"Gladesmore curriculum: pupils' entire lived experience in school"

The school’s ethos and values are integral to everything we do and they underpin our understanding of curriculum.

Gladesmore Community School views curriculum holistically.  We understand it to be the pupils’ entire lived experience in school including the formally taught syllabus, assemblies and activities, students’ social interactions with each other and the staff, and their access to a rich range of enrichment experiences. We believe in the skills, potential and abilities of all our students for whom we are equally ambitious; they thrive in our positive, inclusive and supportive atmosphere. We appreciate that academic knowledge is the foundation on which future success is built and we place EBacc at the core of our practice; we offer our students a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum which exposes them to a diverse range of learning and ideas, building on their own experiences and opening their minds to the broadest scope of human thought and endeavour.

Our curriculum is designed to inspire students to dream and to take up their place in the world without losing a sense of who they are.  To achieve this, pupils need more than knowledge, it is critical we build their confidence so that they believe they can achieve their aspirations.  Recognising that our local context offers both opportunities and challenges, we want our students to be proud of their roots and their community, and to be active participants within it.  We are acutely aware of the challenges of our inner-city environment and our experienced teaching team plan a bespoke curriculum that develops cultural capital, introduces core knowledge and fosters independence to enable pupils to overcome barriers and defy the odds.

Our curriculum:

• is deliberately structured so that pupils progress intellectually, personally, socially, culturally and morally.  It recognises that students start at different points, therefore it is purposefully built on what has been learned before, with planned opportunities for students to catch up, challenge themselves and extend their learning so it is meaningful to them.  
• prioritises the development of reading, literacy, numeracy and communication.  All staff are actively involved in nurturing these skills as we recognise their importance not only for progress within our subjects but also for students’ wider development and application to different situations. 
• recognises that deep learning is not transitory.  We therefore encourage students to own their learning so that they can make sense of knowledge, apply it across subjects and share it with their peers to ensure it is embedded in long-term memory.   In order to achieve this level of understanding, our teachers purposefully combine the acquisition of key knowledge with the development of disciplinary skills.  
• is ever-evolving.  All aspects of it are regularly evaluated and reviewed taking account of the views of teachers, pupils and external research. We are our harshest critics.
• success is built on outstanding teachers. We recruit, retain and develop the best teachers ensuring that our curriculum is consistently delivered by committed and highly skilled professionals.  They have expert knowledge of the subjects that they teach, an understanding of current pedagogy and, most importantly, genuine commitment to young people.  Equally, as outstanding teachers, we acknowledge that learning is not static; we have a major emphasis on prioritising our CPD programme and our own individual professional development.
• prepares our students for a future beyond Gladesmore.  We equip students with the skills and knowledge they will require in their next phase of education and in the world of work. We recognise that the outlook is constantly changing and evolving, so we consider it essential to prepare students for their futures, encouraging creativity, flexibility, and reflectiveness so that they will be able to adapt and thrive.   
• Our teaching team are passionate about the value of education in its broadest sense and are keen to share their enthusiasm.  All staff work hard to inculcate a love of learning in students, building intrinsic motivation for success.