Our Curriculum
Our school’s vision and overarching curriculum intent
At Nether Stowe School our curriculum intends to make sure that students:
Know more and Think more.
We aim to instill our values:
Resilience, Respect and Ambition
Our curriculum aims and outcomes
By focusing on reading, writing, knowing and thinking we aim to provide a high-quality education that enriches the life chances of our students by securing excellent outcomes.
Our curriculum aims to ensure children can think independently and contribute positively to society and the wider world by developing the skills, knowledge, and strong moral principles to prepare for active citizenship in an ever-changing future.
Our broad and balanced provision is meaningfully curated to be a challenging, coherent and carefully sequenced “knowledge-engaged” curriculum based on the principles of cognitive science.
There is a focus on development of literacy and the application of acquired knowledge to ensure students access the curriculum in depth to ensure a deep and enduring understanding in discrete subject areas. We aim to ensure our curriculum is challenging but also accessible for all vulnerable learners; those with SEND and who are socially disadvantaged.
The content and experiences within our curriculum are designed to accumulate and address the gaps in cultural capital of all our students with a focus on ensuring students are enriched by the diversity in our society that is not typically represented in our student body.
Our extra-curricular offer supports our provision, with a focus within each subject on helping students to form stronger schemata for long-term retention of knowledge.
Our curriculum is designed with the following desired outcomes:
- Ensure that each student will be able to achieve the best possible outcomes at KS4 and KS5, ensuring school headline performance measures are at least in line with national average. These headline measures are published here – https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
- Lead to qualifications that are of value for employers and for entry into higher education.
- Fulfill statutory requirements including the delivery of the National Curriculum, religious education and sex and relationships education.
- Meet the needs of all students through quality first teaching, particularly students with SEND and who are socially disadvantaged by providing equal access for all students to a full range of learning experiences beyond statutory guidelines. Enriching students’ experiences through extra-curricular, non-qualification activity at all key stages including sport, drama, music, expeditions, visits etc.
- Prepare students for adult life through the Personal Development programme which includes a clear focus on British Values, SMSC, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), Mental Health and Well-Being and Careers.
- Prepare students to make informed and appropriate choices at the end of KS3, KS4 and beyond.
- Equip students with key life skills of reading, writing and mathematics.
- Develop cultural capital to address social disadvantage and help students understand the world in which they live.
- Deliver the National Curriculum to provide a broad and balanced curriculum at Key Stage 3 whilst also developing the key skills, knowledge and understanding to provide the building blocks for linear GCSE qualifications. Secure high levels of progress for students in the academic core subjects with a clear focus on embedding the key literacy and mathematics skills needed in the world of work.
- Ensure that the vast majority of students achieve qualifications from the academic core and an appropriate proportion of students achieve English Baccalaureate, supplemented by a broad and balanced curriculum from the performing arts, art, design and technology, business and computing which include a suite of vocational qualifications.
- Deliver a comprehensive post-16 curriculum which enables student to access an appropriate programme of study, providing the necessary academic and vocational qualifications for future study in Higher Education, employment or apprenticeships; enabling a seamless transition from KS4 and preparing students for when they leave school.
Please find below information regarding our school curriculum.
If you require any further information regarding your child’s curriculum, please contact the relevant Head of Department via email.
| Curriculum Overview | Curriculum Content |
| English | Year 7 |
| Maths | Year 8 |
| Science | Year 9 |
| Geography | Year 10 |
| History | Year 11 |
| Mfl | Year 12 |
| RE | Year 13 |
| DT | PSHE |
| PE | Careers |
| Business | |
| Health & Social Care | |
| Art | |
| Drama | |
| Music | |
| IT | |
| Sociology | |
| Psychology | |
| Media | |
| PSHE | |
| BTEC Sport |
