Curriculum Overview

At Sponne, the curriculum is designed to inspire a love for learning and provides a broad and balanced range of subjects at all key stages that allows students to gain the knowledge and skills needed to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives. Our curriculum allows for equal opportunities, regardless of starting points thus enabling all students, whatever their needs, to be successful. It aims to enable students to take independent responsibility for their learning and behaviour and make a positive contribution to our school and our community and to develop confident leaders of our school and leaders of the future. PSHE is delivered to all students in dedicated timetabled lessons and is enhanced by the tutor and assembly programmes that promote a knowledge of cultural capital and diversity. Careers advice and education is provided by specialist staff and work related learning is embedded within different subjects at various stages of a student’s education.

Students follow a 5-year curriculum plan and this has been designed to be ambitious enabling students to make more rapid progress in acquiring and remembering the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve high outcomes.

The content of the curriculum at Sponne ensures that students learn about a full range of issues and ideas but allows individual students to not be subject to discrimination in the ways these issues are taught (Equalties Act 2010). Provision is made within our curriculum to make it accessible for any students with disabilities or special education needs. More details can be found in the SEND report on our website.

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 provides the foundation for any child’s achievement. The transition from Primary to Secondary education is marked by a move to subject specific teaching staff and transition study units are offered in a number of subjects. All students study the National Curriculum including English, mathematics, science, design technology, information and communication technology, history, geography, religious studies, music, drama and art as well as modern foreign languages (French and German), personal social and health education and at least two hours of Physical Education per week.  Schemes of Learning have been designed so that the content of the National Curriculum is covered in Years 7 and 8 and Curriculum time has been given to non-core subjects to enable the National Curriculum in those subjects to be completed by the end of Year 8. Schemes of learning have been designed to take into account the end points at key stage 2 so that the learning of students is accelerated.

Although study forms the largest part of a young person’s education at Sponne School, we know that opportunities beyond the formal curriculum also influence and shape the expectations and achievements of many students. We have established an excellent reputation for consistently high levels of involvement in a wide range of activities from sports to music, and technology to theatre.

An extensive range of opportunities is provided through our enhancement programme; students may join lunchtime or after school which, for some students, has led to participation at county, regional or even national level. Study visits, such as residential field trips or excursions to theatres and art galleries, are organised routinely within subject areas. In addition, students may take part in international visits to France and Germany. Visitors to the school regularly include professional authors or theatre companies.

Music and drama form a central part of each student’s experience. From the presentation of small studio-scale productions to major productions such as 'Beauty and The Beast', ‘Les Miserables’, ‘West Side Story’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Sponne has established a reputation for quality and the level of student involvement enjoyed by many, both on stage and behind the scenes. Other ensembles and bands flourish at the school, offering different styles and levels of involvement in music. In recent years, the school Brass Band and Sponnaissance have regularly performed in the National Festival of Music for Youth finals at the Birmingham Symphony Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.

Sport also plays a considerable role in the lives of many students. Sponne School has extensive sporting facilities including playing fields, tennis courts, a modern sports hall with indoor nets and a climbing wall, a fitness centre and athletics provision. The school works closely with local sporting clubs, primary schools and coaching organisations to build continuous opportunities for developing sporting excellence within and beyond the curriculum.

Key Stage 4

The curriculum aims to promote valuable learning experiences in a range of subjects and is broad and balanced. It should meet all students’ needs and aspirations and has the E-baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects at its core. Students are able to study four subjects alongside the core subjects of English Language and Literature, mathematics, science, religious education and physical education to form the curriculum at Key stage 4. The ambition is that the majority of students will follow the EBacc pathway and the curriculum structure at KS4 is designed to enable students to easily select a humanities and a language subject.

Numerous opportunities exist in Year 9 and beyond, to enable students to continue to experience a wider curriculum through the Tutor, assembly and PSHE programme, as well as trips, study during IT lessons and enhancement. Significant numbers of students engage in music lessons and musical groups and the many curriculum based clubs that operate in the enhancement hour after school. A large number of our students also engage in the DoE Award scheme particularly in year 10 where over 30% complete the Bronze Award.