Swanlea School Curriculum
Swanlea School Vision
At Swanlea we will:
- Develop socially confident, responsible, resilient and independent learners
- Create respectful, empathetic and active citizens who value democracy, liberty and the rule of law in British society
- Develop highly numerate, literate and articulate young people, instilling a life-long love of learning
- Promote cultural capital and celebrate difference, instilling an understanding and appreciation of diversity
- Nurture aspiration and ambition challenging all to achieve, readying pupils for the global work place
- Promote student wellbeing, safety and healthy lifestyles, positively managing their academic, personal and social lives
Classical Civilisation provides students with a broad, coherent and rewarding study of the culture of the classical world. They study elements of the literature, visual and material culture of Greece and Rome and develop an understanding of their social, historical and cultural contexts. By exploring Greece and Rome at the same time, students are encouraged to consider the similarities and differences of both cultures, and how those cultures have impacted on our own. From women in the Ancient World, to the study of religious beliefs and ancient ideas about war, Classical Civilisation involves interesting discussions about things that are still important today
So much of our art, architecture, literature, music, philosophy, government, politics, law and language traces its roots to ancient Greece or Rome. Classical Civilisation enables students to understand how people lived in ancient times, through exploration of Classical literature, historical and archaeological information. Classical civilisation teaches students how to structure a good argument and develop confident thinking and evaluating skills. Students are taught to apply their knowledge of the cultural contexts in which the texts were produced, to inform evidence-based judgements. Classical civilisation broadens students’ understanding of different people and cultures.
Swanlea School Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum will:
- Realise our school mission, vision and values
- Have breadth, balance and coherence
- Be ambitious, academic and challenging for all
- Be rigorously constructed and sequenced to enable deep, long- term learning, preparing pupils for the next stage of their education
- Instil a life-long love of learning, equipping students with powerful knowledge and skills
Swanlea School’s curriculum comprises the total learning experience of our pupils, designed to realise our mission, values and vision.
Our curriculum has 2 strands:
Formal curriculum – the powerful subject distinctive knowledge that students need to learn; what students experience in the classroom. It is carefully sequenced content that creates a coherent learning journey for our students from year 7 to year 13.
Extended curriculum – the opportunities both inside and outside of lesson time that deepen students’ cultural experience, social confidence and wider skills and knowledge.
Art Curriculum Intent
Business Curriculum Intent
Classical Civilisation Curriculum Intent
Computer Science Curriculum Intent
Drama Curriculum Intent
DT Curriculum Intent
English Curriculum Intent
Geography Curriculum Intent
Health and Social Care Curriculum Intent
Mathematics Curriculum Intent
History Curriculum Intent
Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum Intent
Music Curriculum Intent
PE Curriculum Intent
RE Curriculum Intent
Science Curriculum Intent
Swanlea School Curriculum Implementation
Our curriculum implementation is centred upon realising our school mission, vision and values and is underpinned by the Swanlea Learning Cycle.
All students follow an ambitious, academically challenging, broad and balanced Key Stage 3 curriculum which provides pupils with powerful knowledge and a strong foundation in all national curriculum subjects, preparing learners for the specialist learning of Key Stage 4 and 5 study and beyond.
Our curriculum is clearly constructed and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before at key stage 2 and consequently in each year of study at Swanlea, working towards clearly defined end points encapsulated in our mastery learning model.
Teachers are supported by a dedicated whole school CPD programme, alongside subject-specific training to become expert practitioners.
The Swanlea Learning Cycle outlines our approach to classroom practice. It is rooted in our school values and based upon ‘The Swanlea Way’ which make clear our expectations of staff and students. The Swanlea Learning Cycle, incorporates four essential aspects: retrieval practice; teacher input; assessment for learning and student application.
Subject specialists ally high quality, clear teacher explanation and instruction with a wide range of assessment strategies to embed key concepts in students long term memory. Teachers use assessment for learning techniques to check pupil’s understanding and to provide high quality feedback to support learning, using these also to inform and adapt their teaching. Key pedagogical practices include our focus on questioning through ‘cold-calling, no opt-out and say it again better.’
Feedback First in particular prioritises the needs of SEND students in the mainstream, recognising that these pupils should receive regular, targeted improvement strategies every lesson, supported also by scaffolding, modelling and pre-teaching of vocabulary in order to access the curriculum.
KS3 students develop a love of reading through designated daily opportunities to read for pleasure. Writing on demand is an integral aspect of lessons, enabling students to develop their confidence in extended writing. The explicit teaching of tier two and tier three vocabulary ensures students are able to access challenging texts and express themselves articulately.
Swanlea School Curriculum Impact
Our curriculum realises the school mission, vision and values:
- Develop socially confident, responsible, resilient and independent learners
- Create respectful, empathetic and active citizens who value democracy, liberty and the rule of law in British society
- Develop highly numerate, literate and articulate young people, instilling a life-long love of learning
- Promote cultural capital and celebrate difference, instilling an understanding and appreciation of diversity
- Nurture aspiration and ambition challenging all to achieve, readying pupils for the global work place
- Promote student wellbeing, safety and healthy lifestyles, positively managing their academic, personal and social lives
Students at Swanlea School consistently achieve highly, particularly the most disadvantaged. SEND achieve exceptionally well as exemplified in national tests at Key Stages 4 & 5.
Swanlea School’s curriculum allows students to develop detailed knowledge and skills across a broad range of subjects. The Swanlea Way focus on our culture and ethos is a key part of how we realise our school mission, vision and values.
Pupils are equipped with the powerful knowledge that will empower them as individuals, readying them for the next stage of their education, employment or training at the end of Key Stages 3, 4 & 5. Pupils learn the knowledge and skills they need to go on and meet their interests and aspirations.
Pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age and are supported to do this through our literacy engagement & intervention strategies, alongside our wider English curriculum. Our whole school focus on developing reading, writing and explicit teaching of vocabulary supports this progress in literacy. Our numeracy strategies and wider Maths curriculum also ensures that pupils are able to apply mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures appropriate to their age.
Key Stage 4 Year 10 Curriculum
| Year 10 – Subjects | Lessons |
| Core | |
| Religious Education | 3 |
| English | 5 |
| Mathematics | 5 |
| Science | 6 |
| Physical Education | 2 |
| Humanities (1 Selected) | |
| History | 3 |
| Geography | 3 |
| Languages (1 Studied) | |
| German | 3 |
| French | 3 |
| Health & Social Care (Invitation Only) | 3 |
| Option Block C (1 Selected) | |
| Creative iMedia | 3 |
| Enterprise & Marketing | 3 |
| BTEC PE | 3 |
| GCSE PE | 3 |
| GCSE Drama | 3 |
| GCSE Design Technology | 3 |
| GCSE Music | 3 |
| V.CERT Graphic Design | 3 |
| GCSE Computer Science | 3 |
| Art | 3 |
Year 11 Curriculum
| Year 11 – Subjects | Lessons |
| Core | |
| English | 7 |
| Mathematics | 7 |
| Science | 7 |
| Physical Education | 2 |
| Languages (1 Studied) | |
| French | 3 |
| German | 3 |
| Achieve (Invitation Only) | 3 |
| Health & Social Care (Invitation Only) | 3 |
| Humanities (1 Selected) | |
| History | 4 |
| Geography | 4 |
Address:
31 Brady Street
Whitechapel
London
E1 5DJ
Headteacher: Ms. Brenda Landers