The Ruth Gorse Academy Curriculum

Overview Documents

At The Ruth Gorse Academy, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum provision which is forensically crafted and personalised to meet the needs of our young people. Our curriculum goes beyond the expectation of the National Curriculum by interweaving across all curriculum areas, the development of:

SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural)
Modern British Values (Democracy, The Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs)
RSHE (Relationship, Sex and Health Education)
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic)
Numeracy and Literacy (including. Reading, Writing and Oracy)

Our learners, regardless of background and ability, build breadth and depth in knowledge and skills across all subjects supported through our carefully planned Iterative teaching and assessment. Our carefully considered approach to iterative assessment ensures all learners learn more and remember more.

The curriculum provision at The Ruth Gorse Academy is further strengthened by our highly bespoke Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme and a wealth of enrichment opportunities delivered through our Enrichment++ programme. It is incredibly important to us, that all learners at The Ruth Gorse Academy secure the best possible outcomes and develop a broad range of skills and attributes required to successfully transition into further education and employment.

The GORSE Code

The GORSE Code captures key elements of our practice that are specific to GORSE and contributes to the successful planning and implementation of the curriculum across all phases.

Curriculum and Rubric Mapping

This is a meticulously planned documentation which provides a five- year strategic overview of the skills and knowledge students will develop, when these will be taught and assessed through Iterative Assessments. The development of vocabulary and homework are also considered within this. These documents have been planned by expert professionals taking into consideration the context of the academy, each year group and individual groups within this.

Iterative Assessment

This is the process of assessing the accumulation of knowledge overtime. We do not focus solely on what has been taught most recently, instead, we assess students in terms of current and prior learning.

Students will be regularly tested against knowledge and skills that have been delivered through the curriculum. The curriculum is driven through a detailed professional understanding of the curriculum and examination rubric.

Purple Zone

Students will be regularly exposed to challenging or difficult concepts which require them to think and apply their prior knowledge to unfamiliar contexts. Purple Zone is designed so that students struggle with difficult concepts from which they learn more.

Purple Zone work is formally linked to the process of assessment, linked in its own right to Iterative Assessment.

Forensic Reading

As they spend their time with us, our children and young adults will establish a coastal shelf of knowledge, vocabulary, understanding, phraseology and experience that forms a basis for success in difficult examinations and the challenges of adult life beyond their time with us. Forensic Reading will expose students to challenging, complex and academic texts which will not only develop students’ vocabulary but also their ability to appreciate what makes a great writer.

The Ruth Gorse Academy Curriculum Intent

Our highly ambitious, personalised, engaging, and enriching curriculum provision promotes mastery of skills and knowledge and equips young people at The Ruth Gorse Academy to ‘dare to achieve beyond what you are today’.
Ambitious	Our curriculum is ambitious for all learners. The Positive Discipline System ensures high standards and expectations in behaviour and standards. The KS3 and KS4 curriculum exceeds the expectations of the National Curriculum. Personalised Purple Zone activities ensure the everyday application of the curriculum intent is challenging for all. Through Purple Zone activities, students ‘grapple’ with challenging concepts and content EVERY lesson. Our PSHE/RSHE provision continuously provides learners with opportunities to explore and discuss challenging concepts and themes. Links to SMSC and RSHE are also identified and explored across different subjects. Forensic Reading texts are highly challenging and designed to immerse students in high-order vocabulary and concepts, for example, My Last Duchess (themes: women, suffrage & misogyny).
Personalised	Teachers expertly personalise learning for all learners which in turn facilitates strong rates of progress. Curriculum and Rubric Maps provide a comprehensive five-year learning journey through which learners develop and secure their subject knowledge and skills whilst taking into consideration the development of Cultural Capital, vocabulary, reading, the PSHE/RSHE curriculum. Strategic Seating and Interaction Plans are used as a planning tool to support adaptive teaching and personalisation for all learners. Think 5 is used as a planning framework for the SEND cohort: effective planning, explicit instructions, cognitive & metacognitive strategies, scaffolding and flexible groupings. Marking and feedback is personalised to the needs of learners including. their literacy priorities which are addressed through ‘Check 5’ and students are given the opportunity to respond to this feedback through Green for Growth. The Inclusion and Pastoral teams provide personalised support to ensure all students are engaged with their learning and make progress in line with their peers.
Engaging	Ensuring all learners engage in their learning and experience ‘awe and wonder’ is at the heart of our planning process. Hook activities are used across all subjects to engage learners, including. Reading Hooks and Black History Month Hooks. A range of home learning opportunities are planned within the curriculum in order to engage learners outside the classroom. This includes the use of a variety of online teaching tools including. Language Nut, SENECA and GCSE-Pods. The Community Cohesion Team support with engaging learners, their families and the local community.
Enriching	A wide range of enrichment opportunities are available to support learners with broadening their experiences and skill set including literacy and numeracy skills. The Group Reader texts (Year 7 My Sister lives on the Mantle Piece, Year 8 A Monster Calls and Year 9 The Boxer). Enrichment ++ opportunities including the Big 3 sports (Volleyball, Karate and Rowing). ACE Ambassadors are leading on cultural awareness, protected characteristics, and promotion of the Anti-Bullying Charter. Culture Day is a means of celebrating the variety of cultures across the academy. The Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance is carefully planned and delivered within the Personal Development programme. Links to CIAG are made throughout the curriculum provision, where appropriate. GORSE Gets Healthy and the RSHE curriculum are also delivered through the Personal Development Programme. Enrichment opportunities are carefully considered, for example: WJCE Hospitality trip to Mumtaz, Hornsey trip linked to the KS4 Geography curriculum and the Paris trip linked to the French curriculum. The Student Leadership Team play an active role in representing our academy at key events such as Open Day and Parents’ Evenings. They engage in discussions around what they think is working well within the academy and where they can drive positive change. The Library is accessible to all students and provides both fiction and non-fiction books.
Mastery	Through an iterative approach to teaching, learning and assessment, students ‘master’ the skills and knowledge required to be successful in further education and employment. Curriculum & Rubric Mapping is developed with the National Curriculum or the GCSE specifications as a starting point when considering proportionality of time allocation. Consideration is given to KS2, KS3, KS4 & KS5 curriculum expectations. Mastery of KS3 before moving on to KS4. Regular iterative assessment opportunities including. at least 2 are Trust aligned Interim and Masters Assessments. Within curriculum planning, the development of vocabulary, cultural capital, links to the RSHE/PSHE curriculum, opportunities for developing reading, writing & oracy are also considered, as well as cross-curricular opportunities. Standardisation of assessments and marking, as well as moderation on an academy and Trust level support teacher CPD around the delivery of the rubric. Low stake assessments in the form of iterative starters in Maths and Science, and iterative Purple Zones in Geography are a regular feature of teaching and learning. Such strategies support learners with learning more and remembering more.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum (Year 7, 8 and 9)

The Key Stage 3 curriculum model is based upon a 25-period timetable, split into three parallel bands, A, B and C. Students study a wide range of subjects including the core subject, humanities, languages and the arts. Students will study either French, Spanish or Mandarin at Key Stage 3.

Year 7
Subject	Number of Lessons
English	3
Mathematics	4
Science	3
Forensic Reading	1
Geography	2
History	2
French/Spanish/Mandarin	2
Religious Education	1
Art & Design	1
Design & Technology	1
Drama	1
Music	1
Computing	1
Physical Education	2

Year 8
Subject	Number of Lessons
English	3
Mathematics	4
Science	3
Forensic Reading	1
Geography	2
History	2
French/Spanish/Mandarin	2
Religious Education	1
Art & Design	1
Design & Technology	1
Drama	1
Music	1
Computing	1
Physical Education	2

Year 9
Subject	Number of Lessons
English	3
Mathematics	4
Science	4
Forensic Reading	1
Geography	2
History	2
French/Spanish/Mandarin	3
Religious Education	1
Art, Design and Technology	1
Drama	1
Music	1
Computing	1
Physical Education	1

Key Stage 4 Curriculum (Year 10 and 11)

The Key Stage 4 curriculum model is based upon a 25-period timetable split into parallel bands, A and B. Students are placed in a band depending on their selection of option subjects. The curriculum is planned to ensure rigour with a focus on the core skills.

Year 10
Subject	Number of Lessons
English	4
Mathematics	4
Science	4
French, Spanish or Mandarin	3
Geography or History	3
Option 1	3
Option 2	3
Physical Education	1

Year 11
Subject	Number of Lessons
English	4
Mathematics	4
Science	4
French, Spanish or Mandarin	3
Geography or History	3
Option 1	3
Option 2	3
Physical Education	1

Key Stage 4 Options Subject Include
GCSE Art*
GCSE Business
GCSE Citizenship
GCSE Computer Science
GCSE Drama
GCSE Graphics*
BTEC Health & Social Care
WJEC Hospitality
WJEC ICT
BTEC Music
GCSE Photography*
GCSE Religious Studies
BTEC Sports Studies
GCSE Textiles*

Subjects with a (*) indicate that you can only select one of these

If you have any questions about the curriculum at The Ruth Gorse Academy, please contact the appropriate Head of Year, or contact us at [email protected].