Curriculum

At the Richard Barnes Academy, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum for all learners. We are focused on creating positive learning opportunities, and rewriting any previous negative school experiences. Our work centres around guiding our learners to rediscover what makes them curious and hungry to learn. We are developing a knowledge rich curriculum to allow our learners to be critical thinkers, and well-prepared future citizens within society.

The TDET Curriculum Intent:

"young people are well prepared for the next stage in their life as global contributors, they have experienced a broad range of entitlement opportunities, and gained appropriate skills and understanding, underpinned by a body of transferable core knowledge and a wide vocabulary." 

At the Richard Barnes Academy, we design our curriculum to be broad, flexible, rigorous, relevant, ambitious, exciting, engaging, and fun, with the hope that we can "ignite a spark" in our learners that could become a passion and then lead to a career.

We aim to provide:

  • A knowledge-engaged* curriculum which re-ingites the students with learning, using current research and knowledge of their individual needs.
  • A curriculum that will enrich and empower students to access the next stage of their education, be responsible citizens, and be aspirational in their life and career choices.
  • A thirst for learning within our school culture, where school is unmissable because of the tailored educational offer.

* this term refers to a curriculum which values both knowledge and skill, as opposed to a solely knowledge-led or skills-led curriculum.

Implementation

Our curriculum should be implemented through:

  • well taught, and appropriately sequenced, content.
  • Thoughtfully designed assessment practice.
  • Consideration of an appropriate model of progression for each individual student.

and should be:

  • Knowledge-rich.
  • Cumulative; it should allow students to make conscious connections in its content, across subjects, through vocabulary choices. Staff should make these connections explicit.
  • Vocabulary rich.

Impact

Our carefully designed and sequenced curriculum ensures that Richard Barnes Academy students are best supported to progress onto suitable Post-16 destinations.

Some of the ways that we measure this impact include:

  • GCSE and other Level 1 and 2 qualification results
  • Vocational qualifications results.
  • Post-16 destinations - we work hard to ensure that no RBA student becomes NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) after Year 11.
  • Future Careers destinations, including apprenticeships and employment.
  • Increased reading ages.
  • Key Stage Three relevant qualifications that best support student learning.

If you require any further information that is not available on our website, please contact Mrs Judge, Assistant Principal for Quality of Education, on sarah.judge@rjba.education 

Please use the links below to access subject specific curriculum intent statements:

English                                  Maths                          Art                           RSHE                         PE

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