Curriculum Implementation

Psychology

Psychology structures the curriculum into a 2 year KS4 and a 2 year KS5 curriculum. The curriculum is a progressive model. Subject and cross subject sequencing intends to develop schemata making subsequent learning possible.

Subject specialists have given consideration and thought to the sequence and rationale of the curriculum; why we teach the content we do and in the order that we do. This is to ensure knowledge is not isolated information; it is connected knowledge that enables comprehension.

At Key Stage 4, the full OCR GCSE 9-1 Psychology is delivered. It is a 2 year curriculum model. Content is structured into units. The curriculum is designed to ensure an inclusive approach such that all students, through adaptive teaching and learning strategies, can access the essential knowledge of a broad range of psychological theories, explanations, models and studies. Each lesson builds on prior learning, allowing connections to be made across subject content. Reading activities are embedded in all lessons so that students can develop their depth and breadth of knowledge and consolidate essential knowledge. Opportunities to apply and evaluate essential knowledge to showcase deep understanding are also plentiful. Low Stakes quizzes are used at the start of lessons to assess prior knowledge, inform adaptive teaching strategies and promote synoptic understanding of the course content. Checking for understanding tasks are used to assess whole Unit content and prior learning. Reteach and revisit tasks in response to Checking for Understanding Assessments offer students the opportunity to rectify gaps in essential knowledge and complete personalised activities for consolidation purposes. Our approach to course delivery is intended to ensure that all students can access and achieve the aims of the course and demands of the GCSE examination at the highest levels.

At Key Stage 5 the AQA Psychology is delivered. Content is structured into units. We do not ‘teach to the test.’ The curriculum is designed to ensure an inclusive approach such that all students, through adaptive teaching and learning strategies, can access the essential knowledge of a broad range of psychological theories, explanations, models and studies. Each lesson builds on prior learning, allowing connections to be made across subject content. Reading activities are embedded in all lessons so that students can develop their depth and breadth of knowledge and consolidate essential knowledge. Opportunities to apply and evaluate essential knowledge to showcase deep understanding are also plentiful.

Student voice has been conducted to ensure that students have a contribution to the curriculum content. This has resulted in greater access to exam scripts from past students being introduced, this has further enabled current students to address misconceptions in knowledge and supported the development of exam techniques. Low Stakes quizzes are used at the start of lessons to assess prior knowledge, inform adaptive teaching strategies and promote synoptic understanding of the course content. Checking for understanding tasks are used to assess whole Unit content and prior learning. Reteach and revisit tasks in response to Checking for Understanding Assessments offer students the opportunity to rectify gaps in essential knowledge and complete personalised activities for consolidation purposes.

The Psychology department is a member of the Association for Psychology Teachers and works alongside the School Improvement Partners to quality assure our curriculum and ensure that it provides a high quality and comprehensive curriculum for all. Our approach to course delivery is intended to ensure that all students can access and achieve the aims of the course and demands of the A level examination at the highest levels.

Sociology

At Key Stage 5 the AQA Sociology is delivered. Content is structured into units. We do not ‘teach to the test.’ The curriculum is a progressive model. Subject and cross subject sequencing intends to develop schemata making subsequent learning inclusive and therefore accessible to all students The curriculum is designed to ensure students acquire essential knowledge of the Sociology of British society and the ability to apply and evaluate knowledge is fully developed. Each lesson builds on prior learning, allowing connections to be made between content. Units have been organised and designed to promote learning and provide depth and breadth of understanding. Subject specialists have given consideration and thought to the sequence and rationale of the curriculum. This is to ensure knowledge is not isolated information; it is connected knowledge that enables synoptic understanding of whole course content. Reading activities are embedded in all lessons so that students can develop their depth and breadth of knowledge and consolidate essential knowledge. Opportunities to apply and evaluate essential knowledge to showcase deep understanding are also plentiful. Low Stakes quizzes are used at the start of lessons to assess prior knowledge, inform adaptive teaching strategies and promote synoptic understanding of the course content. Checking for understanding tasks are used to assess whole Unit content and prior learning. Reteach and revisit tasks in response to Checking for Understanding Assessments offer students the opportunity to rectify gaps in essential knowledge and complete personalised activities for consolidation purposes.
The Sociology department works alongside the School Improvement Partners to quality assure our curriculum and ensure that it provides a high quality and comprehensive curriculum for all. Our approach to course delivery is intended to ensure that all students can access and achieve the aims of the course and demands of the A level examination at the highest levels.

Health and Social Care

At Key Stage 5 the AAQ Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate in Health and Social Care is delivered. The course is structured as a 2 year curriculum incorporating units for external examination and portfolio assessment. The curriculum is a progressive model. Subject and cross subject sequencing intends to develop schemata making subsequent learning possible. Content is structured into units. We do not ‘teach to the test.’ The curriculum is designed to ensure that all students develop essential knowledge whilst skills of application and evaluation are fully developed. Each lesson builds on prior learning, allowing connections to be made between content. Units have been organised and designed to promote learning and provide depth and breadth of understanding.
Research and reading activities are embedded in lessons working towards Portfolio completion. Reading is also an embedded activity in lessons working towards external examinations. This is so that students can develop their depth and breadth of knowledge and consolidate essential knowledge. Opportunities to apply and evaluate essential knowledge to showcase deep understanding are also plentiful. Student voice has been conducted to ensure that students have a contribution to the curriculum content. This has resulted in students having access to bespoke programmes for wider support and guidance linked to their own learning. For external examination units of work Low Stakes Quizzes are used at the start of lessons to assess prior knowledge, inform adaptive teaching strategies and promote synoptic understanding of the Unit content. Checking for understanding tasks are used to assess whole Unit content and prior learning. Reteach and revisit tasks in response to Checking for Understanding Assessments offer students the opportunity to rectify gaps in essential knowledge and complete personalised activities for consolidation purposes.

The Health and Social Care department works alongside the School Improvement Partners to quality assure our curriculum and ensure that it provides a high quality and comprehensive curriculum for all. Our approach to course delivery is intended to ensure that all students can access and achieve the aims of the course and demands of the Portfolio and external examination units at the highest levels.

Pedagogical approach

The pedagogical approach for Psychology, Sociology and Health and Social Care adheres to the LLT Teaching and Learning Policy. Subject specialists deliver the curriculum through 50, one hour lessons per fortnight

Rosenshine and ‘Teach Like a Champion’ strategies are implemented in all lessons and lesson episodes are designed to enable students to store knowledge into the long-term memory.

Lessons

Tasks and activities are engaging and whenever possible are linked to local context, careers and progression and develop cultural capital. Examples include use of local newspapers as stimuli for explaining and applying theories and models eg Jamie Bulger case; role of rehabilitation through BBC documentary about local prison HMP Altcourse; Lessons are structured to enable students to review/retrieve prior knowledge and activate it to make connections with new learning. This is through ‘Do It Now’ tasks at the start of each lesson. New information is delivered in small steps and models are provided to support student comprehension. For example, key terminology identified and used to construct theories which are then applied to explain real life behaviour in Psychology and Sociology eg. Material and Cultural deprivation as explanations for underachievement by social class in Sociology; Social Learning theory of Crime in Psychology; the role of care values, eg promoting individual rights and beliefs, in Health and Social Care Lessons provide opportunities for students to practice applying their new learning. This may include guided and/or independent practice. Questioning is used to inform adaptive teaching and promote inclusivity, and this includes techniques such as ‘right is right’ to ensure students accurately and clearly articulate their responses. Students are asked to complete practical based activities such as independent research using online resources; designing and carrying out research to develop essential knowledge and understanding through practical application eg memory experiments in psychology ; presentations in sociology; drafting of written responses on whiteboards across all disciplines

Assessment takes place through a range of strategies. Adaptive questioning and Low Stakes quizzes are used at the start of lessons to check prior learning, inform adaptive teaching and enable connections to be made with current learning. Students develop essential knowledge and then apply this in assessment activities that ‘Check for Understanding’ eg. End of Unit assessments. Reteach and revisit activities allow students to rectify gaps in knowledge and complete personalised activities for consolidation. All assessment activities assess the curriculum to date, in through a range of formative and summative assessment tasks. These are carefully considered and link directly to the curriculum intent for the half term.
Clear ‘essential knowledge reading’ activities are embedded in lessons across the curriculum so that students can develop their depth and breadth of knowledge and consolidate learning. These include knowledge organisers, text- books; articles from newspapers and online articles and publications.

Literacy

In Psychology teachers:
Clearly communicate their subject discipline using appropriate vocabulary. This includes the use of command words, vocabulary lists, Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary
In Psychology, Sociology and Health and Social Care we provide opportunities for students to ‘Check for Understanding’ . This is through extended writing tasks.

To develop oracy the Psychology, Sociology and Health and Social Care uses:
The Linguistic strand of oracy including vocabulary and language
The Cognitive strands of oracy including content; structure; clarifying and social/emotional
We also prioritise disciplinary literacy so that students are confident in subject specific vocabulary which is contextualised and communicated appropriately across all disciplines
We also develop students ability to read complex academic texts through reading tasks each lesson that are varied and challenging and that promote access our essential knowledge
Targeted vocabulary is used in every lesson with explicit instruction and opportunities for frequent opportunities for use by students in written and verbal tasks.