Cockermouth School's Curriculum
Curriculum is ‘the substance of what is taught’ (DfE 2019) but this learning is not restricted to the classroom. At Cockermouth School, curriculum encompasses all learning opportunities and we believe learning takes place everywhere. The academic and pastoral elements of school life are therefore enriched by a range of extracurricular activities to create a broad and balanced curriculum.
Curriculum Intent
Our core values of Aspire, Enjoy, Include, Respect and Community are at the heart of everything we do at Cockermouth School. We know that in relentlessly focusing on these values we enable all students to make a positive difference to their own lives and the lives of others. Combined with quality tour evidence-informed teaching, a positive learning culture , and wider enrichment, our curriculum is designed to enable an exceptional learning experience for all.
Our aims, through the curriculum are:
- To prepare students to be independent, resilient and life-long learners. Our curriculum is underpinned by our belief in the limitless potential of all our students;
- To provide a rigorous academic curriculum that is challenging, enriching and accessible to all, whilst offering equally challenging vocational and bespoke opportunities for students to whom these are best suited;
- To provide continuity and progression between the key stages, using assessment intelligently and to inform learning;
- To provide a caring and safe environment in which the individual’s personality and abilities are valued and fostered;
- To provide learning environments in which creativity, enterprise and initiative are encouraged;
- To promote sporting, artistic, musical and social activities to develop students’ interests and talents;
- To promote strong links with our wider community to provide extended learning opportunities that develop our students socially, morally and culturally.
- To enable our students to fully understand the future learning and career opportunities available to them once they complete their education at Cockermouth School.
Curriculum Principles
To achieve our intent, the curriculum at Cockermouth School is underpinned by the following key principles:
- Classroom practitioners as experts: A curriculum is only effective in achieving its goals when in the hands of expert teachers and teaching assistants. They bring a wealth of knowledge and skill to the classroom and base the decisions they make on a proficient and nuanced understanding of the subjects they teach and the students in their classes.
- Academic knowledge and Skills: We provide rich and varied opportunities for students to acquire, develop and apply broad subject specific knowledge. Our aim is that all students, irrespective of starting point, are given the opportunity to explore, enjoy, apply and critique substantive and disciplinary knowledge.
- Sequencing: The curriculum in each subject is carefully sequenced to ensure that students can consolidate and build upon the knowledge that they have already been taught. Departmental leaders and teachers carefully consider questions of ‘why this, why now?’ and ensure that students experience a coherent and progressive learning journey in each subject.
- Recall and Retrieval: Frequent opportunities are built into departmental curriculum plans to enable students to recall and retrieve previous learning so that this can be embedded and applied with confidence. Regular recall and retrieval encourages students to the longevity in learning and prepares them for lifelong learning.
- Aspiration: The curriculum is set up to enable aspirational outcomes and is ambitious and challenging for each student. The challenge which drives learning forward is incorporated explicitly into curriculum plans and the necessary scaffolding and support is incorporated by teachers to ensure all students maximise their potential.
- Literacy & Numeracy: For students to enjoy success, both in school and later life, literacy and numeracy is arguably the most crucial skills and are central to our school’s curriculum. Fluency in both the English language and numeracy are essential foundations for success in all subject areas. As a school we look beyond external classroom interventions and have individualised approaches to embed literacy and numeracy instruction across all departmental areas.
- Developing the Individual: Our Personal Development curriculum is a vehicle through which we prepare our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life now and in the future. Religious Studies,; Personal, Social, Health, Enterprise and Economic Education,; Citizenship; and Careers Education are embedded into our pastoral and core Personal Development curriculum programmes. These create opportunities for students to explore the link between citizenship and world religions, teaches them how to be safe, healthy and happy and allows them to fully understand the opportunities that are available to them beyond their time at Cockermouth School.