TQEA Curriculum statement

Our Vision: All TQEA students, whatever the challenge or barriers they face, will succeed to compete on a national and global scale in their chosen fields and will contribute positively to society.

 

Intent:

All learners in our academies will experience a curriculum that:

  1. is ambitious and enjoyable through knowledge and skills developed throughout their time at TQEA.
  2. is knowledge rich, ensuring access to a wide, global cultural capital – thus maximising lifetime opportunities.
  3. is inclusive, nurturing and tailored towards the needs of the individual.
  4. is focused on developing the very best oracy, literacy, numeracy and digital skills – enabling access to the widest learning and the very best careers possible to ensure we develop global citizens.
  5. is enriching, ensuring all experience a rich variety of cultural, artistic and sporting activities.
  6. is broad in terms of coverage and (at least) encompassing the breadth of the 2014 English National Curriculum.
  7. celebrates academic success and the uniqueness of our local setting in terms of localised knowledge and skills.
  8. develops character, personal pride and the highest moral standards.
  9. celebrates diversity, challenges injustice, promotes equality and encourages the creation of a better world.
  10. is delivered by well-qualified, forward-thinking, skilled, passionate professionals.

 

We see education as the route for a “life well lived”

 

Knowledge rich – to provide a cultural background. We see powerful knowledge acquisition as a social right and have moved to a knowledge rich curriculum as a result. We aim for our students to know more than the lay-person. Our aim is for students to learn knowledge and for it to be remembered and applied. Curriculum leaders – with their teams – have debated and prescribed the powerful knowledge students should attain, front loaded with knowledge organisers and retrieval practice to aid remembering and subverting the forgetting curve.

66% students are eligible for the Ebacc (three years ago it was 7%) to broaden cultural capital and compete with the best nationally.

TQEA is located near local major engineering employers (3M, Jaguar Land Rover, MIRA and BMW) which led us to appoint our female Curriculum Leader (and ex-engineer) and develop STEM/Engineering as a 5-year curriculum.

Creative and performance subjects remain an important feature of our broad and balanced curriculum. All students do Drama, Art, Music and PE at KS3.

There is a planned safeguarding and behaviour curriculum and the extended day offer/experiences provides students with lifelong cultural capital.

 

Oracy

Why Oracy?

Oracy and articulation are vital aspects of social mobility. Young people are personally empowered when they can express their thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. If we want our next generation to fight intolerance and social injustice then their ability to convey their ideas and communicate with clarity is essential. The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) Oracy after the Pandemic research by Oxford university states clearly that 78% of young people want schools to prioritise oracy in the curriculum against a backdrop of 32% of young people who think they do. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Oracy (APPG) which has launched a two year “Speak for Change” inquiry into oracy education. It described that, “Oracy Education must be a priority for schools”.

Writing

Why writing?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are clear that writing for different purposes and audiences remains an essential employability skill. It is also a key skill for life. Many children from disadvantaged backgrounds or low Ks3 starting points struggle to articulate their thoughts and feelings. There is little point students getting a fistful of GCSEs if they can’t explain and reason eloquently.

Reading

Why reading and vocabulary?

Reading for pleasure and reading for purpose is a key driver of the development of young people. Disadvantaged children reach secondary school 7,000 words behind other children. They tend to not read for pleasure. Developing reading skills is a key driver to future success and is inextricably linked to GCSE performance. The acquisition and use of tier 2 and tier 3 language is a driver for social change and is important for lifelong learning.

Problem Solving

Why problem solving and reasoning?

The OECD Future 2030 report is clear that employers want students who have a high sense of problem solving and reasoning. It is a key factor in most careers. These skills can be developed and also complement our work on oracy and articulation.

Personal Empowerment

Why personal empowerment?

The ability to lead, to act and to contribute is so important to personal health and well-being. The development of character is also a crucial element if we are to meet our mission that our young people will contribute positively to society. At TQEA we want our students, as the next generation, to contribute to the building of a better world. A world in which they are personally empowered to celebrate diversity, fight intolerance and work for social justice.

Cultural Transmission

Why cultural transmission?

Some young people never get to see works of art, go to the theatre, see professional sport, visit other countries or experience other cultures. At TQEA we subscribe to Arnold’s view that, “Culture is the best of what has been thought and said”. This is why our curriculums celebrates the great writers, artists, sports people, mathematicians and historical figures. They are our role models and we model our high expectations of beautiful work around their examples. We also want our students to experience their awesome works first hand and be inspired. This is why our cultural experiences offer gives students those opportunities to see for themselves.

Employability

Why employability capital?

North Warwickshire is an area where unemployment is rising. We have a duty to go beyond the academic and vocational in providing our students with the skills to be employable, remain employed and develop their careers in a multitude of industries over a long and fulfilling career:

  • Giving TQEA students the skills to access jobs in this area and beyond.
  • Ensuring TQEA students are fluent in reading, speaking, writing, problem solving and reasoning, so that they can articulate their ideas and fight inequality and strive for social justice.
  • That TQEA students can contribute economically to the nation and to their families.

Beautiful Work

Why beautiful work?

There is great pride and satisfaction and no little skill in crafting work until it reaches a state of beauty and wonderment. In line with our policy to model and elevate the canon of our subjects as the finest examples of culture, we ask students to produce work at times which is beautiful. Beautiful because it is work of great precision, a labour of love and fine honed to the perfection of the individual.

Cultural Experiences and Enrichment

We wholeheartedly subscribe to the view that our academy should provide all students with the opportunities to experience different countries, cultures and experiences.

We have an extensive and rich extended day programme which develops our students in different ways and enhances the curriculum.

Our offer is best categorised in the following ways: –

These are activities which enhance the academic and vocational curriculum.

 

 

These are activities which contribute to a balanced, healthy lifestyle and a “life well lived”.

 

 

These are activities which help to prepare students to be advanced scholars of our curriculum.

Please see our Cultural Capital Booklet for the full range of experiences on offer.

Please see our TQEA Teaching Charter to read about our teaching and learning principles.

Special Educational Needs

Students with barriers to learning, ranging from specific learning difficulties to physical disabilities, will be supported to participate and achieve in every aspect of academy life as part of our commitment to all students. The pastoral team will have an overview of every student to ensure that this commitment is fulfilled and will be in regular liaison with parents at all stages of a student’s career at the academy.

The curriculum needs of all groups of students are considered at all stages of curriculum development.

 

Intervention

To support students to achieve their maximum potential the academy has targeted intervention groups in a wide variety of subject areas.

 

Information, Advice and Guidance.

The academy has a strong pastoral system to support students of every year. Independent Careers Advice and Guidance is provided to ensure that all our students can access a high quality of individual support when appropriate.

 

Curriculum Organisation

The academy runs a timetable which comprises of 25 academic periods per week.  In addition, there are four tutor periods a week.

For more information or any enquiries regarding our Curriculum please contact our Assistant Principal, Mr Richard Armishaw via:

Email: info@tqea.org.uk

Telephone: 01827 712477

Year 7 Curriculum

Curriculum Structure

KS3

The KS3 curriculum is designed to build on the new primary national curriculum. Departments develop their KS3 curriculum based on the KS3 national curriculum with appropriate changes being included in order to support student’s preparation for specific KS4 courses. The national curriculum can be accessed here.

The KS3 curriculum consists of English, Maths, Science, PE, RE, ICT, PSHE, Geography, History, Art, Drama, Music, MFL and Technology subjects including Food and STEM

KS4

The KS4 curriculum provides the flexibility to support students in following a route appropriate to enable the student to succeed.

The KS4 curriculum consists of GCSEs in English, Maths, Science and RE which are all compulsory. This is combined with PSHE and PE. Students can then choose 4 other ‘options’, from a range of GCSE subjects and Level 2 vocational subjects including: Art, Computing, Spanish, ICT, Geography, History, Food Technology, Media Studies, Business Studies, Sport Studies, Music and Drama. The DFE 2022 target is that all students are eligible for the EBacc and TQEA is in line to meet this ambitious target. Eligibility for the EBacc means students need to study English, Maths, English Literature, Science, either History or Geography and a MFL.

 

Personal Development

Click here for details of our Personal, Social, health and Economic (PSHE) education provision.

Character

“What makes the difference is something that we might call Character”

Character, is something that we may never see on a certificate, but it is often what makes a difference.  We know it when we see it and we often see it in our most successful learners.

We are talking about resilience, endeavour, pride and kindness. 

The tenacity to stick with the task at hand, and the ability to bounce back from the knocks that life inevitably brings.  Now actually I don’t think you can just walk into a class of 28 students one day and say – today, we are going to learn about character, today we are going to do resilience and endeavour.  Of course you can’t, but these are things you can pick up a from your journey through school, especially when you emerge yourself fully in school life.  The TQEA Learning Journey highlights the opportunities available to our students throughout their time at TQEA.

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