Curriculum Overview

Saxon Mount Curriculum

Intent: The overarching purpose of the curriculum at Saxon Mount is to ensure that, through high quality teaching, we raise aspiration and inspire and motivate our pupils, so that they are fully equipped for their next steps in education, employment and training. The curriculum is broad, balanced, relevant and personalised. It enables all of our pupils to succeed and achieve, whilst providing a foundation for lifelong learning and preparation for adulthood. Our curriculum aims to ensure learning is stimulating, creative, enjoyable and successful. We have very high expectations for every child.

We understand that we need to respond to our pupils’ different needs and interests, shaping teaching around the ways different pupils learn, taking care to develop the learning and development of every pupil, whatever their starting point. We ensure our curriculum is responsive and we understand that certain aspects will need to change regularly, such as the different accreditations that we offer, to reflect changing needs and interests of our pupils. Strong emphasis is placed on the development of skills needed for the workplace and for independence. We aim for pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

‘This is an organisation which has high aspirations, expectations and achievement and has a positive ‘can-do' culture, where praise and encouragement prevail, and self-esteem is high.’   Craig Pamphilon, External Advisor, May 2022.

Implementation

The curriculum offered at Saxon Mount is based on the National Curriculum and is adapted where necessary. Our approach to implementing the curriculum allows for variation in pace, content, use of resources, level and the method of presentation to ensure that learning experiences are appropriate for all children as they develop their knowledge and skills.

Each subject is planned carefully so that knowledge and skills can be sequentially taught in a coherent way that supports learning and progression. Teachers use a range of strategies in their lessons to meet the learning needs and styles for all pupils. We assess starting points carefully and use information to plan sequences of lessons that enable pupils to access learning in an appropriate way for them. We use assessment to inform planning and to identify where further support or intervention may be required.

Pupils benefit from a consistent approach to systems within the school: the structure of lessons, rewards and a behaviour system that encourages pupils to make good choices. The high level of pupil engagement seen across the school is as a result of effective planning.

Careers Education and Work Related Learning opportunities are provided for all pupils. The Skills Builder Framework is used across the curriculum to develop pupils’ essential skills and their self-awareness. The principles of fundamental British Values and preparation for life in modern Britain are featured across all curriculum areas.

All pupils have access to a wide selection of extracurricular and enrichment activities which take place within and beyond the school day.

Impact

The pupils’ achievements and progress made during their time at Saxon Mount School reflect the excellent teaching, assessment practices, intervention programmes and appropriate accreditation opportunities available. Despite low attainment profiles on entry and the consistently high proportion of disadvantaged pupils, who have multiple indicators of being at risk of underachievement, high aspirations support all pupils to do as well as they can. The attainment outcomes for our pupils have increased year-on-year. This is evidenced in other factors we draw upon to measure success, namely, the high level of pupil engagement reflected in excellent levels of attendance, participation in after-school clubs and extra-curricular activities.