Curriculum, Teaching & Learning

Our Curriculum Vision 

At Greensward we believe that providing a broad, rich and deep range of learning experiences is essential for the development of the young people who study with us.  A well-planned, personalised curriculum delivered through excellent teaching is integral in inspiring each and every child to choose a remarkable life.  

Scope

We define the curriculum as:

• the intent behind the plans for teaching and learning;

• the body of knowledge and understanding which we wish for students to develop; 

• the learning skills and approaches which we wish for students to develop;

• the wider curriculum, including enrichment and extra-curricular activities facilitated by school.

Teaching and learning is understood as:

• the implementation of the aforementioned curriculum; 

• the pedagogical approach to delivery employed by teachers;

• students knowing more and remembering more.

Beliefs and Ethos

Overall, we believe that a well-designed curriculum is essential in tackling educational disadvantage. Our rationale is founded on the following ten principles:

1. the curriculum must assist all students in securing high quality qualifications in order to provide them the best opportunities for success;

2. all students must study a curriculum which is wide-ranging, balanced, rigorous and personalised;

3. the curriculum must be designed around effective understanding of the transition from primary to secondary education and the subsequent transition into further and higher education;

4. the curriculum must be engaging: learning is fun and it must be rewarding for all; 

5. the foundation of all learning is knowledge so we must sequence and deliver an appropriately knowledge-rich curriculum, facilitating recall for deep memorisation;

6. learning is ‘sticky’ and generative: the more students learn, the more they can learn in the future;

7. skills, far from being a binary to knowledge, represent its application: therefore, the curriculum must set out the sequence for mastery of skills; 

8. enrichment, both within the curriculum and beyond, is essential in bringing learning to life, and so must be explicitly planned;

9. employability and preparedness for work and further study must be incorporated into curriculum planning;

10. the curriculum must help students to develop their character, spiritually, morally, culturally and socially.