Sutton Community Academy Curriculum Intent

At Sutton Community Academy we want all students to leave able and qualified to play their full part in an ever-changing world, through a curriculum which is broad, ambitious and innovative, empowering students with the skills, knowledge and personal attributes that will enable them to be successful both in school; and in their future lives.

Our curriculum commitments to all students

Our curriculum commitments underpin every lesson we teach and every decision we make, ensuring that students at Sutton Community Academy will experience a curriculum that:

  • enables students to acquire a range of knowledge and skills in a safe and happy environment
  • is knowledge rich in order to develop students’ vocabulary and wider cultural capital
  • is inclusive, nurturing and tailored towards the needs of the individual
  • is focused on developing the very best reading, literacy, oracy, numeracy and digital skills – enabling access to the widest learning and the very best careers possible
  • creates opportunities for students to personalise their learning, following pathways relevant to their own ambitions and allowing them to grow their talents
  • raises aspirations through the pastoral, academic and extra-curricular provision, and high-quality, independent on-site careers services
  • is enriching, ensuring all experience a rich variety of cultural, artistic and sporting activities
  • is ambitious and broad in terms of coverage, encompassing and extending upon the English National Curriculum
  • celebrates the uniqueness of our local area
  • develops character, leadership, personal pride and the highest moral standards
  • celebrates diversity, challenges injustice and promotes equality
  • is brought to life by well-qualified, evidence-informed and passionate practitioners

At Sutton Community Academy, we believe that reading is essential to accessing the curriculum in all subjects, and therefore ensuring all students are competent readers is a priority across all subject areas.  Where necessary, students will be withdrawn from classes to address reading problems.  The withdrawal will be shared across a range of subjects in order to minimise impact on the student’s curriculum experience.

Our ambitious curriculum offer

At Sutton Community Academy, we are proud to offer a curriculum that promotes student success. Our offer is broad and balanced with full coverage of the National Curriculum at all stages; and providing opportunities for every child to engage in learning and personal development well beyond this.

Our curriculum brochures below provide a taste of the range of academic options students can engage in, and our extensive extra-curriculum provision is available to view here.

Beyond this, many of our students also access one-to-one and small group music lessons; revision and catch-up sessions run by departments; sports clubs; arts performances; trips and community events; the on-site community radio station; school council and more. The well-resourced school library is also open to all students throughout the day and after school.

In Summer 2021, we restructured the school day. This consolidated our subjects and provided enhanced learning times to each period, allowing for deeper learning of knowledge and more enriched practical lessons. We also created a focused 20-minute session at the start of each day, where students meet with their tutor and cover important topics related to their current stage in school/life, look at current world events, engage in the ‘Sutton Reads’ programme, receive key messages and attend a weekly year group assembly. Our tutors work with your child throughout their time with us and provide a trusted point of contact for students and parents.

Our ambitious curriculum is being supported by significant, multi-million pound investment from the Trust into our classrooms and facilities – new science labs, humanities classrooms and music and drama studios are already in use – with full renovation of all learning areas, Post-16 centre and a new community theatre planned over the next 3 years.

 

Equity and inclusion

At Sutton Community Academy, we recognise and promote the equity, opportunity and rights of students with SEND to access education; and remove any barriers to accessing our full curriculum offer.

Students with SEND have their needs identified through the graduated response and the assess-plan-do-review approach. Teaching staff are made aware through Pupil Passports which detail what a student needs in order to help them achieve. This may include adaptive and high quality teaching in the classroom, differentiation, targeted teaching groups, adaptations to the delivery of the content in subject areas and also a range of different practical resources. Some students may require SEN support including, but not exclusively limited to Teaching Assistant support, interventions, use of specialist adaptive equipment and when approaching KS4, access arrangements for exam concessions.

 

Curriculum Brochures

GCSE Options 2024 (for September 2024 start)

Y9 Deep Learning Booklet 2024 (for September 2024 start)

6th Form Prospectus – please see this page for more information

If you require any further information on our curriculum offer please contact Richard Fegan, Vice Principal via email: richard.fegan@attrust.org.uk