Maths underpins every aspect of our world; it's not just tables, bonds, trigonometry, and Pythagoras’ Theorem but the patterns found in nature, the symmetry of living things and so much more. The ability to perform mathematical tasks enables students to learn to think logically and sequentially, which is a skill required in everyday life.
Not only do students make links between mathematical concepts through exploring patterns in the number system, but in shape, measures, and statistics. They learn to explain their reasoning and justify their answers, which is invaluable in the GCSE exams. They develop the skills, knowledge, and efficient methods of calculation necessary to support their economic future and problem solving in daily life. Maths skills are a key element of preparing our students to have the confidence and resilience to make a successful transition to college or the world of work.
Students can revisit a topic or area several times throughout their school years. The complexity of the topic increases with each revisit but new learning has a relationship with old learning and is put into context. By doing this information and learning are reinforced and underpinned each time the pupil revisits the topic. This allows a logical progression from simplistic ideas to more complex ideas.
By revisiting topics the students are able to develop perseverance, by trying and not giving up as soon as it gets a bit complicated. They will then need to realise that the inability to do something does not spell failure but a pathway to exploring what they can do, given time.
We encourage pupils to develop the resilience and tenacity to solve problems and provide pupils with the tools to overcome difficulties. As many students have gaps in their learning, it is essential to revisit the basic core of understanding maths. For example, times tables, place value, multiplying and dividing by tens, hundreds, thousands, the mean, median mode and median of simple numbers.
Students are also encouraged to be able to work both independently and collaboratively and to communicate effectively with others, showing patience and empathy.
One of our core values is ‘helping others’. Our students are encouraged to help each other as much as possible as it helps them to remember tasks that they have shared.
We foster an atmosphere of respect and students are encouraged to never criticise or laugh at others' answers. This in turn helps the less able students to ‘have a go’ as they feel secure and know they will not be made fun of if they make a mistake. Being given this confidence enables our students to have a sense of belonging, which is so important to most of our vulnerable students.
We promote that the teaching of and enthusiasm for Mathematics must not be confined to Maths lessons. We have identified four key Numeracy skills which should be embedded across the curriculum; times tables, measure, time and money. There are many other Mathematical skills which lend themselves well to other subject areas. Staff are encouraged to identify these when delivering their own subjects, as appropriate.
english
science
Intent Here at VLC, we believe that students deserve a broad, progressive and engaging Science curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge. It will provide students with the tools needed throughout their education and prepare them for life beyond. The curriculum will endeavour to foster a curiosity, excitement and wonder about the biological, chemical and physical world around us, with our core values always at the heart of our learning. Our students will experience and investigate all aspects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Science consists of observing the world by watching, listening, observing, and recording. Science is curiosity in thoughtful action about the world and how it behaves. We believe that anyone can think like a scientist. We have high expectations that our students can succeed in Science, regardless of any barriers to learning that they have experienced in the past or are currently facing. We will provide a safe, affirming and positive learning environment to encourage and support our students to achieve at the highest level both academically and with practical scientific and mathematical skills. This will encourage each pupil to learn how to learn, use their imaginations, be reflective, have fun, and celebrate their achievements; We believe that a broad, in depth, creative and interactive Science curriculum will enable our students to have a sensitive understanding of the world they are growing into. For example: They will appreciate how their bodies work and how to develop a lifestyle that will support their health and well-being, while also appreciating how all of the natural world namely plants, animals and microorganisms interrelate to keep our planet in balance. They will also learn the importance of generating electricity in a sustainable way so that we don’t destroy the earth. They will investigate the forces that make things move, stop, speed up and slow down, essential for knowing how cars, machines, bridges and many other things are made and work. They will explore what chemical materials are made up of and how they react with each other to provide us with all the fuels and chemicals that we use every day. This will give them the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about real life situations, understanding the ethical benefits and drawbacks involved.
Skills and Knowledge Implementation Students will study a range of topics organised over a three year rolling programme. We will use the follow the AQA KS3 syllabus using the Oxford Activate AQA KS3 Curriculum resources. The rationale in using this is that it is a well-developed program of study that:
Is based on 10 big ideas at the heart of the science KS3 and KS4 curricula therefore forging good links between the 2 key stages
Has a spiral design so that each big idea contains 4 smaller topics that build in complexity over the 3 years
Provides support as well as extension activities to enable all students to enjoy learning and receive an appropriate level of challenge to stimulate and inspire a love of learning science
They will learn through scientific investigations, modelling and chunking information into manageable size pieces. There will plenty of opportunities to ask questions and explore how the science relates to real life situations. The learning will be at three levels:
Know/Nurture – the foundation key scientific content – skills, facts & keywords
Apply/Grow – use their basic knowledge to describe and explain why things happen in real life situations.
Extend/harvest - use concluding, analysing, evaluating and interpreting skills to explain scientific observations, measurements or trends in data
Students will be taught in small groups to help each individual pupil to fulfil his/her academic potential, as a step up to becoming the very best that they can be. Specific subject content
Impact At the start of each lesson there will be a retrieval activity assessing the short and long term retention, recall and understanding of previous topics. This will enable the teacher to quickly assess and address any gaps in knowledge or misunderstandings before moving on to new concepts. This may consist of a variety of quizzes, verbal questions and answers, or worksheet activities.
To build resilience and exam techniques end of topic assessments may also be used, when appropriate, to gauge the extent to which the students have learnt and can apply what they have been taught
By the time our students have completed this KS3 Science program of study they will be fully equipped and confident to progress to study either Separate GCSE qualifications in Biology, Chemistry and Physics (3 GCSEs) or Combined Science Trilogy (2 GCSEs)
humanities
physical education
Why is Physical Activity important? Not only does exercise improve a child’s overall health and fitness it helps to improve their mental health and cognitive development as well, by doing physical exercise, children are more likely to concentrate and maintain focus in lessons. As well as strengthening muscle and bones, exercise builds confidence, inspires positivity, and improves social skills, as it promotes meaningful social interaction.
Intent: Here at VLC we are committed to offering our students a variety of sports and physical activities considering individual limitation and/or personal preferences. We believe that our students deserve a broad, progressive, and engaging Physical Education curriculum, rich in skill development and knowledge. It will provide students with the tools needed throughout their education and prepare them for life beyond their education years. The curriculum will endeavour to foster pupils interests, excitement and benefits that physical activity can promote, with our core values always at the heart of our learning.
Our students will experience physical education in a personalised approach, as they will have lessons tailored to suit their skill levels and limitations. Here at VLC our students have a voice. Therefore, we consider their likings and interests, as we believe that approach will increase our pupils’ likelihood to engage in P.E., and most importantly, our main goal is to develop the essential set of skills necessary to aid our students to become healthy and active adults.
Implementation: In all lessons we embed core skills, knowledge, principles, confidence across a broad range of activities. We strongly recognise the need to make P.E. fun, inclusive and to foster a lifelong love of physical activity. We believe that promoting meaningful P.E. is the key factor to achieve lifelong commitment towards physical activity.
VLC’s approach to promote meaningful P.E.:
Social interaction - Ensure that all students feel like they belong
Fun - High quality P.E. lessons, gamification, and enthusiastic delivery.
Challenge - Ensure pupils are exposed to achievable goals.
Motor competence - Adopt a zero tolerance police for those peers who may make negative comments over less motor competent pupils. Also, ensure all students feel safe to try new skills, knowing that it is okay to make mistakes.
Impact We expect our students to be engaged during their P.E. lessons, as we offer a versatile curriculum tailored to their needs and ability levels. Here at VLC, we aim to expose our students to a meaningful P.E. experience, which can be carried on throughout their life.