Curriculum Vision Statement:

We intend to provide a broad, inclusive and ambitious curriculum that empowers our students to make both academic and personal progress. As a school with a diverse demographic, our aim is to ensure that all students achieve an excellent standard of education that not only prepares them for GCSE and A Level examinations, but ensures they are ‘set for life’ beyond the gates of Rugby Free Secondary School. As a consequence, all of our work is underpinned by our core values of: Kindness, Respect, Curiosity, Resilience, Collaboration and Endeavour.

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Curriculum Context:

We are a proud member of the Triumph Learning Trust (TLT), which encompasses Rugby Free Secondary School, Rugby Free Primary School, Courthouse Green Primary School and Alderman’s Green Primary School. The local context of Rugby heavily influences our curriculum intent and implementation, with contextual factors signifying that students need to be equipped with key knowledge and skills due to the higher-than national-average cost of living in the area. Here at RFSS, our curriculum offer is driven by the diverse and multicultural nature of our student body, which is something we are proud of, and actively celebrate. Aspiration and ambition form key components of our curriculum intent and implementation, as at least sixty percent of our cohort experiences at least one form of deprivation, whilst over one third of our students live in areas that have above-average crime rates. As a consequence, we support a multitude of sub-groups both academically and pastorally, with curriculum amendments assisting our high numbers of SEND, EAL and disadvantaged students, whilst also supporting High Prior Attaining students to flourish and thrive in a truly holistic environment that seeks to develop the child as a whole. Relationships and disciplinary Literacy (reading, writing and oracy) are at the heart of everything we do here, and our warm-strict approach is what makes RFSS a unique, and special and fulfilling place to learn and work.

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Curriculum Aims: Our curriculum aims to:

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• Fully support our students to be happy, healthy and safe in the modern world

• Empower our students to know more, remember more, and do more

• Inspire our students to strive for excellence throughout their lives

• Promote inclusion of all students no matter their background, prior attainment or barrier to learning, to ensure access to the same ambitious curriculum content

• Provide the widest possible options available at GCSE and A Level in order to suit the needs of our students, and the local and national requirements

• Ensure the implementation of consistent planning & logical sequencing of content that leads to long term knowledge retention and learning

• Deliver a quality-first wave approach to teaching & learning, that promotes high expectation and inclusive classroom practice

• Supports the personal & character development of our students, enabling students to be ‘set for life’, and therefore having a positive impact on the community and the world around them

• Enables opportunities for students to develop socially and creatively

• Ensures that all students are numerate and literate

 

Curriculum ‘How’:

• Stimulating intellectual curiosity and independence • Facilitating collaboration

• Promoting challenge for all, irrespective of starting points

• Enabling creativity

• Sequencing learning to ensure logical progression, both horizontally and vertically

• Revisiting previous learning to support the transfer to long-term memory

• Promoting a set of teaching and learning principles that are underpinned by best practice and the latest educational research

• Enabling discussion so that students can work towards being confident orators

 

Curriculum ‘What’:

Our curriculum is focused on the development of communication, character and cultural capital of each individual student, so they become:

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• Kind, caring citizens who contribute positively to society in a respectful manner

• Reflective learners who are resilient enough to problem-solve, reason, evaluate and debate

• Articulate individuals who can verbalise their own thoughts, ideas and emotions

• Hard-working and empathetic young people who are aware of how their learning links to real-world situations

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Curriculum Implementation:

Here at RFSS, we have an agreed approach to quality-first teaching and learning in our school. Our approach is based around the most up-to-date educational research and proven pedagogy into what leads to high levels of knowledge acquisition. All staff Continuing Professional Development and Quality Assurance of lessons links back to this school-wide quality-first teaching approach. We ensure that this is embedded regularly through CPD that communicates the expectations, models best practice and then provides the opportunity to embed this a departmental level through collaboration and determination of an agreed pedagogical approach for each subject. Our staff strive to ensure that their planning allows the core elements of the RFSS principles to be evident in all lessons, and that there is clear student support throughout.

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