Embedded Files
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. 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 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
CCA Ethos
Everyone known and known well
Every teacher an excellent teacher
Every lesson an excellent lesson
Remarkable learning opportunities
Curriculum Pillars
Curriculum Pillars
Carefully sequenced Core concepts
knowledge focused
Reading at the centre of everything we do
Enabling career and life choices
Key enablers
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
CCA Context
Our curriculum is designed to enable students to contribute to their world regardless of starting point:
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
CCA Classroom
Highly embedded routines and seating plans are used to maximise learning time.
Teachers are the experts: visualisers are used to give direct instruction, modelling and scaffolding to all students regardless of starting point.
Teachers provide opportunities for students to be read to and to read independently.
Teachers provide opportunities through the use of scaffolded writing tasks using ‘because, but, so’ and structured subject specific questions.
Teachers develop students’ oracy through the use of think, pair, share and cold calling to ensure every student thinks hard.
Teachers regularly check for understanding through the use of whiteboards, summarising, repeating instructions, thinking aloud or explaining their position.
Students have the opportunity to practise regularly in lessons.
Teachers give feedback through varying strategies such as one to one verbal feedback, MCQs or whole class feedback that is responded to by students.
Curriculum Structure
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
Our RSHE leads are Mr M Robin (RE) and Mrs M Saunders(PSHE)
Support for stakeholders
Teachers
CCA 8 - the key components of every lesson at the academy
Instructional coaching - for every teaching member of staff
Subject networks - to allow MLs to discuss their subject discipline
Recruitment and training - a strong ITT, ECT and NPQ programme to ensure every teacher continues to get better
Excellence is a habit: high expectations and high performance
Community and family: people first
Individuals matter: equality and diversity
Students
Dedicated pastoral team - supporting students in their journey through the school
Wellbeing hub - provided to support students with their day to day experiences and wrap around care
Tutor programme - a dedicated tutor programme including assemblies, world of work, theme of the week and attendance reflections to challenge students’ views and perceptions
Enrichment - students have the opportunity to develop their wider character through enrichment or intervention every Wednesday
Trips and external visitors - are provided across all key stages to allow students to experience beyond the classroom
Leadership opportunities - to develop character and responsibility around the academy such as our Peer Mentors, Diana Ambassadors or Student Leadership team
For specific information about Key Stage 3 and 4 in each subject, please contact the Head of Year.
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