofsted to describe Heathfield as ‘a very moral place.’
2. The ‘Second Timetable.’
3. The taught curriculum from Years 7 to 13.

Intent:

Principles of the Heathfield Curriculum Construction and Delivery

• Our curriculum is structured in a logical and chronologically appropriate manner to allow all students to progress.
• Curriculum leaders carefully plan to ensure that appropriate knowledge and skills build upon what has been taught previously and are carefully developed before application into more challenging and complex situations, appropriate to the different curricular end points.
• The Principles of Teaching at Heathfield determine our approach to pedagogy, with high expectations, high quality instruction delivered with a mastery of the subject being taught, developing and deepening knowledge, inclusive for all students and designed to provide feedback that moves students' forwards.
• The student experience of the curriculum includes a clear understanding of the purpose and effectiveness of each phase of the learning cycle, giving students the opportunity for recall practice and connecting ideas, explicit and clear new learning, modelled examples, time for deliberate practice and demonstration of what has been learnt, and builds upon metacognition to ensure students can evaluate and improve upon their work.

We believe that the curriculum is more than a combination of subject lessons, it includes the relationships, attitudes, habits and ethos which create the whole school experience for our young people. The aim of our curriculum is to meet the needs and aspirations of every young person, in preparing them for the opportunities and challenges that they will face as they take their next steps into further education and the world of work. We believe that the curriculum should not only be knowledge rich and rigorous but should also prepare individuals to be lifelong learners as they engage in new endeavours and careers, some of which will present new and unanticipated opportunities to learn and develop.

The curriculum at Heathfield Community School is personalised and aspirational, ensuring that every child is supported to achieve their best while studying a broad, creative and engaging range of subjects. The KS3 and KS4 curricula are aligned to ensure that students are given the opportunity to master the subjects that they follow through five years of study that complement each other and build on key skills and knowledge to ensure that they are firmly embedded and that students are able to apply what they have learnt in a variety of contexts. All students follow the same curriculum, which is as ambitious as the National Curriculum.

Our KS3 curriculum is followed in years 7,8 and 9. The KS3 curriculum places a strong emphasis on building ‘cultural capital’ – we firmly believe that the arts are crucial to a deep rich curriculum for our students. They are the bedrock of cultural capital.

We want our students to be inquisitive learners who desire an understanding of the broader picture; to feel confident in approaching unknown texts and tasks and applying their wider knowledge; to develop their knowledge of the world beyond what they will be assessed on; and to learn more about the world that surrounds them and within which they are living. KS3 is where we aim to establish a strong skillset of positive work habits in our students so that they can be successful as they move through the school, feel confident in what they can achieve, and feel prepared as young people to enter the next stage of their education when they leave us. It sees a strong focus on supporting our students to build their resilience and independence so that they feel confident to rise to the challenge of KS4, formal examinations and the world of work beyond.

At Heathfield we firmly believe in the value of studying languages. All students will study French and Spanish in year 7 before choosing one language to continue through KS3 with the opportunity to continue their studies to GCSE at KS4 (with the other being offered as an option subject so that they have the possibility of studying two languages).

The value we place on languages is equal to that that we place on the suite of qualifications that form the EBacc; values which represent our aspirations for our students. We ensure that all students have the opportunity to follow a curriculum of which the EBacc subjects form part and we believe that this strong academic foundation combined with our commitment to all students studying at least one of our suite of arts subjects will combine to provide a rounded Heathfield education.

We recognise that the EBacc is not appropriate for all students however, and our curriculum therefore includes alternative vocational courses and/or alternative curriculum pathways for these students. This ensures that they are supported to be successful and progress to post-16 courses of their choice successfully.

In summary our KS4 model sees all students studying at least one arts subject, as part of their combination of 8 subjects. A small minority of students follow an alternative curriculum pathway which is more suited to their needs and includes studying for the Prince’s Trust Award. These students will also study 7 subjects in common with their peers.

All students will pursue studies in a common core of subjects which includes, Mathematics, English Language, English Literature, Double Science and an Arts subject. The majority of students will then choose three further option subjects of their choice. Students choose their options in year 9 from a full range of vocational and GCSE courses. We offer a breadth of choice as it is our firm belief that our students are talented in many different areas and that an option process should provide as many alternatives as possible.

Vocational: Performing Arts Dance, Drama or Musical Theatre, Sports Studies, GCSE: Triple Science, Computing, History, Geography, Music, RPE, Art, DT, PE, Food & Nutrition, Spanish, French, Business Studies and Psychology.

This breadth of choice is also seen in the KS3 curriculum. Students study English, Maths, Science, DT, Art, Drama, Dance, Music, French, Spanish, Geography, History, RPE and PE. In Year 7 students also have a lesson each week that is focused on reading. This is a foundational skill that has an impact across our curriculum and the ‘Accelerated Reader’ program supports pupils to chose a book that is right for them as well as quizzing them and tracking their progress.

The development of our students as young people; raising their awareness of the society in which they live and their roles within it; and preparing them for life after school are of fundamental importance to us. We have developed an integrated PSHE program, through weekly assemblies, linked tutorials, Tutorial reading for an hour a week and our curriculum. The choice of topics is based on local intelligence, liaison with other agencies and can be tailored to any emerging needs of the cohort.

We also use elements of the curriculum to help support our students develop their independence and to ensure they are fully prepared for post-16 study and the world of work, through for example, revision skills sessions and formal and informal work life experiences. Offering our students’ learning experiences beyond the classroom is a key part of our curriculum and we often refer to it as the ‘second timetable’ our enrichment programme is firmly embedded within every day school life. We have a strong tradition of providing outdoor education opportunities, after school activities, educational trips, visits and events and a week-long Enrichment period in the summer term. We particularly monitor the attendance of our disadvantaged students at these experiences, as we know the benefits that such participation can afford students. We continually review our provision and our ambition is to continually expand our range of enrichment activities that students can utilise in building cultural capital.

Examples of our wider curriculum offer include:

• Student Leadership Opportunities
• Ten Tors
• The Duke of Edinburgh Award
• Book Buddies
• Year 7 residential trip
• Brunner Creative Writing Competition
• Poetry Competition
• Speech Competition
• Eco Team
• Maths Challenges
• A range of school productions
• Café Paramo
• Theatre visits and workshops
• Sports teams and fixtures
• Visits to Universities
• STEM activities and events
• Public Debating Clubs and competitions
• Musical tuition, clubs and workshops
• Art, Dance Computing and Drama clubs
• Pen Pals
• Master chef
• Great Heathfield Bake off
• A range of foreign trips
• Multicultural week

Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9)

Students study a broad range of subjects which they reduce in Year 10 following a curriculum options process in Year 9. Students are taught initially in tutor groups, with some subjects choosing to ability set as Key Stage 3 progresses.

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)

The great majority of students study a core programme of :

• English and Literature
• Mathematics
• Double Science (core and additional)
• At least one Arts subject (Art, Dance, Music, Drama and Performing Arts).

Students also choose from a wide range of options. Currently these include :

• Computer Studies
• Design & Technology
• French
• Food Preparation and Nutrition
• Geography
• History
• Physical Education
• Spanish
• Sports Studies
• Textiles
• Triple Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology)
• Business Studies
• Psychology

Key Stage 5 (The SPACE)

At The SPACE, students study the UAL Awarding Body Level 3 Extended Diploma Performing Arts and Production Arts.

This vocational qualification allows practical training that is hands-on and relevant to the workplace.

Students can specialize in either Dance, Acting or Technical Theatre. They also complete an Extended Project, which sees them explore the answer to a self-assigned question in an area that most interests them. This exploration takes place through live production and a 3000-word dissertation. The course is equivalent to 3.5 ‘A’ Levels.