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The Wider Curriculum
The Wider Curriculum
Our Wider Curriculum is the formally taught strand of our personal development programme and is designed to support students’ broader development and equip them for the next stage of their lives.
The curriculum has been developed to incorporate key requirements linked to SMSC, British Values, Citizenship, Relationships & Sex Education, protected characteristics, the Character Framework and the Gatsby Benchmarks. Our curriculum also provides opportunities to develop our Ethos, linked to our Catholic Faith and to develop students as learners, explicitly supporting key skills such as literacy and effective revision.
Curriculum Provision
Our Wider Curriculum is the element of personal development that is explicitly taught to students as a timetabled lesson. For this weekly session, students are taught in their pastoral groups, reflecting the importance of the relationship between the student and their tutor as they support them to develop as young people.
The curriculum is built and sequenced around six key concepts linked to the statutory requirements, but also the needs of our students and their context. These concepts form the foundation of curriculum planning and our interleaved approach to remember more for longer.
Our key concepts are as follows:
| Keeping Safe | We aim to provide all pupils with the knowledge, skills and tools to keep themselves safe in a variety of forums. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online; in relationships; the risks associated with extremism, radicalisation and gang activities. Lessons are age appropriate and meet the needs of pupils at any given Key Stage. This concept is also contextualised to our school setting. |
| Health and Wellbeing Education | Students learn to lead healthy lifestyles supported by a wide range of opportunities to do so. This includes both physical and mental health as well as personal hygiene and keeping safe online. We recognise the pressures that many young people experience in the modern world, and so compliment this formal curriculum with weekly ‘Keeping Safe and Well’ sessions as part of our Pastoral Programme. |
| Relationships and Sex Education | Relationships and Sex Education is complemented by the Ten Ten programme which looks at this through the lens of the Catholic Faith, whilst being praised by the Department for Education as a model curriculum. Our staff strive to contextualise the programme to ensure it meets the needs of all our students. The curriculum covers healthy relationships, sexual health, puberty, sex education and keeping safe and relationships with friends and family. |
| Living in the Wider World | We aim to support students to develop their character as individuals and build resilience and confidence to succeed in the wider world, so that they are fully prepared for their next steps. Students are also prepared for life in modern Britain by ensuring that they understand how to be responsible, active and respectful citizens and that they fully embrace and celebrate what we hold in common as well as respecting our differences. This includes our duty to explore British Values, Citizenship studies and to understand and recognise the protected characteristics. Students also explore economic education This explores the economic world such as taxes, bank accounts, savings and financial responsibility. |
| Careers | We aim to give students the best education to go on to fulfil their potential and part of this requires the students to have an understanding of careers. This key concept focuses on Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance. Ensuring students are fully aware of the vast range of career paths that are open to them, opportunities to engage with employers and work experience, and individual guidance linked to their ambitions. Students also develop key skills linked to successful application and interview processes. |
| Character, Culture and Morality | This strand is bespoke to St Thomas More and will teach students how to develop their character attributes so they can become effective independent learners. Our students are supported to succeed in their school careers by developing, over time, the skills they need for academic success. These include, organisation; how to engage effectively; and how positive learning behaviours impact on helping them to achieve their full potential. Students will also learn about other faiths and cultures and explore the theme of morality. Students are supported to grow, nurture and develop their character also. |
Our Display Trees and a copy of our curriculum overview for each year group can be accessed by clicking of the Wider Curriculum Button below:
St Thomas More Catholic School
Croftdale Road, Blaydon, Tyne & Wear, NE21 4BQ
Legal
Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust is an exempt charity. It is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under company registration number 07890590. The registered office address is Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education HQ, Barmston Court, Turbine Business Park, Nissan Way, Washington, SR5 3NY.
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