KS3 Curriculum
Lexia/English Interventions enable students of all ages and abilities to master essential reading skills. It is a structured computer programme, designed as a literacy intervention, that builds upon student’s prior learning. Lexia helps learners read, write, and speak with confidence. It is an individualised programme, set at the student’s appropriate level. However, as the students progress, tasks become more complex. Students have their own usernames and passwords and can access their account at home, should they wish to complete any further sessions as home study.
Key Stage 3 students follow the Edexcel pre GCSE Scheme of Work. This gives students a good grounding in the following topics; Number, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Geometry and Measures, Probability and Statistics ready for when they study GCSE Mathematics at Key Stage 4.
Key Stage 3 students have a range of Schemes of Work which teachers use, according to the interests of the students and what has been covered by their home school. Students cover various genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and scripts. Schemes are designed to follow a theme, which incorporate stand-alone lessons, due to the fluidity of our students. Students work on punctuation and grammar skills to improve the quality of their writing. Each week students have lessons centred around their personal spelling target and reading comprehensions to support progress in their baseline Reading STAR assessments.
Science is taught as a series of topics in the lower school to give students a firm grounding for the more in depth work they will do in subsequent years. The course then progresses to following the AQA ELC (Entry Level Certificate) syllabus in Year 9 to consolidate the basics before branching into GCSE for Years 10 and 11. Through the different approaches and activities, students also concentrate on their 6 pillars of ASPIRE, as they develop Awareness of themselves and others whilst completing practicals, Self-regulation whilst carrying out precise tasks. They gain in their Positivity as they make links between the topics and this Inspires them to question more. Relationships and Empathy come through the group work and learning to support each other through tasks and practicals.
KS3 students do various projects to build up their IT skills using Word, Publisher, Excel and other programmes. These are linked in with our ASPIRE pillars whilst improving their ICT skills. We use a variety of websites to help build student skills such as the Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, known as iDEA, an international award-winning programme that helps you develop digital, enterprise and employability skills for free. At the Eaglewood School, we acknowledge our responsibility to educate students on e-safety issues, teaching them the appropriate behaviours and skills to enable them to remain both safe and legal when using the internet and related technologies, in and beyond the context of the classroom.
The PE curriculum is heavily embedded with our ASPIRE emotional literacy pillars. Across KS3 and KS4, students will learn and improve their Awareness, Self-regulation, Positivity, Inspiration, Relationships and Empathy through a variety of different sports. The curriculum is specifically tailored to each class and Key Stage, as well as their level of emotional literacy. The range of sports covered are leadership, netball, badminton, basketball, health and fitness, football, ultimate frisbee, handball, spikeball, rounders, street surfing, table tennis, volleyball, Y ball, short tennis, parachutes, yoga and rugby. Practical skills for each sport are learnt, as well as a resilience to try new activities. Exercise is essential for a healthy body and mind, so participation and enjoyment are heavily promoted.
ASPIRE is a unique emotional literacy curriculum bespoke to The Eaglewood School. We support student’s development and understanding of 6 key areas: Awareness, Self-Regulation, Positivity, Inspiration, Relationships and Empathy. Lessons are adapted and creative depending on the emotional and wellbeing needs of the individuals in the class.
Our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education curriculum explores the skills and attributes students need to stay healthy. The overall intent is to help students to take a positive and successful role within our society. In supporting students’ spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development we aim to prepare and equip our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life, with a focus on careers. We aim to provide our students with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Topics include: families, respectful relationships, financial decisions, physical and mental well-being, sexual relationships, online and media, drugs, alcohol and tobacco, health education and the changing adolescent body.
In Art, Craft and Design, students explore visual, tactile and other sensory experiences to communicate ideas and meanings. They work with traditional media, developing confidence, competence, imagination and creativity. SMSC is an integral part of the curriculum as they learn to appreciate and value images and artefacts across times and cultures. Students reflect critically on their own and other people’s work, judging quality, value and meaning. They learn to think and act as artists, craftspeople and designers, working creatively and intelligently. They develop an appreciation of art, craft and design, and its role in the creative and cultural industries that enrich their lives. ASPIRE is carefully planned into each Scheme of Work so students have the opportunity to work collaboratively and build relationships. They develop a positive outlook and gain inspiration from artists’ work and the world around them. They are empathetic to each other when some students find the work challenging. Most importantly they recognise that each creative process helps to regulate behaviour and mood, and raise self-esteem.
Students generally access Outdoor Education one day a week, where they will be offsite and taking part in various activities to build up their ASPIRE skills. We utilise local outdoor activity centres such as Avon Tyrell and New Forest Activities to deliver high quality sessions that get students out of the classroom, but still allow them to learn and grow. This gives the students an opportunity to develop essential life skills which are linked to our ASPIRE curriculum in school. It also allows the students to experience new things in a different environment and be pushed out of their comfort zones to build up their resilience. Activities include climbing, abseiling, bushcraft, paddleboarding and kayaking. All of these sessions will have an underlying focus on a different aspect of ASPIRE each week. Whether that be a teamwork challenge in which they must build up their relationships with others or build up their resilience.
The Home Cooking Skills course teaches students to prepare and make home cooked meals. It is largely focused on cooking economically with minimal food waste. Students are taught to choose healthier options and will learn to adapt dishes to make them healthier. As part of our SMSC focus, we cook dishes from different cultures and link these to worldwide food festivals. Students are taught how adapt recipes to suit all dietary needs from cultural, to pescatarians, to vegan including those with specific allergies. Finally, they learn how to present food in different ways for different celebrations.