The SBS Curriculum

Intent

The SBS curriculum is deliberately designed to provide our students with the best possible education and maximise learning. 

Our curriculum is carefully constructed so that students are equipped with breadth of knowledge and understanding as well as developing their confidence, creativity and skills.  It is important that the curriculum we deliver inspires students’ interest and engagement in understanding the world around them - we aim to spark curiosity and create a joyful learning experience. 

Our five year curriculum has been expertly planned to prioritise inclusion; the carefully considered sequencing of subject knowledge and skills, building of schema and attention to threshold concepts and key core components ensure that all students progress successfully through our ambitious curriculum.

Our teachers are subject experts who delight in making the complex and abstract accessible and engaging to all students.  Their passion for their subject shines through the way in which they co-plan the curriculum to ensure students learn, remember and can apply essential facts, ideas, stories and concepts.  Our expert teachers regularly assess for understanding within and across lessons and respond to address any misconception or misunderstanding that is identified.

Students’ progression through the academic curriculum is enriched through the importance we place upon the ‘character curriculum’.  We are deliberate and intentional in maintaining a climate within which we prize ‘modern masculinity’.  This is rooted in both curriculum resourcing and the extra-curricular opportunities that are offered. 

High quality leadership and careers experiences, education, information, advice and guidance is built into each key stage to support students with their next steps.

Implementation

The delivery and enactment of the curriculum in our classrooms are highly effective.  All teachers make consistent use of The SBS Brilliant Basics ensuring that classroom routines create calm and focused climates providing a secure foundation for all students to successfully engage in and enjoy their learning. 

The SBS Principles of Teaching and Learning  are expertly applied to provide all students with an excellent experience of learning in all classrooms, and the highly intentional manner of implementation means they disproportionately benefit students with SEND. 

The SBS T&L Principles are: 

• Explanation that is linear, clear and precise and that is repeated 

• Modelling that sets the standards, secures understanding and demonstrates excellence 

• Questioning that is deliberately framed, strategically targeted and academically rigorous 

• Practice through regular retrieval, that is supported by scaffolding and builds to assured independence 

• Feedback that is responsive and in-the-moment, focuses on the next step needed and opens up bigger thinking

• Challenge through asking big questions, facilitating the building of schema and designing multi-layered, complex tasks 

All teachers recognise the significance of reading and the explicit teaching of vocabulary - Reading fluency is prioritised across the curriculum.  Our in class reading strategy is implemented by all teachers across all subject areas:

• The teacher as the expert reader in the room will read all texts aloud first
• We ensure all students are provided with the opportunity to practice pronouncing key and complex vocabulary through using the ‘I say, you say’ strategy
• Students regularly engage in peer-to-peer paired reading

Impact

We are proud of our curriculum at SBS and nurture it through development and iteration that is informed by:

• Reviews of content, structure and the ongoing relevance of contemporary examples and case studies
• Curriculum conversations with subject leaders and subject teams
• Student panels who offer reflections on their experience of the curriculum
• Learning walks and department reviews
• Consideration of how to respond to student outcomes
• Student engagement with leadership opportunities and extra-curricular activities

The impact of our curriculum is strong.  SBS students achieve brilliantly both academically and personally.  Our students leave us as confident, considerate and caring young adults capable of and ready to make meaningful and positive contributions to the community and the world around them.

Curriculum Structure

The curriculum is delivered across a two-week timetable with students receiving 50 hours of taught lessons over week A and week B.  Each school week is 32.5 hours in length.

The Curriculum overviews for our Key Stage groups can be seen below:

Key Stage 3 Curriculum

Information about our Key stage 3 curriculum can be found by following the links below:

Year 7 Curriculum

Year 8 Curriculum

Key Stage 4 Curriculum

Information about our Key stage 4 curriculum can be found by following the link below:

Key Stage 4 Curriculum