Curriculum and Exams

The curriculum at CVEA dovetails in to the ethos and vision of the Academy. A carefully planned and considered curriculum is the foundation upon which excellent learning and development is built. At CVEA, we believe our curriculum has the attributes to deliver this. The curriculum is broad and balanced and carefully planned to ensure that content is thoroughly revisited so that learning is consolidated and sustained.

Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 4
Key Stage 4
SMSC
SMSC
RSHE
RSHE
Exams
Exams
Reading and Literacy
Reading and Literacy

Intent

Whilst it undoubtedly prepares students for external examinations, there is a strong emphasis through the various elements on developing:

  • healthy and active students
  • students emotional well being
  • a 'love of learning'
  • resilience, confidence and character
  • debating, listening and respecting viewpoints
  • the emotional intelligence required to be a productive member of the workforce
  • an understanding, through the careers programme, of the opportunities available to students once they leave school
  • an understanding of 'British Values' and the implications for life in modern day Britain
  • students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning
  • students to achieve their personal best

Implementation

Our curriculum is constructed on the following principles to support the above; namely that:

  • acquiring subject specific knowledge is key for students to be able to solve complex problems
  • the students need to practise the knowledge and skills they have learnt in lessons so that they can use them when they need
  • there are many opportunities built into lessons to secure the need to recall and retrieve previous learning, so that it can be embedded. This enables students to apply knowledge with increasing confidence
  • lessons are sequenced to develop knowledge concepts and skills over time
  • students encounter broad and balanced curriculum, adaptive teaching will be at the core of what we provide. Courses will be offered that allow full accessibility to our students and they will have a bespoke package of subjects to suit their individual needs
  • teachers will use “thinking hard” techniques during lessons to help pedagogy and meta cognition
  • a large proportion of our cohorts will be entered for the English Baccalaureate - as this provides an academically broad and balanced curriculum
  • care is taken to ensure that students encounter the prior knowledge needed to access the curriculum before it is needed in class. This is achieved through careful curriculum planning and through the pastoral programme which develops the language and wider knowledge needed to then access more formal learning
  • development of vocabulary is the remit of all subjects
  • all students should experience a careers education based on the Gatsby benchmarks that underpin a world class careers education
  • the British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect of those with different faiths and beliefs are taught explicitly and reinforced in the way in which the school operates
  • SMSC is embedded into pastoral and curriculum programmes

Impact

The curriculum intent and implementation were completely re-written in 2019. The curriculum model also moved from a 2-year KS3 to a 3-year KS3 and a 2-year KS4. Every year it has been reviewed and revamped to take into account better working practices, improved sequencing, research analysis and DfE/Ofsted guidance.

There has been a significant improvement from 2018 data. In the most recent published external exam results in 2022, CVEA recorded their highest ever basic measure 9 to 4 E/M, this increased from 55% (2018), 62% (2019) to 69% (2022); 9 to 5 E/M increased from 36% (2018), 45% (2019), to 54% (2022) (above national average). Attainment 8 increased from 41.3 (2018) 42.3 (2019) and 46.4 (2022).

The numbers of students accessing the Ebacc qualification has gone from 6% in 2018 to 56% in 2022.

Destination Data

2022 Leavers Activity Survey.

The Activity Survey is produced annually and shows the destination of students in the October after they left CVEA. For the 2022 cohort, the destinations were as follows:

2021 Leavers Activity Survey.

The Activity Survey is produced annually and shows the destination of students in the October after they left CVEA. For the 2021 cohort, the destinations were as follows:

2020 Leavers Activity Survey.

The Activity Survey is produced annually and shows the destination of students in the October after they left CVEA. For the 2020 cohort, the destinations were as follows:

Curriculum Model

We operate a 3:2 curriculum model with three years assigned for the delivery of our Year 7, 8 and 9 programmes of study. These programmes of study have been carefully crafted and sequenced to ensure they meet all the requirements as set out in the National Curriculum.

At the end of Year 9, students opt for the subjects that they will study in Years 10 and 11 and they complete those subjects by the end of Year 11. Our highly flexible two year curriculum delivered in Years 10 and 11 allows us to create personalised guided pathways for our students.

Catchup programme

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