Park Lane Academy

Curriculum Intent

 

Our Intent

Park Lane Academy serves an extended, under privileged community with high levels of deprivation. We have a demographic that has high levels of SEND needs. Due to this, it's our mission to ensure that our students strive for excellence and fulfil their ambitions in a nurturing environment under pinned by our key values of Respect, Ambition and Pride.

We are passionate in our belief that all students, regardless of starting points or perceived barriers, have the right to a curriculum that is not only ambitious but tailored to meet their needs, enabling them to develop the skills to compete with their peers and to develop a lifelong love of learning.

At Park Lane Academy, our curriculum is underpinned by the belief that every child is entitled to an engaging education, which effectively supports them in becoming lifelong learners helping them to achieve their ambitions and play a full and meaningful role in the society of tomorrow. It's our aim to provide our students with their GCSE passports to success through the delivery of a broad, relevant and bespoke curriculum which allows all children to succeed – irrespective of starting points, SEND or other perceived barriers. Through our challenging offer we want our students to leave our academy as resilient and ambitious individuals who have the self-belief and confidence to believe in themselves and realise their full potential.

 

Curriculum organisation

 

Our students follow a two week timetable which consists of 25 periods a week with six lessons a day.

There are four classes in each year group. Year 7 (118), Year 8 (114), Year 9 (80), Year 10 (73) and Year 11 (95). A total of 480 students.

We offer a five year educational experience, that includes a three year Key Stage 3 and two year Key Stage 4 and we follow the national curriculum.

We provide literacy interventions, e.g. Lexia, Read Write Inc. (Fresh Start). These are targeted at those students that have a SAS below 85 (or a reading age >2yr below chronological age in the first instance). Those of higher also access Phonic interventions (triage system).

 Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 & 9)

  • Builds upon (not repeating) the knowledge and skills developed at Key Stage 2
  • Ensures firm foundations are laid for future success. Students move from developing new knowledge and skills to mastery level in a full range of subjects.
  • We offer access to a broad, balanced and range of subjects at Key Stage 3 (offering a full Key Stage 3 entitlement).
  •  Key Stage 3  classes are grouped by ability, with the flexibility to move dependent on ability and/or progress in most subjects.
  • All students have access to a modern foreign language at Key Stage 3.
  • At Key Stage 3, there’s eight one-hour lessons of Maths, English and Science.
  • A reciprocal reading lesson has been added to the curriculum for all Key Stage 3 students.

 Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11)

  • Options will be selected by students at the end of Year 9 to begin in Year 10 going forward. We have a wide range of both academic and vocational subjects and qualifications on offer at key stage 4 which support the interests of our students along with successful transition to high quality post 16 further and higher destinations.
  • Students largely follow an ambitious and academic curriculum with a range of EBACC subjects on offer. Students in Key Stage 4, can study for the 'English Baccalaureate'. Currently 36% of Year 11 and 26% of Year 10 are studying the ‘English Baccalaureate’.
  • At Key Stage 4, students will have taken eight qualifications by the end of Year 11.
  • All students study a range of high-quality GCSE and vocational qualifications (Sports Studies, Creative Media, Health and Social care, Sports Science, Business and Enterprise, Photography and Travel and Tourism).
  • The Key Stage 4 curriculum ensures that all subjects have an appropriate allocation of time over the courses required to prepare students for the linear examinations at the end of Year 11 and/or other methods of assessment relevant to the course followed.
  • Our Key Stage 4 curriculum offer and the subjects available compliment the post 16 education offer locally and is responsive to the needs of the economy and labour market locally and nationally. Students study subjects which will enable them to transition successfully to the next stage of education and ultimately into employment successfully.

Vision for the Park Lane Academy Curriculum 

 

Everything we do at Park Lane Academy is designed to support all our students to ‘be the best versions of themselves’. Our curriculum offer is both rich and engaging; providing a curriculum journey that is student focussed, relevant to our context and needs of the locality.  Our curriculum is designed to respect and fully meet both our student’s needs and their aspirations, to encourage ambition and to support students in taking pride in their learning, from the moment they start at Park Lane Academy.

 In line with our Academy Aims, the curriculum we deliver develops knowledge, understanding and behaviours for learning that means students are both motivated and equipped with the knowledge, skills and ability required to be successful in the future and into the world of work.

The curriculum we have developed provides learning, opportunities and experiences that will equalize the life chances of our students. Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural learning is at the heart of everything we do.

Teaching and Learning 

Park Lane Academy has established a ‘5 phase lesson’ to ensure our students benefit from excellent teaching which develops independence, creativity, innovation and risk taking to deepen the knowledge, understanding and skills our students need to stay on track to achieve their full potential regardless of starting points.

We encourage our students to think for themselves and explore ideas through a range of challenging activities and tasks which move learning forward at a fast pace which leads to high levels of student engagement, determination and enthusiasm.

The Academy has also introduced ‘Red Zone’. The main purpose of this challenging strategy is to encourage our students to be reflective and imaginative and to experience exam-like conditions in every lesson, working independently to build resilience as well as improving their writing stamina.

  

Assessment and Reporting

In order to effectively assess the progress of children using data, which is accurate and robust, KS3 and KS4 GCSE sub-grades are used to report student attainment, and to identify whether students are on track to achieve appropriate outcomes for their starting points at the end of Y11.

Whilst these GCSE subgrades will be reported internally for data collation and identification of under performance, they will not be communicated to students and parents; instead, students and parents will be told that progress is either ‘exceptional’, ‘secure’, ‘developing’ or ‘below expectation’.

This will be calculated by first identifying a student’s starting point (SP1-6), which will in turn dictate what pathway they are placed on. This will be based on their scaled score total from KS2.

We will collect student attainment data twice a year in every year group, and this will be based on a combination of teacher assessment and standardised assessments. Students will sit terminal examinations in English and Maths in Years 7 and 8, and this will include Science in Year 9.

Through Years 10 and 11, there will be mock examinations which will cover all options subjects. Students’ Attitudes to Learning will also be assessed by teachers and recorded. At Park Lane Academy, we believe that success is measured in more ways than just exam results; therefore, all students should strive to be engaged and be independent learners.

Equality in the Curriculum

  •  Our curriculum offer reflects a range of EBACC subjects for all students throughout key stage 3 and 4.

  • All students study a range of high-quality GCSE and vocational qualifications

  • The curriculum is organised and delivered by specialist subject leaders/teachers for all subjects/all abilities.

  • We have a three-year key stage 3 model which enables students to study the full range of subjects in greater depth.

  • Students are largely set in key stage 3 to allow for movement dependent on ability in individual subjects.

  • All students have exposure/ access to a modern foreign language in Key Stage 3.

Teaching Pedagogical Approach

  • 5 Phase: Lessons at Park Lane Academy are structured using a 5-Phase approach.

  • High expectations: High-quality learning and teaching, in every lesson, every day features a culture of mutual respect, high order questioning, collaborative learning and activities linked to knowledge retrieval which means our students are engaged and challenged.

  • Red zone: students complete work completely independently to demonstrate their aptitude with the new learning that has taken place.

  • Assessment: teachers use assessment to check students’ understanding in order to inform teaching, and to help students embed and use knowledge fluently and develop student understanding.

Literacy

Our curriculum is underpinned by developing students’ abilities to speak, listen, read and write for a wide range of purposes, including using language to learn, communicate, think, explore and organise. 

Reading

Students are exposed to a range of high-quality and challenging texts across the curriculum. All Key Stage 3 students have a timetabled library lesson as part of the English curriculum. This aims to develop and support a love of reading, as well as, using ‘Bedrock Vocabulary’ to increase students’ engagement with language. This develops their use of academic vocabulary encouraging them to learn and use the challenging language they will come across in text books, lessons and exams. 

Personal Development

We encourage our students to participate in a range of enrichment activities both within and beyond the end of the school day to support both their academic and wider development. We believe engaging enrichment must be an integral part of our curriculum offer to enable our students to develop their confidence – including their resilience and independence and to help them know how to keep physically and mentally healthy.

 

Send Special Education Needs and Disabilities

At Park Lane Academy, we tailor provision for individual students carefully and this includes students with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).

The support offered for students with an identified Special Educational Need and/or Disability is sharply focused on inclusion and enabling students to make both excellent academic and wider progress (including their happiness and wellbeing).

As with all students who have SEND, they receive a creative, varied, yet balanced curriculum which is differentiated to meet individual needs so that they can learn and make progress. A small number of students with more complex needs and an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) follow the Achieve pathway receiving a primary focused curriculum that is acutely matched to their individual needs.

All students within the specialist provision are included in mainstream lessons with additional support from a specialist team of staff.