Curriculum
English
English at Haybrook College
Intent:
This map follows the National Curriculum expectations. This document demonstrates how we logically and sequentially build knowledge and skills during a pupil’s time at Haybrook, with a focus on meeting their needs by developing practical literacy skills for daily life, alongside personalised qualifications appropriate to their individual working level and future career plans.
Our aim is for pupils to enjoy and be enriched by their studies in English, so all have the opportunity to study English Literature alongside the English Language course at GCSE. This gives learners access to texts which cover a broad range of social, historical and moral contexts, enabling them to explore, discuss and analyse issues and attitudes which broaden their social and moral perspective, and prepare them for encountering challenging situations in life. Pupils are encouraged to develop active listening skills, to challenge their own and others’ ideas and preconceptions, to develop their vocabulary and to read, write and speak independently with fluency and accuracy in a range of academic and real-life situations.
Implementation:
It must be recognised that pupils join Haybrook at different points throughout their secondary career and that different centres have different staffing arrangements. Our teachers will tailor the English Curriculum Map to meet individual needs, and to address any gaps in key skills and knowledge.
The curriculum is designed to ensure key concepts are revisited to aid transfer to long-term memory and to sequentially increase the challenge and complexity of the learning. As such, the GCSE Literature curriculum is based around a thematic approach, incorporating texts covering the themes of power, conflict and the supernatural. These thematic threads and contextual attitudes towards them are interwoven throughout the Key Stage 3 curriculum, both in text choices in Literature and Language-focused lessons, and in cross-curricular links with History, Geography and RE. At Key Stage 4, Language and Literature skills are co-taught across both elements of the course, referenced in lessons and assessments to ensure pupils revisit and practise key skills as regularly as possible to build the confidence and resilience our learners often lack in examinations. SaLTstrategies are used to support the development of disciplinary literacy and focus on closing the word gap, which can be significant for our young people.
Our ongoing assessments check pupil understanding and individuals’ ability to recall and apply these skills and knowledge in different contexts. Analysis of our pupil performance has enabled us able to identify a general area for development in the acquisition and practise of skills required for Language Paper 2. This has been given a greater focus throughout Key Stage 3 and into the early stages of Key Stage 4, allowing greater opportunities to develop skills and secure consistent retrieval practice.
Impact:
Everything we undertake at Haybrook is linked to our vision: “Inspiring and supporting young people to make positive choices about the future.” Our curriculum builds towards this end point.
The intention is for all pupils to work towards achieving GCSEs in English Language and English Literature. Where a pupil’s individual needs require a different level or structure of qualification, Entry Level Functional Skills or Language only routes are offered. All pupils’ learning is supported by a strong individual and collective focus on CEIAG, ensuring that our learners are offered appropriate opportunities to achieve qualifications which will enable them to access the career path of their choice.