Curriculum Intent at The Hazeley Academy

Our curriculum intent is what we teach and why

At the Hazeley Academy we develop Character, Confidence and Creativity in both our young people and ourselves to gain fulfilment and success through positive contributions in all aspects of our lives.

To achieve this, we offer a well-planned, sequenced and imaginative curriculum encompassing the full range of disciplines; arts, sciences, humanities, technologies, maths, literacy, languages and sports. Our curriculum inspires curiosity and scholarship, develops independent and divergent thinking, supports progression in synthesising and evaluating experiences as well as providing opportunities to lead others and grow resilience.

The curriculum encourages questioning to deepen understanding and sets challenging goals and targets for increasingly independent young people to achieve. It takes advantage of, but is not restricted by our location in Milton Keynes and builds on, but is not controlled by the expertise and interests of our staff. Our curriculum is an immutable combination of the past, present and future – a blend of historical and contemporary knowledge as well as a skill set for today and tomorrow, offering appropriate in school and extra-curricular experiences for students of all abilities and backgrounds.

Supporting what it means to be human: having artistic abilities and appreciation, questioning the world around us, sporting talents, being skilled in using new technologies, having strong moral sensibilities and a quest to develop spiritually and with emotional intelligence, our curriculum aims to educate the whole child. It does not demand our students to be normal or perfect, but empowers them to be amazing versions of themselves, able to work with others to create a vibrant community of exceptional people.

Our core purpose is the 3Cs:

Curriculum Implementation – what is studied?   

KEY STAGE 3

As an Academy we do not have to follow the National Curriculum in Years 7 – 9; we have chosen to largely base our provision on it.

Across a fortnight, all students in Year 7 & 8 study;

• 7 lessons of English,
• 7 lessons of  Maths,
• 6 lessons of  Science,
• 4 lessons of  MFL   – either French or Spanish – selected prior to starting Year 7,
• 4 lessons of PE,
• 3 lessons of Geography,
• 3 lessons of History,
• 3 lessons of Philosophy and Ethics
• 2 lessons of  Computer Science,
• 1 lesson of Character

In addition, during year 7 students study Creativity  subjects through a carousel approach of 10 lessons over a fortnight. Within our Creativity Faculty, students will have opportunity to participate in intense, thematic learning within music, art, dance, drama, food, textiles and product design, experiencing all subjects across an academic year in rotation.

Year 8

The curriculum is largely similar to that of year 7, however the Creativity is smaller with textiles, product design and catering continuing to be taught on a rotation over a fortnightly timetable. The other Creativity subjects are taught as discrete, specialist lessons, to further develop knowledge, skills and understanding in readiness for Key stage 4.

Preferences (options) for KS4 subjects are made in the Spring term of Year 8.

KEY STAGE 4

At Hazeley, we offer a three year Key Stage 4,  running from Year 9 to Year 11. 

Most students follow a core provision of:

• English (the vast majority of students will study both English Literature and Language)
• Maths
• Science (Combined Science or Separate Science)
• PE
• Humanities – either Geography or History
• Languages – either French or Spanish (or an alternative MFL if it is the student’s native tongue)

• We also offer GCSE Statistics to some students as well as a PE qualification to most.

The majority of our students follow a curriculum closely aligned to the English Baccalaureate, French or Spanish (whichever language they have been studying at KS3), History or Geography, as well as English, Maths and Science.

There are also a wide variety of ‘preference/option subjects’ that students can study. We offer a range of  qualification types to suit learners. The most common include GCSE, BTEC, OCR Nationals, V-Cert amongst others.

History, Geography, Art &  Design, Computer Science, ICT,  Business Studies, Drama, Music, PE, Health and Social Care, Sociology, Psychology, Media, Catering, Child Development, Travel and Tourism, iMedia, Product Design, BBB (Belong, Believe, Become – Level 1 qualifications).

Our curriculum caters for individual needs at all levels, some students benefit from additional Maths and English support.  More able students can, for example, take two languages or two humanities subjects if there is a demand.  We are proud of our flexibility.

In both KS3 and 4 we set students on ability in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science so that learning can be effectively tailored.  This setting is flexible and reviewed regularly to ensure that students are most appropriately placed.

KEY STAGE 5 (Post 16)

For more information about our Key Stage 5 offer, please see the Sixth Form section of the Academy website. We offer two routes at Key Stage 5:

Traditional A Levels

We offer a wide variety of highly successful courses including all of the Facilitating subjects; Maths, Further Maths, English Literature, History, Geography, Modern Languages (currently French and Spanish at A level), Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

• A level Sociology
• A level Psychology
• A level IT
• A level Computing
• A level English Language
• A level Ethics and Philosophy
• A level Government and Politics
• A level Financial Studies
• A level Product Design
• A level Art and Design
• A level Physical Education
• A level Business Studies
• A level Economics
• A level Media
• A level Music
• A level Extended Project (EPQ)

Vocational

We offer a range of vocational options:

• BTEC IT
• Applied Science
• Applied Health & Social Care
• Child Development
• Retake Maths and English GCSE

These can be combined with A levels, or followed as a discrete pathway.

Wellbeing (PSHCE)

All year groups have time built into their tutor programme  centred around Personal, Social, Moral, and Cultural education (PSHCE)  via daily  tutorials, weekly Assemblies, and monthly Drop Down lessons to broaden learning outside of the confines of a traditional curriculum.

CAREERS/PATHWAYS/WORK EXPERIENCE

We have an on-site careers advisor who works with students across year groups in conjunction with external providers including Work Tree.  Additionally, we offer work experience to all students in Year 10, usually in the week before October half-term.

ENRICHMENT

Extra-curricular activities, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Volunteering, Hazeley+

Enrichment activities are key to our curriculum and underpin our core purpose.   This encompasses an extensive Extra Curricular termly enrichment programme available to all students including traditional ‘after-school clubs’, Hazeley+ (an exciting way to develop skills and try new activities), Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, volunteering, concerts, music events, talent shows, sporting events and opportunities to participate in many of the trips we run annually. 

Please get in touch if you require any further information about our curriculum. ​​​ Mr Whitney, Assistant Principal for Curriculum, will be happy to help answer your queries