Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
As part of our vision of pursuing ‘success for everyone’, we strongly believe in offering a broad, balanced, challenging, and inclusive curriculum, which caters for our students’ needs. It supports them in fulfilling their ambitions, whilst also fostering a love of learning, the skills to be successful and an understanding of how they can be healthy, safe, and well-rounded citizens. This successful curriculum approach is underpinned by high expectations, high quality teaching and an emphasis on fostering positive learning behaviours from students.
Our curriculum is a knowledge-rich curriculum, which has been carefully mapped out across all subjects to develop powerful knowledge – knowledge which is systematically developed to predict, explain concepts, and enable students to envisage alternatives. This knowledge is not just that prescribed by the national curriculum or by exam boards, but knowledge which allows students to gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject and foster a full appreciation for each discipline and its importance in the world.
Broad
Our curriculum promotes the holistic development of our young people including their social, moral spiritual and cultural understanding and sensitivities.
Balanced
We believe in subject equity. Students understand the value of all subject disciplines and do not prioritise some over others.
Coherent
Our curriculum is sequenced in a way that ensures students deepen their understanding and become better at a subject over time. Subject content is carefully mapped to build long term memory underscored by the principle that if nothing is remembered, nothing has been learned.
Powerful
Some knowledge is more important than others. We select and teach the knowledge that “provides the best understanding of the natural and social worlds that we have and helps us go beyond our individual experiences” (Young, 2014). Our students are also taught to understand that knowledge is fragile, contested and constantly evolving. They are with us to join in the pursuit of answering life’s greatest questions.
Challenging
Our curriculum is aspirational and exposes students to the best of what has been thought and said. Teaching approaches take account of student’s prior knowledge and skills, ensuring that true learning takes place.
Inclusive
Our curriculum celebrates diversity and moves beyond a euro-centric world view. Teachers contextualise content, acknowledge the limitations of the field of study and actively prepare our students to advocate equality.
Choosing Rossett for your child’s secondary education means choosing a curriculum designed to give them the knowledge they need to succeed in life and develop a lifelong love of learning.
Young, M. (2014). Knowledge, Curriculum and the Future School. In M. Young, D. Lambert, C. Roberts & M. Roberts (Authors), Knowledge and the Future School: Curriculum and Social Justice