We offer a broad and comprehensive curriculum here at King Ecgbert School. The curriculum is central to our goal of helping our pupils to be happy and successful young people.

Through the curriculum we offer, our pupils will experience and learn our three school values: academic excellence, respect and aspiration.

We work hard to ensure our curriculum is academically rigorous and ambitious, but also inclusive and well-structured. This allows all pupils to succeed in our school, whatever their starting point and individual aspirations.

Curriculum intent

Our curriculum is designed to develop the three core school values of ERA.

Academic excellence for all [E]

Together, we strive for personal and academic excellence. King Ecgbert School wants the best outcomes for every member of our school community, whatever their background or role in our school.

  • Our sequential curriculum is academically rigorous. It is built around the principles of knowledge retention and teachers work together to develop strategies to ensure that learning is embedded in the long term memory and cognitive overload is avoided.
  • We teach the cultural capital and wider knowledge that will enable disadvantaged pupils to close gaps, achieve the best grades and succeed in life.
  • We believe in choices. The curriculum model is inclusive for all, ensuring every pupil enjoys and achieves equally. It develops academic, social and cultural capital and also meets the specific needs and aspirations of individuals.
  • Pupils learn in a school environment that is exciting and inspiring, leading to opportunity, success, personal growth and further study.

Showing respect at all times [R]

Our inclusive and diverse school community is one in which every individual is welcomed, understood and valued; we respect each other and embrace our diversity; we actively promote fairness and social justice; our staff and pupils care about their community and together we all care about the wider world and our place in it.

  • We have high expectations of all our pupils and these are underpinned by our ‘Consistent Behaviour Model’.
  • Our assembly programme, L@kes curriculum and post-16 tutorial programme provides all pupils with PSHCE education that will make them respectful pupils who support and value each other.
  • Our pupil premium strategy seeks to close the gaps between disadvantaged and advantaged pupils in the school by providing funding and opportunity for those who need it most.
  • Pupils are part of a school culture where pastoral care and well-being are central to everything, where maturity and commitment are expected from everyone and where making the right choices secures the very best outcomes.

Having high aspirations and personal goals that go beyond school [A]

Together, we are committed to educating, supporting and encouraging every individual to develop the skills and character that will help them become the best they can be and make a real difference in the world. We expect every member of our own school community to become active, successful members of the wider communities we are part of Sheffield, the United Kingdom and the global community beyond.

  • We want our pupils to develop a love of learning.
  • We encourage as many of our pupils to stay on at KES in the sixth form and offer a full and varied A level and BTEC programme. We want to equip our pupils with the skills and knowledge for their next steps to higher education or employment.
  • Our pupils are provided with a wide range of creative and stimulating learning activities both in and out of the classroom.
  • We teach our pupils to develop the character and resilience to be able to succeed and become happy and healthy individuals.

Personal development

In Years 7-11, pupils receive one hour of L@KES per week. This is a bespoke programme of PSHE, SRE, RE, citizenship and careers education.

In Year 12 and 13, students attend tutorial once a week. This is a bespoke programme of PSHE and enrichment targeting soft skills that support success in the Sixth Form and post-18 choices.

In addition, all pupils receive:

  • Daily tutor time at the start of the school day, focusing on preparation for studying at school, reading and discussion. During this time, pupils in Year 7-11 will also log their achievement (house) points.
  • Regular assemblies, held in year group and also in mixed-age house groups.
  • Access to extra-curricular clubs and activities.
  • Opportunities to apply for positions of responsibility within school.
  • Opportunities to be an active part of the school’s Eco Council;
  • Personalised careers guidance and advice on further study through our careers leader and the sixth form team.
  • Opportunities to attend school trips and visits.

Many of these activities are linked to our House System, which all pupils in school are a part of.

Feedback

Feedback is one of the most important ways we learn. Pupils receive regular feedback as part of their normal lessons. However, it is important to note that this will come in many forms – written feedback (or ‘marking’) is just one of the methods used.

Feedback may be given in such forms as:

  • Teachers directing questions and receiving answers
  • Verbal feedback, such as talking to a pupil about the work completed
  • Using the visualizer to show examples and annotate work
  • Using quizzes, recall activities, such as ‘Do It Nows’ and whiteboards
  • Written feedback and corrections
  • Corrections and checks during the lesson
  • Highlighting areas to improve, or using marking codes
  • Peer- and self-assessment
  • Self-marking online tools, such as Educake
  • Use of mark schemes and past papers
  • Whole-class feedback, where responsive teaching follows an examination of the pupils’ previous work

Accessible and inclusive

Our main focus is on quality-first teaching. We expect our teachers to use their skill and expertise to include all pupils, supporting them to make the best possible progress.

Our curriculum is regularly reviewed, planned and updated by subject experts and school leaders at all levels. Staff within school are committed to making adjustments to the curriculum for pupils who require an additional level of support. This may take various forms, for example:

  • Additional group or individual interventions
  • Support from an adult within the normal classroom
  • Scaffolding, modelling or additional support materials, such as writing frames
  • Individual questions, tasks or teacher intervention
  • Paired reading and other reading interventions
  • Tutoring programmes
  • Personalised verbal or written feedback

Staff have received training on several aspects of SEND teaching and learning, such as support for dyslexia, explicit teaching practices and supportive language in the classroom.

Further training is now underway embedding work on oracy to support learning, and our staff continue to develop their practice around provision for pupils with English as an additional language.

Staff have also been working to make the curriculum more diverse and inclusive for several years, and this work continues annually as part of ongoing curriculum review.

Consideration is also given to disadvantaged pupils and families who may struggle to access aspects of the curriculum, with support being provided with technology and revision materials.

Reasonable adjustments are made to the physical spaces and routines within school so that pupils who have specific additional needs can access our curriculum.

Assessments and examinations are also adapted for pupils who require them and qualify for such reasonable adjustments. These may include adjustments such as extra time or the use of laptops. Exam access arrangements are always provided according to the guidance published each year by JCQ and the school cannot put access arrangements in place for formal examinations which have not been accepted or validated through the assessment and application process.

Assessments

Assessment is a crucial part of learning. Throughout their time at school, pupils are assessed in lessons, but they also complete a number of more substantial formative assessments. These are to help your child understand what they have learnt, but also what they still need to learn.

Examples of formative assessment might include:

  • End of topic tests
  • Longer written answers
  • Extended quizzes
  • Other relevant formative tasks

In addition, there will be certain formal assessments that we will report home to families. These are:

  • End of year tests in Years 7-9
  • Interim exams in Year 10 and Year 11
  • Interim exams in Year 12 and Year 13

End of year tests are conducted in classrooms. These are held under test conditions, but pupils are otherwise in their normal seats and normal lessons.

Interim exams are held in exam halls and separate exam classrooms. These are more formal and pupils are made aware of exam rules before they take these assessments. This is to support pupils and students with preparing for their final, formal examinations at the end of Year 11 and Year 13.

Reading

Every pupil receives the following reading support:

  • One hour per week Accelerated Reader during Year 7 and Year 8. This includes some guided reading for all.
  • DEAL reading input from form tutors in Years 7-10.
  • Reading age STAR tests during Years 7 and 8, taken in Accelerated Reader lessons.
  • Teachers using PRISE to scaffold and teach reading content within lessons. There is also additional reading support for certain pupils. This may take various forms, for example:
  • Paired reading intervention
  • Additional literacy teaching
  • Support in the classroom

Our school library is the teaching space for all Accelerated Reader lessons. It is also open regularly for pupils.

Homework

Homework is planned, purposeful and designed to support pupils’ learning beyond the classroom.

Most homework focuses on revisiting and practising previously taught content through activities such as quizzes, vocabulary learning, revision tasks and exam-style questions, helping pupils to strengthen their understanding, retain knowledge over time and build confidence in their learning.

Homework also encourages the development of independent study, organisation and time management skills that are essential for success in school and later life.

For all year groups, homework is set and monitored through Edulink, with additional learning platforms including Microsoft Teams, Sparx Reader, Sparx Maths and Seneca used to support learning.

We recognise the importance of balancing the benefits of homework with pupils’ wellbeing, so we do not set homework over school holidays and teachers carefully consider deadlines.

To help pupils complete their work successfully, our library and ICT facilities are available before and after school, providing a supportive environment for independent study.

Find out more

If you’d like to find out more about our school’s curriculum, please contact the school office and ask to be directed to Nick Jones.