CURRICULUM

At the heart of Monkwearmouth Academy, our core values of BELIEVE , ACHIEVE and SUCCEED, drive a knowledge rich Curriculum which has breadth and depth, is relevant and ambitious, and is inclusive for all our students regardless of their individual needs or backgrounds. We set high expectations of both our staff and students alike, to ensure that every student achieves to the best of their ability across all aspects of school life, to allow them to develop into confident, successful young adults and well rounded citizens who make a positive contribution to the local community. Our aim is to ensure students make outstanding progress and that our Curriculum removes any potential barriers to learning.

Across the five year Curriculum, students learn essential knowledge and skills structured and sequenced around a ‘learning journey’, to ensure they have a deep understanding across a range of subjects. There are many opportunities built into lessons to secure the need to recall and retrieve previous learning so that knowledge is fully embedded. This provides our students with a cohesive and coherent Curriculum, including coverage and depth across all subjects to ensure that it builds skills and knowledge that are aligned across the whole Curriculum.

Our carefully sequenced Curriculum, designed by subject experts is not only knowledge rich to ensure students gain excellent outcomes, it develops character and equips students with the skills and confidence to be well rounded citizens in the modern, dynamic world.

The Curriculum offered at Monkwearmouth is designed around three key areas to embrace our core values:

1. BROAD AND BALANCED: 

Students study the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 which includes a wide range of academic and practical subjects. Curriculum time is fairly distributed, so students develop the essential skills and knowledge in each subject to achieve their full potential. Careful planning ensures our Curriculum builds on prior knowledge gained throughout primary school and during secondary school.

At Key Stage 4, students are placed on an appropriate pathway and can study a range of academic and high-quality vocational qualifications. Most students are entered for the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) to ensure they have a broad range of qualifications to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in life.

2. RELEVANT: 

Interwoven into our carefully designed Curriculum are opportunities in each subject for students to develop their character, literacy, digital literacy and numeracy skills. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is present in each Scheme of Work to enable students to develop important life skills and knowledge to succeed in the modern world. The Curriculum considers the local and national context to prepare students for life in modern Britain.

3. AMBITIOUS: 

We are ambitious for all of our students, regardless of their starting point and our Curriculum is differentiated to ensure students of all ages, abilities and aptitudes can achieve. Monkwearmouth staff are highly skilled and adapt teaching to motivate and challenge all students to achieve their personal best.