Curriculum
Park High School Curriculum Vision
At Park High we are more than just a school – we are the Park family.
Include: A determination that no one gets left behind
At the heart of our ethos is an unassuming and yet unswerving determination that no-one in our family is left behind.
In order for all members of our family to be the best they can be, through the highest of expectations, we provide a safe, supportive and positive environment in which everyone can appreciate the past, inspire curiosity about the future and promote respect for all.
Innovate: Visionary leadership prepared to take radical decisions to bring about sustained long-term improvement.
As part of our students’ memorable learning journey, our school embraces a cross-phase approach to ensure continuity in curriculum provision leading to clear links in the progression of fundamental concepts. A combination of educational research, cognitive based science and pedagogical knowledge underpins our broad, balanced and inspiring curriculum for all.
Inspire: A culture of risk taking founded on cutting edge research, creating a vibrant learning environment in which all people can excel.
The extensive personal development opportunities afford our students the chance to grow a sense of social and personal responsibility underpinned by sound moral values. There are curriculum opportunities inside and outside the classroom to develop leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative, communication skills and cultural capital which they will need for the world they live and work in. Our development of enquiring minds, effective communicators and confident citizens ensures our students have memorable experiences and are equipped to responsibly contribute to an exciting world of unprecedented change.
Curriculum Intent
At Park High School, we offer a broad, balanced, and rich curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4, underpinned by the Broadening Horizons agenda, to support all students from all backgrounds. The curriculum in each subject area is strategically planned and sequenced, to ensure students know more and remember more, with an explicit focus on retrieval and interleaving. In Key Stage 3 (year 7 to 9), students study the full range of subjects on offer, including both Geography and History, French, Religious Studies, Design Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Music, Art, Performing Arts and Physical Education, alongside the core subjects.
Students begin to make choices about the subjects they study in year 8, with students beginning their first GCSE course in year 9 from a comprehensive and informed selection of optional courses that reflect the local and national Labour Market Information; in Pendle as in most places, the manufacturing sector has shed jobs over the years whilst the service sector has grown as a source of employee jobs. However, there continues to be a bias towards a larger proportion of employees in the manufacturing sector, and in particular the aerospace manufacturing sub-sector. This enables students to specialise in one area, whilst still studying the full range of subjects through a Curriculum Enrichment carousel.
In year 9, students will make decisions about which of the Humanities to specialise in at GCSE and also be guided on to one of the three pathways we offer at Key Stage 4 – the English Baccalaureate (the vast majority of students will follow this pathway – currently 62.7% and we aim to increase this number over the coming years), Vocational or ASDAN pathways. In addition, all students will continue with the Religious Studies GCSE course at Key Stage 4.
Personal Development is an integral part of the curriculum at both Key Stages, with personal development lessons integrated into the curriculum model, personal development days throughout the year and intrinsic personal development sessions delivered during our ‘café culture’ lunch periods. LORIC (Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication) are the core skills that are developed and tracked in the Park High Personal Development Curriculum. In year 9, all students also work towards the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award, to further develop their LORIC skills.
Learning Support for students with SEND is embedded into the curriculum. At Key Stage 3 students will follow a Nurture curriculum alongside a modern foreign language. This is a fluid course with students able to return to the core French curriculum at any time. At Key Stage 4, students are offered the ASDAN pathway, to better support their learning and development.
At Park High School we are very proud of our pastoral House system. Students are welcomed in to one of the four houses; Dragon, Griffin, Pegasus or Phoenix at the beginning of year 7 and stay with the same pastoral team throughout years 7 to 10, where they will then graduate into the Seniors for year 11. Selection for the House system is based on transition information from feeder primary schools, interactions during Summer School, siblings who already attend Park and parental input. Each House has a Director of House, a Pastoral Support Worker and each of the 7 forms has two form tutors, to best support students’ wellbeing.
The pastoral system offers wrap around care with a 20 minute form period in the morning and a 25 minute RISE session at the end of the school day. During RISE, students participate in WOW in Action (Words of the Week used in context), Extra-curricular tasters, Read Aloud and Future U sessions. The Physical Education and SEND faculties each offer breakfast clubs for students to ensure the best possible to start to the day.
In order to increase participation in all of our fantastic extra-curricular clubs, students participate in taster sessions during RISE and learn about the activities that tutors enjoy themselves both in and out of school. Clubs include Sports, Business and Enterprise, Photography, Creative and Performing Arts and Band. These will continue to expand as students are exposed to them during RISE with Boardgames and an LGBTQ+ Society planned in the next phase.
Mentoring is a fundamental part of life at Park High School, with students supported with careers in one-to-one interviews, personal development lessons and Future U. Students at Key Stage 4 receive academic mentoring and a personal mentor, supported by the House system throughout Key Stages 3 and 4. Pastoral Support Workers also support with mentoring students and ensuring all students have the support they need to excel.
To ensure No One Is Left Behind, a rigorous intervention programme is embedded across the school. This starts with quality first teaching in the classroom and the carefully planned independent study tasks set by the class teacher, but is supplemented by Phonics and IDL intervention packages, the National Tutoring Programme, timetabled Mathematics and English intervention classes and an after-school intervention timetable in year 11.
At Park, we truly ensure No One Is Left Behind, and this extends to the wider Park Family. To ensure we continuously develop our curriculum offer and its effectiveness, we have incorporated an hours CPD time into the school day each week, where faculties will focus on whole school priorities, underpinned by the Great Teaching Toolkit, Walk Thru’s and research from a variety of organisations including the Education Endowment Foundation. Faculties also have the time to develop teacher pedagogy, subject pedagogy and reflect on the subject specific research released. This is underpinned by a rigorous Quality Assurance cycle based on the EEF model, to ensure consistency, high expectations and excellence in Teaching and Learning in every classroom.
As a Trust with both Secondary and Primary Schools, we work closely with our primary schools; Mathematics, English, Science, Humanities and Personal Development currently implement cross phase planning and CPD to ensure a smooth transition from Key Stage 2 to 3. This is an ever-evolving initiative, and we look to grow this number of subjects involved and encompass Key Stage 4 to 5 transition more in the medium and long term.