Curriculum Architecture

We expect our use of public funds to be smart and high leverage.

This means that we try to use research and meta-analysis to determine our choices.  For example, we know that class size is not a significant determinant in how students make progress so we do not focus highly on small class sizes.  We also know that the Sutton Trust research showed that having teaching assistants in classrooms with students is not likely to have a significant impact on a student’s outcomes.  We do not make this a feature of our staffing, therefore, and, when we do employ teaching assistants, we ensure that the work they do has impact by using them in situations of higher leverage such as small group intervention or with the most vulnerable students who need constant support to manage the school day.

We aim to streamline our staffing requirements by using ‘curriculum-led financial planning’ to ensure that the staffing requirements we have planned are appropriate to the number of students in our schools.  In addition to this, we use a national leader of education (NLE) with expertise in timetabling to review our curriculum plans, blocking and our CLFP documents and confirm that we are ensuring efficiency in our plans before we start recruiting for our September staffing intake at each school.

Efficiency is also about workload and our use of time.  In line with our strategic plan, we have a clear school improvement model which centres around three important levers:

• Student culture
• Lesson observation and feedback
• Data driven instruction

These levers require certain structural priorities of our schedules and we write these into our timetables to ensure that workload is appropriately recognised and prioritised. 

Therefore, we write time for coaching, for co-planning in English, Maths and Science and for departmental co-planning into our school schedules on a weekly basis.  When we calculate teaching loads for our staff, we consider these and ensure that these three key priorities are scheduled for our staff.

In order to further support our teachers with efficiency and workload, we also make it a clear priority that no teacher teaches more than three preps with our ideal being only two preps.  This means that whilst a teacher may have more than one class to plan for within the same year group, they will not have more than three different year groups or exam specs to prepare for on a weekly basis.

The exception to this is teachers in departments of one.  In this case, where multiple preps are unavoidable without using non-specialist staff, the Principal will consider a slightly reduced lesson tariff to recognise this additional workload of planning and feedback.

We have a strong emphasis on teaching being delivered by subject specialists.  We believe that this is offering our pupils the best we can provide them in terms of teachers who are passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects and who not only deliver a course but who understand the wider body of knowledge in their discipline and can show their pupils glimpses of this, building in them a love of the subject and a curiosity to learn more.  We also believe that this is best serving our teaching staff and ensuring that we consider their wellbeing and satisfaction in their workplace.

In summary, our architectural priorities are:

• We give a high priority to a three-prep rule
• We expect to offer subject-specialist teaching across our schools
• We deliver a three-year Key Stage 3
• We schedule time for our school improvement priorities – co-planning and coaching

We have 4 periods of 60 minutes and 1 period of 70 minutes every day making 50 periods in a two week timetable. There is a form period of 35 minutes at the beginning of every morning which includes a guided reading activity and a floating Personal Development lesson that takes place during a different period every week where students spend the lesson with their form teachers.

Years 7, 8 and 9

The Year 7, 8 and 9 curriculum structure is split into two evenly balanced bands. Each band contains either three forms groups. Students are taught within their mixed ability form groups for Art, Drama, Music, IT/Computing, DT, Food and Music. Students are then taught the remaining subjects in five blocks. In the first block students study Mathematics and Science and are setted according to their mathematical ability. The second block is English, within this block students also have a Forensic reading lesson, and students are setted according to their ability in English. In the third block students study French and Spanish and are setted according to their English ability. The fourth block is PE and the fifth block is History, Geography, PHSE, and RE.

Years 10 and 11

Students begin their GCSE courses in Year 10. All students will study English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science, PHSE and Core PE. Students are then allowed to choose 4 optional subjects.

Year 10 options

Year 11 options

The four options block are outlined below and are all 5 hours over two week.

Sixth Form

Students have 4 option blocks to pick from which lead into various pathways for life after sixth form.  These pathways are taught across D6 in Year 12 at DACA, DAES and Darwin Vale.

Students in sixth form follow the tutor programme in line with the rest of the academy and have enrichment afternoons on a Wednesday Periods 4 & 5.

D6 offer Year 12 24/25

Year 13 24/25 offer at DACA