Curriculum overview

Our curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of Elvin students, ensuring that no individual's future is dictated by their past.
 
Mastery – Pupils build knowledge of each subject in a coherent and carefully sequenced manner, gradually building expertise over time.
 
Planned backwards – We want all pupils to have the option of attending the best universities in the country, and our curriculum is planned backwards from this aim by subject experts.

Knowledge-rich – The knowledge set out in our curriculum is designed to take pupils beyond their own experiences, and give them an academically excellent education. We see knowledge as a hugely powerful tool of social justice, creating socially mobile young people who are able to pursue careers they are passionate about.
 
Revision built-in – Our Mastery approach means that we regularly revisit knowledge before progressing on to new content, and have multiple opportunities for revision built into the school day.
 
Wider curriculum - We know our pupils’ context means they do not have access to the same wider development opportunities as their peers, so our curriculum includes lots of enrichment beyond regular lessons – academic, sporting, and personal development. We actively encourage engagement in current affairs so that pupils are able to understand and play an active role in the world around them.

Our curriculum is designed to maximise the attainment of every Elvin pupil.

Bespoke year group design
We assess all pupils' ability when they join the school, and then carefully organise the year into two roughly equal groups according to attainment. This helps teachers tailor their teaching to the needs of pupils. We understand that pupils' abilities are constantly evolving; these groups are not fixed and all teachers have high expectations of all pupils no matter what their starting point.

Pupils with more specific needs, such as those whose English is not yet good enough for them to access the wider curriculum, are given the specific support they need e.g. additional phonics support. In Key Stage Four we aim for pupils to study 8 GCSEs, which enables them to access the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and opens the door to further education. However, we recognise that some pupils need more time in English and Maths; these pupils do not study French or the Humanities and focus on mastering core skills first.

Rigorously planned
Every subject has a carefully sequenced five year plan detailing key learning and intended pupil progression.

Co-planning and training
Departments have timetabled meetings to train and intellectually prepare for teaching our curriculum, adapting base lessons to suit the needs of each class.

Each subject has regular assessment points built in, allowing pupils to practice recalling knowledge and show understanding. Teachers use these assessments to identify the pupils who have gaps in knowledge and use these to complete 'Next Steps' – formally documented actions they will take to ensure the gap is closed.

At the end of each year staff conduct 'summative' assessments, which give an overall view of each pupil's attainment and next steps, and share this with parents.