Intent, Implementation & Impact

Intent

At South Wigston High School, we care deeply about the education on offer to our students. We strive for success for all. 

We believe that students should be taught exciting lessons which are both engaging and filled with enthusiasm. We aim to offer a broad and balanced curriculum. Students will experience a range of subjects and opportunities, where an emphasis is placed on the development of knowledge, balanced with key skills. We have a strong traditional academic offer, which is becoming ever more balanced with specific vocational and alternative courses, to offer a bespoke personalised pathway which allows all to flourish.  

Our curriculum aims to create lifelong learners who will be resilient, open-minded, aspirational, reflective and who will, not only be prepared for their final examinations at KS4, but also be ready to take on the challenges in life beyond South Wigston High School. 

The curriculum is constantly reviewed and developed to not only meet the needs and strengths of our students, but to also provide rich opportunities for them to develop a range of skills and enjoy memorable school experiences.  

Implementation

Whilst we allow each subject to freedom to follow their own pathway in what content they teach, there is a consistent approach to the implementation. We ensure that each subject builds knowledge, skills and understanding.

Here at South Wigston High School we are adopting Rosenshine’s Principles and Tom Sherrington’s WALKTHRUS to guide all areas of Teaching and Learning.

Rosenshine’s Principles and the WALKTHRUS amalgamate research theory and effective classroom practice, leading to proven outcomes.

We have taken four key strands as our priorities.

Each one falls under one of the main principles from the WALKTHRUS. 

(1) Learning for all: Quality First Teaching / WALKTHRU Curriculum Planning

(2) Checking for Understanding / WALKTHRU Questioning

(3) Precision of Delivery / WALKTHRU Explaining and Modelling

(4) Whole Class Feedback / WALKTHRU Feedback

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is ultimately measured through the external examination results of all of our students at the end of KS4. However, we believe that it is important to look at how the curriculum has had an impact on everyone we teach, and across both key stages before we get to there. The impact of each medium-term plan is monitored by the relevant subject leader who check student outcomes against the intended impact outlined in the medium-term plan. At KS3, we track the progress and attainment of our students through the monitoring of learning statements. Teachers identify what students know, can do and understand across every subject and are then interventions are put in place for those who require it. 

Progression from each schema is clearly identified across the schemata of the school and our cross curricular planning ensures that this progression is not just mapped as linear across one subject but includes progression points to other subjects too. Our Quality Assurance schedule then checks the impact of the curriculum through a wide range of activities which allow all aspects of learning to be evaluated. 

We feel it important not just to assess the academic performance of our students, as we care about our students being COURAGEOUS when it comes to learning. Subject leaders analyse the Attitude to Learning grades for each year group in accordance to our assessment schedule.