Curriculum Overview

Hebburn Comprehensive is an 11-16 mixed community school, with the majority of pupils coming from the town of Hebburn or its neighbour, Jarrow, large pockets of both suffering from significant deprivation. We have an increasing number of pupils joining the school from other parts of South Tyneside, as well as our neighbouring local authority, Gateshead. The school is smaller than average, with 841 pupils currently on roll. Historically, our Key Stage 2 APS has been below the national average, often significantly below. According to the latest information from Public Health England, South Tyneside is one of the 20% most deprived districts/unitary authorities in England, with the wards of Hebburn South and Hebburn North amongst the most deprived 10% nationally.  

The proportion of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium funding, at 51.04%, is almost double the national average. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is significantly above average, at 33.29%. The number of pupils with an EHCP is 1.2% (above average), the number of pupils with SEN support is above national average, at 21%.   

Regardless of context, we are fiercely ambitious for our pupils. Our vision is to have a harmonious community where the emphasis for all is on learning and achievement, where pupils feel safe and happy and where a culture of success and ambition is embedded and celebrated throughout the school and wider community. As a school, we aim to raise the aspirations of all our young people, inculcating a respect for one another and for the values of learning, citizenship and tolerance. Through challenge, partnership and support, we aim to continue to raise standards of achievement; create a genuine sense of community spirit; and enhance all of our pupils’ life chances for the future. 

We remain resolute in our conviction that our curriculum must be inclusive, ambitious and designed to give all pupils, particularly our most disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or high needs, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.  

Our curriculum is both child-centred and outcomes focused. Through our curriculum, we aim to develop pupils’ character, including their resilience, confidence and independence and to help them to understand how to keep both physically and mentally healthy.  The curriculum underpins our school’s ethos and aims to prepare pupils for adult life.  

Our curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils feel valued and respected, engendering a sense of belonging, reflected in corporate ownership, corporate values, corporate pride and a corporate desire to maximise the potential of learning and to celebrate achievement. 

Our curriculum extends beyond the academic and vocational. It provides for our learners’ broader development, enabling them to develop and discover their interests and talents. In order to facilitate long-term learning, the skills and content for each subject are spaced and interleaved throughout coherently-planned Schemes of Learning. Over time, teaching is designed to help learners to remember, in the long term, the skills and content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts.  

We offer a key enrichment programme that broadens and extends pupils’ experiences. In addition to a focus on cross-curricular skills, the school strives to develop wider personal development and promote positive attitudes to learning.  

Our aim is to provide a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum that meets the needs of all learners and prepares them for life in a culturally diverse and modern Britain. 

More specifically the curriculum aims:  

• To ensure inclusion and access to learning; 
• To provide equality of opportunity for all pupils; 
• To be appropriate and relevant to our pupils; 
• To be progressive, interleaved and appropriately sequenced;  
• To develop literacy, numeracy and a love of reading; 
• To ensure that pupils keep themselves healthy, both physically and emotionally, promoting healthy eating and regular exercise; 
• To ensure that statutory guidance for RSE is met; 
• To provide continuity, challenge and progression from one key stage to the next; 
• To provide a suitable and effective learning environment for those pupils requiring specialist provision, including very able pupils, pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and pupils who have English as an additional language; 
• To ensure that pupils have the necessary skills to build positive relationships and contribute to the wider community; 
• To ensure that children keep themselves safe in a fast-moving digital age; 
• To contribute effectively to pupils’ social, moral, cultural and spiritual development, promoting the British values of democracy, the rule of law, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; 
• To contribute effectively to pupils’ intellectual, physical and personal attainment and development; 
• To promote consideration and respect towards others; 
• To be appropriate for the age, ability, gender and the ethnicity of pupils; 
• To raise aspirations, develop self-belief, self-confidence, resilience and instil ambition; 
• To prepare pupils for the next stage of their education, training or employment (CEIAG), developing essential employability skills for the future; 
• To provide access to extra-curricular activities for the purpose of enrichment. 

 

Our aim, through our inclusive curriculum, is to develop young people: 

• who are not disadvantaged by the social context in which they live 
• who have the confidence, resilience and knowledge to stay mentally healthy 
• who have high expectations of self and an ambitious vision for their future 
• who have a strong work ethic to support them in achieving, and exceeding, their academic potential 
• who are happy and have a desire to pursue a healthy, active lifestyle 
• who are respectful, tolerant and empathetic towards the values and beliefs of others 
• who are self-aware and know their own strengths and areas for development through reviewing and evaluating their progress 
• who are capable of making informed decisions and are aware of their rights and responsibilities 

Provision at the school, at each key stage, is designed to be fully inclusive and promote effective learning, progress and personal growth. Detailed schemes of learning in all subject areas include provision for the development of numeracy, literacy and SMSC.  

Our curriculum offers differentiated pathways (please see below), which we believe will broaden, rather than narrow, the offer at different stages in a pupil’s progression through school.  We aim to remove barriers to learning for our pupils and support learning through a wide range of interventions.   

We provide a broad and balanced curriculum at both Key Stages. Pupils in Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) receive their full entitlement to the National Curriculum.   

In years 10 and 11, we offer a broad range of vocational and academic subjects, including: 3D Design. Art, Photography, Textiles, Music, Drama, Media Studies, Business Studies, Health and Social care, Catering and Hairdressing and we are aiming to expand our qualifications offer. All students can study a Modern Foreign Language, History and Geography, and can, therefore achieve the English Baccalaureate.

There is a strong focus on English and Maths and the development of literacy and numeracy across the school.  

To access the next phase of education or training, achieving good qualifications in English and maths is essential. These two qualifications continue to be hugely important to pupils in the future and we recognise the importance of them for securing future employment.  

Developing literacy, numeracy and reading skills are essential requirements for enabling pupils to access the full curriculum.  

WE PROMOTE READING AND WANT ALL OF OUR PUPILS TO BE CONFIDENT READERS 

As school we have a multi-faceted approach to the development of reading.   

This includes:  

• Developing reading through our catch-up programme, whole class T&L strategies and bespoke 1-1 packages where needed  
• The use of the Lexia programme 
• Reading for ‘leisure and pleasure’ where PUPILs have many opportunities to read a variety of texts from a variety of authors and genres 
• The Introduction of Accelerated Reader to a targeted group of pupils with the intention to extend the programme further 
• Reading for knowledge and understanding of current affairs through our PSHE programme 

As a school, we have child-centred approach to all we do. We involve pupils in the day-to-day life of the school and ask for their views and opinions on a range of topics. Last year, pupils played an important role in developing school policies on praise and rewards, as well as representing the school, with distinction, at social events. 

WE PROVIDE PUPILS WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE IN MODERN BRITAIN  

We prepare learners for life in modern Britain by:  equipping them to be responsible, respectful, active citizens who contribute positively to society; by developing their understanding of fundamental British values; and by developing their understanding and appreciation of diversity. 

We strive to ensure that PUPILs leave Hebburn Comprehensive School with a good understanding of democracy, liberty, respect, tolerance and the rule of law. Through our PSHE/Citizenship programme and themed assemblies, we support pupils to develop an understanding of current affairs and social issues beyond their local area.  We support pupils in appreciating diversity and recognising different religions, races, beliefs, and lifestyles.  

We encourage pupils to live healthy lifestyles, providing them with age–appropriate guidance on the importance of physical activity, diet, alcohol, drugs and e-safety. Positive behaviour is consistently modelled to guide our pupils to be responsible, respectful, active citizens who contribute positively to society. This is the core principle of our ‘RESPECT’ code of conduct.  

WE BELIEVE IN CAREERS EDUCATION AND ARE COMMITTED TO THE GATSBY BENCHMARKS 

Through our high–quality careers programme, we support pupils in making well-informed decisions about post-16 study or career choices, providing access to differentiated, impartial and independent information and guidance about the range of options (including academic, vocational and opportunities for apprenticeships), encouraging them to be ambitious. By helping pupils with decisions at crucial stages in their education, informing them of all their options and introducing them to employers, we aim to prepare them with the requisite skills for the world of work, regardless of the pathway they choose.  

Our careers programme is designed around the eight Gatsby Benchmarks, as set out in the Department for Education’s Statutory Guidance, January 2018.  

Careers guidance is provided through our comprehensive CEIAG curriculum, via form period and different careers events, as well as through a range of visits and workplace experiences. We work closely with local employers, FE colleges and apprenticeship providers to ensure the highest quality careers education and guidance.

As a school, we strive to ensure that pupils have access to a range of different learning experiences to help build their cultural capital.  

Regardless of their chosen career choices, we have a responsibility to ensure that pupils are provided with the necessary knowledge and skills to help them achieve their personal goals. Our PSHE programme allows pupils to gain skills and experience to prepare them for future choices. ‘My world’ examines aspects of PSHE and Citizenship; ‘My choices’ is intrinsically tailored towards achieving the requisite Gatsby Benchmarks, allowing pupils to gain key life skills, whilst enabling them to add further depth and substance to their future CVs. ‘My money’ aims to develop pupils’ understanding of how to manage money and finances. This, coupled with our diverse enrichment programme, enables pupils to experience both academic and social opportunities outside of the classroom.  

Furthermore, our celebration assemblies allow pupils of all abilities and backgrounds to celebrate achievement with their peers and teachers. 

WE BELIEVE THAT ALL OF OUR PUPILS ASPIRE TO MAKE A REAL AND GENUINE CONTRIBUTION IN EVERY ASPECT OF SCHOOL LIFE AND TO THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY.  

At Hebburn Comprehensive, we acknowledge that the breadth of the experiences provided for pupils will have a major impact on their future well–being and success. If children are to become well-rounded citizens of the future with a lifelong love of learning, we must teach, model and promote positive attitudes and behaviours. The characteristics we seek to instil and encourage in our pupils are resilience, confidence, motivation, self-regulation and pride.   

• Resilience to react positively to adversity.   
• Confidence in themselves and their ability to achieve their goals.   
• Motivation to push themselves and work hard.   
• Self-regulation to be able to thrive independently within society.   
• Pride so that they can be fulfilled by their efforts and accomplishments.    

By developing these key characteristics, pupils will be successful in education and in adult life. We want our pupils to be both willing and able to contribute positively to society and achieve economic well-being.