At Cambridge School, it is our belief that all our learners can be responsible and resilient citizens.
Our curriculum is constructed around developing independent living and employability skills that will lead to economic and emotional well-being.
We are committed to developing our students into young people who can determine their own futures.
We structure our curriculum around overarching themes and this topic based approach allows students to make connections and transfer knowledge and skills across subject disciplines.
It is our duty to:
- Provide a curriculum which prioritises skills for life and work, including relevant
accreditation and work experience - Ensure our learners have strong functional literacy and numeracy skills
- Personalise learning to meet individual needs
- Nurture the whole child and develop their empathy and compassion
- Provide opportunities to enrich the curriculum through a variety of trips and off site
learning experiences
We are determined that our learners will have full access to an independent life in the community by the time they leave Cambridge. We aim to boost the social and cultural capital of each student through cultural, educational and sporting visits.
Staff will work tirelessly with you and your child to make sure that each learner meets all their academic and personal targets.
Curriculum Overview and Rationale
At Cambridge School, lessons are motivating and are aimed at equipping learners with skills and knowledge that they will need as they prepare for adulthood. Students at Cambridge School build on key skills in Years 7 & 8, participating in all core subjects with a heavy emphasis on life skills and building as much independence as possible.
At Year 9, a transition year, students may join our Preparing for Adulthood route which focuses further on life skills and independence, or our Exams & Vocational Route which offers Functional Skills & BTEC’s in preparation for college/apprenticeships.
As of September 2024, we have included a separate Year 9 exams curriculum. This was established due to feedback from curriculum consultants who recommended we focus on preparing Year 9s for the vigour of the next key stage, working on skills and knowledge that would prepare them for the challenges of our core curriculum and subsequent examinations/qualifications.
The Cambridge Curriculum has a clear emphasis on Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development which is threaded through the Curriculum with whole school events and assemblies. Students are given every opportunity to explore different cultures and experiences whether this is delivered by our diverse and talented staff team, visitors to the school or via trips into our local community of central London.
We also prepare regular Drop Down Weeks, where the whole school comes away from their normal timetable to explore themes such as Democracy, The Environment, and Art from around the World. Students also enjoy a strong lunch time provision Enrichment program which includes clubs such as boxing, multisports and other clubs.
Teaching and Learning
Cambridge School has a mixed age class structure which means at Key stage 3, Years 7 and 8 learn together, following a two-year rolling topic cycle (Year A and Year B). While at Key Stage 4, Years 9, 10, and 11 follow a three-year topic cycle (Year A, Year B, and Year C). This structure supports knowledge retention as students are learning, re-visiting, and practicing key concepts and skills consistently, enabling students to recall and apply information with more ease.
While we maintain our curriculum cycle for lower key stage 3 and upper key stage 4, we are trialing a separate Year 9 curriculum for Exams students. We felt this was a crucial year, and one where we needed to ensure these students had the skills they needed to be academically and socially successful in the next key stage.
At Cambridge School we engage a primary teaching model, where students are taught by their form tutors (apart from BTECs), who have intimate knowledge of students’ needs and levels. This teaching model ensures students feel safe and regulated, knowing the specific classroom routines, and are familiar with the adults in the classroom.
Each of our curriculum subjects are divided across the three pathways, and objectives are further differentiated into ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ to ensure we are meeting the needs, and challenging the students appropriately. Lessons are further adapted and personalised to support students’ learning.
All lessons:
- Have TAs to support;
- Have clear objectives and learning activities;
- Aim to teach academic as well as social skills;
- Include motivating learning experiences to sustain student engagement;
- Include access to technologies to enhance learning and assessment;
- Are multi-sensory, functional, and designed to prepare learners for the world of work.
Students have access to individualised learning intervention sessions, speech and language therapy, drama therapy, behaviour support, and learning mentors to aid their academic and social needs across the curriculum.
Assessments
Our students access a number of formal assessments and examinations moderated by external examining bodies.
Across Upper School, we offer:
- Edexcel English Functional Skills Exam (Entry Level 1 – Level 2)
- Edexcel Mathematics Functional Skills Exam (Entry Level 1 – Level 2)
- AQA Science Entry Level Certificate (Entry Level 1 – Entry Level 3)
- AQA Unit Award Scheme (Entry Level 1 – Level 1)
- Prince’s Trust Personal Development and Employability Skills (Entry Level 3 – Level 1)
- Duke of Edinburgh (Bronze)
- BTEC Level 1 Award/Certificate/Diploma in:
– Art & Design
– Business Studies
– Hospitality and Tourism
– Performing Arts
– Sport
Within lessons, teachers use a range of other formative and summative assessment procedures to measure attainment including:
- BSquared (*Whole School Assessment Tool)
- Marking
- Mock Exams
- Photo/video evidence
- Self/peer assessment
- Spelling tests
- Presentations
- Informal exams
Please click on the tabs to view our Curriculum Maps and BTEC Information.
Intent
Our Life Skills curriculum is intended to support students in gaining practical, and real-life skills in order to navigate the wider world. We address the following skills:
- Cooking: Students spend dedicated time in our student kitchen with a subject-specialist leading, participating in all the steps of the cooking process (preparation, cooking, and tidying up), as well as understanding the principles around healthy eating.
- Access in the Community: Students go to shops, cafes, and other places in the community, practising skills for navigating these areas. This also includes knowing what to do in an emergency, how to protect themselves when out (i.e. stranger awareness), and how to navigate the internet safely.
- Independence and Self Help: Students learn about the importance of hygiene, taking care of a home, and how to keep themselves healthy (i.e calling a doctor/dentist).
- Travel: Students plan and go on trips using a variety of transport (buses, trains, walking) and discuss what to do in an emergency (i.e. train cancelled).
- Employability: Students learn about future options and planning for their desired career/job, how to complete applications, interview skills, and problem-solving in the workplace.
- Managing Money: Students discuss and practise budgeting, understand current vs. savings accounts, what a debit card is, and why we pay tax.
- Shopping: Students make shopping lists, buy items from a shop, check receipts, and also learn about online shopping.
- Independent Living: Students learn about the responsibilities associated with livingindependently, including the importance of paying rent and bills, how to leave your homesafely, and taking care of other living things (i.e. pets, plants).
Implementation
We address the skills above through our themed-based curriculum, targeting specific skills across our curriculum. We address the skills through:
- Life Skills lessons (all areas are addressed, depending on the theme)
- Cross-curricular lessons (Maths, BTECs, PSHE, Cooking)
- Trips Offsite
- Morning routines
- Work Experience
- Transition activities
Impact
We measure impact through our online assessment tool (Onwards and Upwards), where teachers mark progress against all the above areas. We also measure impact through our leavers’ data, analysing how students are coping and handling their next stages, which helps to inform our curriculum.
Our desired impact for all students is that they feel confident in entering the wider world and can access their local communities, access higher education, as well as future opportunities. We also believe it is important that students leave here with skills around hygiene, safety awareness (including online), and the ability to self-advocate.
This is in line with the Preparing for Adulthood outcomes in EHCPs.
At Cambridge School we offer the following Level 1 BTEC qualifications:
- Art & Design
- Business Studies
- Hospitality
- Sport
- Performing Arts
Intent
- To develop skills that would support students in future colleges, sixth forms, and careers.
- To develop students’ interests, knowledge, and skills in preferred vocational subjects.
- To prepare students for the academic and behavioural expectations in education and/or work.
- To access learning that has a practical element that fits in the wider world of work.
- To ensure all students accessing BTEC qualifications leave with at least one that reflects the best of their ability.
Implementation
Curriculum Delivery
- Students have full access to the Level 1 BTEC curriculums which are adapted to fit students’ learning needs.
- Students choose two BTECS at the start of Year 9.
- The BTEC curriculum is designed to build upon previous skills and knowledge, over a 3-year period, giving students the time to learn and embed the skills taught through the curriculum. There are also opportunities for repetition, which supports students recall when learning new concepts, and integrating them into larger ideas.
- Teachers focus on technical, as well as universal vocational skills, that would support students entering the world of work in their specific BTEC area; skills that support personal progression like goal setting, self-reflection, as well as career research and development.
- There are many opportunities for cross-curricular links and enrichment activities where students can further their skills and knowledge:
- Offsite Learning: Attending museums and galleries, industry-specific events, and events around progression into that industry (i.e. college days, apprenticeships events, career’s fairs…etc.)
- Speaking and Listening: Oral presentations, performance, giving/receiving feedback from teachers and peers
- Reading & Writing: Researching industry-specific topics and writing formal reports, presentations, and emails.
- Community impact: students will use the skills they have learned in BTEC to support the wider school community through assemblies, competitions, and enterprise projects
- Vocational Skills: plan and initiate long-term projects, set goals, lead activities, present, and reflect on performance.
- BTEC curriculum is delivered in three weekly sessions, meaning students receive 135 hours of direct instruction per week.
- We also provide a lunchtime ‘BTEC catch-up’ provision to support any students needing additional support.
- We send homework to support students to practice and embed skills learned through the qualification.
- We offer this qualification through three different certifications: Award (2 units), Certificate (5 units), or Diploma (10 units).
Teaching and Learning
- Our students are taught by different teachers who have specific knowledge of these vocational qualifications and are passionate about teaching students’ skills that would make them successful in those industries.
- Students are taught practical tasks that mimic industry expectations, but the learning is scaffolded and broken down so students at this level can access it.
- Lessons are adapted and personalised to support students’ learning.
- All lessons:
– Have TAs to support
– Do not exceed 12 students
– Have clear briefs and deadlines
– include communication, reading, writing, and personal progression skills
– include access to technologies to enhance learning and assessment
– are multi-sensory, functional, and designed to bridge the gap between school and the world of work so learners are prepared for the next step.
Assessment
- Students complete externally assessed portfolios of work that showcase their work and evidence their learning. Their portfolios are assessed by an external examining body: Pearson.
- BTEC teachers use a range of other formative and summative assessment procedures to measure attainment including:
- Marking
- Photo/video evidence
- Observation records/Witness statements
- Practical tasks
- Presentations
- Projects
- Self/peer assessment
- Informal exams
Impact
- Cambridge students on the exams pathway leave with at least one Level 1 qualification. This gives them access to a range of courses at FE colleges or sixth-form colleges where they can study and extend upon the learning already achieved.
- Students leave school with additional qualifications that demonstrate industry specific knowledge and skills that would make them attractive candidates to an employer.
- Students have a better understanding of the world of work.
- Students have knowledge and skills in vocational-related skills such as teamwork, leadership, presentation skills, acting on feedback, goal setting and planning events.
- Through enrichment opportunities students visit FE colleges and attend apprenticeship taster days to better understand their options for their next steps.
Intent
All students within Cambridge School access Creative Arts. A high-quality Creative arts curriculum is integral to our offer, and supports students in their academic, social, and emotional growth. We believe Creative arts should engage and inspire students to develop a love for a specific (or all) area(s) of the arts. Students develop their music, dancing, and drama skills while attending Cambridge School, and those students participating in a Performing Arts BTEC take their learning into higher education.
Implementation
Every class within Cambridge School has a Creative Arts lessons as part of the curriculum. We have two subject-specific teachers who teach our Creative Arts curriculum, which includes Drama, Music and Dance. One teacher is an experienced musician and has taught music for many years prior to teaching at Cambridge School.
Our other teacher is an experienced actor and dancer who challenges students to think and move with purpose. Both teachers teach technical skills within the subjects, but also encourage students to be bold and express themselves freely through these mediums.
Impact
We currently measure Drama through our online system, Onwards and Upwards, but will measure student progress in Drama, Dance, and Music using our new system, in September 2024.
Students have participated in several performances, showcasing what they have learned. Some performances have been within the school community (plays, talent show, concerts), but students have also performed at the Lyric Theatre hammersmith and the Royal Albert Hall for the West London Inclusive Arts Festival for several years to name a few.
We also have several outside companies and professional performers working in house to strengthen the student's exposure to the arts. Specific students can access two qualifications associated with Drama, Music and Dance. One is a Level 1 BTEC in Creative Arts, and the other is a Level 1 Award in the Language of Dance.