New Bridge College
(Post 16)
Intent
The intent of this curriculum is to support pupils to achieve the following destinations:
· Being Independent
· Working with support in my Community
· Volunteering in my Community
We aim to develop students who are highly employable, prepared for rapidly changing workplaces and are equipped for the next step towards their educational-based goal (Apprenticeship, Traineeship or Further Education/Training).
We want to empower students to succeed and make outstanding progress in their learning, achieve excellent progress and positive destinations, become equipped for future life and are ambitious to be the best they can be. We aim to stimulate students so that they can exceed their expectations and become well-rounded citizens of local, national and global communities growing in self-confidence.
The intent of our curriculum is to open routes for students to as wide a variety of careers as possible whilst preparing them for life as an adult. Our goal is to equip students with vocational knowledge and skills whilst also providing them with enriching cultural capital experiences that empower them to appreciate innovation and creativity, achievement and enterprise.
Cultural capital they need to succeed for life in modern Britain
Support behaviours and attitudes, and personal development
Building positive relationships
We believe that all our young people need a set of skills and attributes that will prepare them for adult life, further learning and employment. With this in mind, both the ‘Skills Builder Universal Framework’ (listening, speaking, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork) and seven core curriculum ‘Building Blocks’ (functional and communication skills, my personal living skills, helping me to work, staying well and healthy, being in my community, planning for my future and developing my interests) are mapped and threaded throughout all of our pathways to enable each one of our students to experience outstanding opportunities for future planning, progress, transition and progression.
By the end of this Key Stage 5 we would expect pupils in the Key Stage 5 Pathways to demonstrate the following benchmarks in these key areas:
Organisation & Planning
Our curriculum is designed to give students access to pathways that they find interesting, thereby opening routes to as wide a variety of careers as possible and providing a firm foundation for their future.
Over a five day per week offer (30 blocks), we offer three subject themed pathways:
1. Activ8 – sport studies
2. Lumenus – performing arts
3. Digi4ll – digital and enterprise
We offer two employment themed pathways:
1. Pre-Internship
2. Bridging the Gap (BTG)
Each pathway is supplemented with the study of core subject components as follows:
Impact
New Bridge have designed our own assessment system to track impact called ‘Dashboard’.
The Dashboard has been designed to assess, measure and track progress of young people academically and against their EHCP outcomes.
The Academic Dashboard is a series of ‘I can’ statements which incorporate (previous) P Level guidance, Early Years assessment, National Curriculum end of year expectations from Year 1 to end of Key Stage 4, accreditation criteria and some aspects of the Rochford Review. The ‘I can’ statements break learning down into small steps to enable the learning of all pupils to be tracked.
We have grouped the ‘I can’ statements and given letters to banks of statements so you can see the area and progress each child has made. The chart below outlines the letters and how these relate to prior P’ Level description:
At New Bridge College, students study accredited qualifications, whereby the criteria required forms a series of Dashboard ‘I Cans’ so at any point we can see the progression for an individual.
In Key Stage 5 Pathways, students will generally be working at level E and above. All students are assessed formatively using our Dashboard system. Teachers set targets for all students using the small step ‘I can’ statements and learning activities in each subject area are carefully designed to give students opportunities to meet these targets
Teachers assess student’s knowledge, understanding and skills by making observations of the student working during lessons and provide verbal feedback. Work is recorded in books and more increasingly using digital portfolios.
Teachers measure progress against EHCP outcomes using a 0-10 scale from not achieved to achieved. Students are engaged in the assessment process by teachers encouraging them to take ownership of their targets, understanding what they have achieved so far and what their next steps are.
Twice a year the Dashboard is updated by teachers and data collated to show the progress of individual students. The Curriculum leader analyses the data and provides feedback to the teachers to inform and improve future practice.
Technology
All students and staff at New Bridge have an iPad and technology supports a flexible and collaborative approach to students’ learning. iPads are used creatively in a range of different ways across all subjects but there are shared, generic ways in which they contribute to teaching and learning.
Technology is used in the classroom to support the development of independent working and students’ ownership of their own learning. Flipped learning is used where teachers record video demonstrations of techniques to support differentiation in mixed ability groups. students can re-watch demonstrations in their own learning space to increase their independent engagement. iPads are used to encourage students to research knowledge about new topics being taught.
Technology allows for such flexibility in learning that it will enable and encourage students to work in a more collaborative manner. Technology is a key building block in facilitating collaborative learning. The iPad will allow students to contribute to lesson content from the front of the class, engage with their peers in problem solving activities and create a more collective approach to lesson time. Supported by technology, students are generating new approaches to problem solving and learning how to work alongside their peers, a great attribute for their future destination
The use of technology helps to enhance the immersive learning experience, e.g. through the use of augmented reality apps, communication apps. Technology engages students with skills which have previously been taught using fewer motivating resources and methods such as textbooks. Every subject has a range of Apps that they utilize to support teaching and learning. These may develop skills in specific areas of the Curriculum or allow pupils to practice taught content.
Technology supports the assessment of progress through the use of digital portfolios where teachers track the development of students and record their outcomes. This supports interactive feedback, with students able to comment on their own abilities.
Key Stage 5 Pathways
To find out more about each Key Stage 5 (College) Pathway, please click the links below.
Key Stage 5 Core Subjects
To find out more about each Key Stage 5 (College) Core Subject, please click the links below.
