Remarkable Curriculum

At the Clacton Coastal Academy we aim to ensure that every child ends up in successful employment. To that end we ensure that our curriculum creates opportunities for students to become independent and self-motivated with the ability to be responsible, determined and aspirational. All students are individuals who develop in different ways and at different rates and the curriculum is designed to meet those individual’s needs and provide appropriate technology, qualifications and experiences to support students into their chosen career pathways.

The curriculum is centred around core concepts which are sequenced in order to support students in every subject. Core concepts form the bones of the subject. These pieces of knowledge or skills unlock further learning. Core concepts are sequenced in such a way that students are supported to secure each essential concept before moving onto the next. These concepts are focused around a knowledge rich curriculum where students learn topics to a high level of depth to help them to tackle mastery of each subject discipline.

We prioritise the development of reading, writing and communication to support students to access new challenges in the curriculum as this is an essential element for success in our local context. Students have dedicated reading lessons, to enhance their reading skills and build a culture of reading. Students read for twenty minutes a day every day. Subject leaders work hard to build vocabulary and increase the number of opportunities for students to read in lessons, with at least one reading focused lesson per half term.

We recognise our young people as individuals, offering support and challenges to empower them to achieve their aspirations with a high standard of lesson content. Where students need further support they are provided with opportunities within our Remarkable Futures programme (which provides intensive support to students at risk of disengaging with education) or our Transition Curriculum (which provides an enhanced curriculum to accelerate the progress of students who join CCA with significant gaps in their learning).

Additionally, there are a variety of enrichment activities to enhance our curriculum that mainly take place during our Wednesday enrichment afternoons. Year 11 and the Sixth form have allocated intervention times and a study hub to support their revision as they build up to their public examinations.

CCA is committed to providing all of our students with a broad and balanced curriculum. It is our belief that this large discipline of all subjects helps our students to receive a strong traditional academic education, while also having time to find expression in the creative subject areas.

CCA Intent

CCA will provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.


With excellent leadership and teaching, children will achieve strong outcomes to enable them to thrive and go on to lead successful lives.


CCA will work with other beyond our CCA network to create capacity to benefit our children and our local community.


CCA Ethos

Everyone known and known well


Every teacher an excellent teacher


Every lesson an excellent lesson


Remarkable learning opportunities

Curriculum Pillars

Carefully sequenced Core concepts 


 knowledge focused


Reading at the centre of everything we do


Enabling career and life choices

Key enablers

Explicit core knowledge and misconceptions


Planning for access to all


Responsive curriculum informed by data


Regular retrieval and practise


Teacher professional development


Key vocabulary identified


Mapped against National Curricula

CCA Context

Our curriculum is designed to enable students to contribute to their world regardless of starting point:


Our students will contribute to a world where they have the skills and qualifications, flexibility, emotional intelligence and expertise to have a positive impact on their local community.


Our students will contribute to a world where they accept themselves and others as individuals and celebrate who they are as part of navigating a complex and ever-changing environment.


Our students will contribute to a world where they have the self-efficacy to change things for the better.


Our students will sustain and develop a network of positive, healthy relationships and a network of support to thrive and excel.  


Our students will have well developed reading, vocabulary and communication skills to allow them to make considered life choices and decisions.

The How 

We will achieve these elements in the following ways

Knowledge

 focused

Core knowledge is identified at each key stage and year to ensure students are successful within each of their subject disciplines


These pieces of knowledge unlock further learning and build up each other to ensure secure subject knowledge and build greater schema.

Regular retrieval and practise is completed throughout the curriculum; this is used to adapt and refine content both within lessons and the wider curriculum map.

Leaders have identified the misconceptions of their subjects and incorporated this into their curriculum.

Carefully sequenced 

core concepts

The curriculum is centred around core concepts which are sequenced in order to support students in every subject.

Core concepts form the bones of the subject. These are revisited and intentionally introduced as students move through their 7 year journey at CCA.

A spiral curriculum is utilised to ensure that all students have a solid foundation of the core concepts by the time they reach KS4.

Reading at the centre 

of everything we do

We prioritise the development of reading, writing and communication to support students to access new challenges.

Reading at CCA is built around three strands of Reading for Progress, Reading for Pleasure and Reading for Learning.

Students read every day for 20 minutes as part of their tutor time programme. The academy uses a tiered approach to reading and literacy support. Subject leaders work hard to build vocabulary and increase the number of opportunities for students to read in lessons. The students are exposed to key whole school strategies to engage in reading and writing.

Enabling career and 

life choices

We recognise our young people as individuals, offering support and challenge to empower them to achieve their aspirations both in and outside the classroom


Teachers engage with the CCA 8 to ensure high standards of lessons. The Remarkable Futures programme provides intensive support to students at risk of disengaging with education. The Transition Curriculum provides an enhanced curriculum to accelerate the progress of students who join CCA with significant gaps in their learning. Students are supported to take a broad range of subjects as options at KS4. An ambitious and destinations-focused KS5 curriculum prepares students for their next steps in education and employment. 


Self - Ready, Respectful, Responsible


Students are ready, respectful and responsible in their day to day Academy life.

Students have access to a well resourced and ambitious PSHE programme across KS3, 4 and 5 incorporating key contextual themes and statutory RSE requirements.  

Students have a wide range of exciting enrichment options they can opt into each week outside of the usual curriculum offer.

Regular trips are built into the curriculum to offer students a range of alternative experiences and opportunities.

CCA Classroom

Curriculum Structure

KS3 & KS4

We teach a broad and balanced curriculum over the key stages in line with statutory requirements.  We aim to offer students the chance to be exposed to a range of different disciplines before they make their choices for study at KS4, and then later, at KS5.  The breakdown of our time allocation for subjects is as follows. Students have 5 hours of directed lessons A-Level subjects and 4 hours or directed lessons for vocational, plus directed study time facilitated by our key stage 5 study mentor. In addition to this, students have a personal development super-curriculum, which includes work experience, leadership/volunteering opportunities and the tutor programme. This includes weekly PSHE, RE, study skills and cultural capital sessions, alongside the whole academy reading programme. 


KS5

Students have 5 hours of directed lessons A-Level subjects and 4 hours or directed lessons for vocational, plus directed study time facilitated by our key stage 5 study mentor. In addition to this, students have a personal development super-curriculum, which includes work experience, leadership/volunteering opportunities and the tutor programme. This includes weekly PSHE, RE, study skills and cultural capital sessions, alongside the whole academy reading programme. Learn more

Support for stakeholders

Teachers





Students






For specific information about Key Stage 3 and 4 in each subject, please contact the Head of Year.