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SECONDARY CURRICULUM
JAS provides a high-quality education based upon the framework of the National Curriculum for England and Wales. Our holistic approach to education fosters respect, tolerance and understanding and enables each child to maximise their academic success and also develop the skills and aptitudes that will allow them to adapt and succeed in a world that is rapidly changing.
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The school offers a secure and safe environment where children are challenged in order to gain the necessary skills in academic, social, sporting and aesthetic fields. We emphasise the development of the individual but also encourage students to see themselves as valued and productive members of our school and the wider community.
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Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum for England and Wales. However, we deliver significantly more than this baseline as we prepare our secondary students to be responsible global citizens of the future. To be such citizens they need to conceptualise, problem solve, empathise and lead - as well as have an understanding of the challenges confronting the modern world. Most important of all they need to understand the importance of having time to breathe, explore and relax. To achieve this we have taken the core of the English National Curriculum and combined it with elements of the IB, RSA and other national education systems – including the ‘National Agenda’ of the UAE.
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Our goal is to educate, engage and enthuse our secondary students so that they become well rounded, successful, confident, reflective and responsible individuals ready to take their place in society.
SUPPORTIVE LEARNING
We believe that supporting children involves everyone and we have robust systems in place to identify children with additional learning needs. Effective support for pupils starts in the daily planning for every classroom lesson. Teachers plan differentiated activities as an integral part of learning and teaching across all phases of the school. This takes the form of, for example, extra time to complete a task, different resources, classroom prompts or outcome expectation.
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Groupings are also used as appropriate to the needs of learners so these may be ability, mixed ability, pairs or individuals. In addition, further provision supports specific difficulties, eg booster groups for reading or maths or extra sessions to develop fine motor skills.
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All programmes are based on analysis of students’ needs using assessment data and teachers’ observations and judgements to ensure the most effective support is offered.
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In secondary, specialist learning support teachers will continue to provide support for students and staff to ensure appropriate programmes are in place. Differentiated sets for English, mathematics, science and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) will further support students’ progress.
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Personalised pathways for GCSE will support students who require either a reduced or enhanced curriculum. Directed study courses will also be offered to those students who require additional day-to-day support or to those with expert sporting or creative demands that make a full timetable unmanageable. Personalised pathways will also support those students who require an accelerated programmes of study in, for example, English, mathematics, science and MFL.
SECONDARY ASSESSMENT
Assessment is an integral part of our learning and teaching. It facilitates daily ongoing review of individual progress and impacts on planning and target-setting for each child. In each phase of the school, students will have personal learning targets based on assessment outcomes. Our students contribute to self- and peer-assessment to enable them to develop critical personal evaluation skills and so become successful and increasingly independent learners.
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In secondary, baseline assessment at entry to Year 7 will again be implemented to inform accurate planning of next steps. Regular formative and summative assessments in each subject will be used to track and monitor progress and to set aspirational targets for each student.
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End of Year assessments will facilitate comparisons with the baseline to measure progress. There will be formal tracking and monitoring throughout the secondary phase by class teachers, heads of department, and senior staff to identify individual progress and key trends.
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Throughout GCSE studies students will be assessed as per the exam board specification. The form of assessment depends upon the individual subject. Some subjects assess through written examinations and non-examined assessments (coursework or practical assessment).
In Key Stage 3, we build on the successful learning experiences from the primary school. As a through-school, we ensure that the transition to secondary school is personalised and progressive. We continue to follow the National Curriculum for England and Wales, which is a broad and balanced curriculum. Our holistic approach develops each child in academic, aesthetic and personal areas of learning. Subjects covered include English, mathematics, science, geography, history, art, technology, computing, drama, music, and PE.
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We encourage students to take academic risks: to experiment, explore, investigate and test theories. Supportive risk taking builds confidence, curiosity and resilience. We as teachers also try to think outside the box and to model the exploration, investigation and testing we are asking of the students. By inspiring and engaging we aim to embed intellectual curiosity and a lifelong commitment to learning. Only then have we succeeded in creating our responsible global citizen.
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Learning is carried out in an atmosphere of trust and respect. Students and teachers together discuss progress and explore different options to overcome the inevitable challenges. Although these discussions are the core drivers of progress parents are always kept informed through consultations, individual discussions and formal reporting.
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The development of well-being, resilience and social skills is as, if not more, important than the development of purely academic knowledge. The social and emotional needs of our students are addressed across the curriculum as well as through our mentoring sessions when Personal, Social and Health education is provided.
KEY STAGE 3 YEAR 7 TO YEAR 9
KEY STAGE 4 YEAR 10 & YEAR 11
We deliver GCSE/IGCSE examination subjects as the core of our curriculum in Years 10 and 11. Above and beyond this core we offer a range of subjects, learning experiences and activities to develop the key skills necessary to successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges of twenty-first century life.
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Academic and Lifelong Learning Skills
The core curriculum is designed to ignite curiosity, passion and endeavor as well as provide the context for developing a rich range of essential skills. The broader curriculum provides an opportunity to select subjects that will satisfy the appetite and passion of individual students as well as provide an opportunity to develop and embed qualities such as team building, leadership, collegiality and innovation through our varied and rich extra-curricular programme.
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The Core Curriculum
Students will follow a course of study which will lead to the GCSE/IGCSE examinations. These exams are taken at 16 after a two-year study programme. The core compulsory curriculum consists of English, Maths and Science. Science can be taken as separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) or as a Combined Science Course. In addition, students have to follow courses in PSHE, Social Studies and (for Muslim Students) Islamic Studies.
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The Broader Curriculum
Students will also select additional GCSE/IGCSE subjects to take to examination level. The range of subjects is broad and includes Arabic, Business Studies, Computer Science, DT, Economics, Drama, French, Geography, History, Music, PE and Spanish. In some situations timetable restrictions may restrict choice.
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In addition to the academic curriculum students are actively encouraged to participate in the wide range of extra-curricular activities. Activities include, but are not restricted to, the Duke of Edinburgh International Award scheme, Debating Society, Music societies, Drama Club, Stem Club, Robotics, Creative and Design, Media and a wealth of sporting opportunities.
