ACADEMIC
KS3 Curriculum Intent and Implementation
Our Key Stage 3 curriculum is intended to exceed the KS3 National Curriculum, whilst providing a smooth transition between the knowledge and skills covered in KS2 with those required at Key Stage 4.
Quick links:
Year 7 Curriculum Intent
We are really proud of our Year 7 curriculum offer and in particular how it creates a smooth transition between
the content and skills your daughter covered in KS2 to the challenges and increased aspirations of our School Curriculum.
As well as identifying and closing gaps in knowledge from Year 6, our Year 7 curriculum deepens students’ engagement, knowledge and passion for each subject old and new. It actively aims to develop a high level of literacy and numeracy through a culture of reading for pleasure and inspiring maths lessons.
While the curriculum is academically aspirational it is implemented in an environment that inspires enjoyment and commitment to learning as well as developing for students the skills and confidence to learn.
Year 7 is an exciting time in your daughter’s education. This is the beginning of her learning journey at Hayesfield Girls’ School and the first steps into developing confidence, new skills and new ambitions for life-long success.
Year 8 Curriculum Intent
Year 8 is where the training wheels begin to come off and we put more emphasis on developing each student’s confidence as independent and self-motivated learners.
The learning environment continues to inspire enjoyment and foster a commitment and love of learning but here is where the challenge increases and we perhaps take more students out of their comfort zones.
Far from a ‘holding year’, Year 8 is a vital time in your daughter’s education. This is the stage of her learning journey at Hayesfield Girls’ School where she begins to seek challenges and find motivation for herself which will become the foundation of her future academic success.
Year 9 Curriculum Intent
Year 9 is perhaps the most important year of your daughter’s education so far. Many subjects, having covered the requirements of the National Curriculum, now introduce students to the knowledge and skills needed to be successful at KS4.
This is the transition year between KS3 and KS4, where we bring to a close some subjects and open up new ones. Much of the emphasis is on students finding their individual academic pathway while being guided to build a broad and balanced curriculum that meets every student’s needs and aspirations. The learning environment remains inspiring and fosters the commitment and love of learning from Lower School but, without doubt, Year 9 will expect more of your daughter; preparing her for the increased challenges and demands of GCSE knowledge and skills.
Here is also where we lay the foundation for the independence that will serve her well at GCSE. We also promote the idea of an enquiring mind and we will inspire your daughter to challenge and question her learning so that it is further to broadened and deepened. Most importantly, we provide full support and motivation for every student to find her feet and grow her confidence so that she is ready for Year 10.
Our Curriculum Implementation
Students make progress by learning and remembering in a more complex way as they journey through the curriculum. Thus, at Hayesfield we have ensured that each key stage not only builds on the former but also allows our students to build knowledge needed for their future learning, too.
Our teachers have thought carefully about the order that learning should follow by looking at the national curriculum and Ofsted’s subject research and review series as well as consulting with their professional organisations. Our subject leaders regularly meet in teams across the Trust to work together to plan sensible sequencing of learning so that students can fully grasp subject concepts by placing components of topics in a logical order. In this way, students can build secure foundations of knowledge and use these to further place new pieces of knowledge on top of another, enabling them to learn more and remember more.
We ensure that we teach our students how to recall information through a range of reinforcement techniques that help pupils retain knowledge they are taught and unpackage learning so that all pupils can achieve the learning goal set.
Assessment is through low-stakes quizzes to help teachers understand how much our students have learnt and retained. Our formal assessments then help teachers to determine how well students can use their knowledge in different situations. At GCSE we do not teach students to test. We help them to prepare for the demands of examinations by ensuring they know and can remember more and therefore free up the mental
In devising our Key Stage 3 curriculum, we have ensured that:
- Our curriculum offer is broad and balanced and exceeds the requirements of the National Curriculum
- Dance and Drama are offered in addition to the National Curriculum to ensure that our students are given opportunities to develop confidence (in-line with one of our key school values) and regularly perform
- Drama is also used as a vehicle for PSHCE delivery, tackling many personal development themes
- To encourage a love of reading and to develop their literacy skills, so that they have the skills and competences to succeed, all students have regular opportunities to read in their English lessons and to visit the Book Eyrie (Library)
- All students have an annual reading test and support is put in place for those who require it.
- Students are set on entry in Year 7 in the core subjects of Maths, English, Science and Languages so that they can receive immediate support, stretch and challenge
- Non-core subjects are taught in mixed ability groups and tutor groups so that all students enjoy a variety of learning experiences and have more opportunities to work with others
- As students make rapid progress, the academic subjects such as English, Maths, Science, History, Geography and Languages, provide our students with stretch and challenge in Year 9 so that they can continue to exceed the national requirements and incorporate more challenging work in later years
- Most students start studying a second language in Year 8 and the curriculum time is adjusted accordingly
- Our PSHCE programme places a large emphasis on healthy relationships, and the Year 7 programme is extended to ensure that we have the time to cover friendship issues in Year 7
- Online safety is addressed twice yearly, through the PSHCE and Computing programme of study
The curriculum is delivered via a two-week, 50-period timetable across Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9) as seen in the table below:
*Where students require additional Maths support they do 1 lesson of Computing only, with the other hour being used for additional Maths
** Where students have an identified foundational literacy need, they may be removed for – targeted support sessions during some of this time
Curriculum Intent and Implementation Booklets
Please click on the following links to find the curriculum intent and programme of study for each subject in KS3:
- Art and Design Curriculum Booklet
- Business and Economics Curriculum Booklet
- Child Development and Care Curriculum Booklet
- Computer Science Curriculum Booklet
- Dance Curriculum Booklet
- Design and Technology Curriculum Booklet
- Drama Curriculum Booklet
- English Curriculum Booklet
- Geography Curriculum Booklet
- History Curriculum Booklet