Introduction

Over the past few years the Secondary School Curriculum has changed beyond recognition:

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• Specialised Diplomas - 14 Lines of Learning
• A new National Curriculum based on skills rather than content
• The emergance of Functional Literacy, Numeracy and IT
• A National Qualifications Framework (NQF) giving GCSE equivalence to a whole raft of new qulifications
• Freedom to experiment - with many schools now begining their traditional KS4 courses early
• A massive increase in lEVEL 2 Vocational Qualifications
• Schools increasingly moving away from the 1 hour 25 times a week model
• BSF - new schools being designed to allow flexibility and to allow inovative teaching techniques
• Improved College Links - including enhanced funding under the Inreased Flexibility Program
• Improved Iinformation, Advice an Guidance to all pupils
• Enterprise and Secondary Seal Initiatives

However, because of the nature of our very busy jobs we are more likely to be thinking about today rather than tomorrow.

So in order to get some QUALITY thinking and planning time I propose to take staff, with a particular interest in the Curriculum, away for a residential workshop looking at some of the major questions these changes have thrown up!

The Curriculum Champions Residential Objectives:

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• To look at the current Highfield Curriculum Plan for 2009-2010 and decide how we are going to take advantage new opportunities - By the end of our residential we will ave completed the 2009-2010 Curriculum Plan
• We will look at the design for the New Highfield Humaities College Building in light of the Curriculum Develpments taking place both now and in the future
• We will make a decision about the timetable 'role over' date for 2009
• We will try to solve the Educational Visits/Timetable Disruption dilema*
• We will make a decision about which of the 14 Specilist Diplomas we want to run at Highfield
• We will look at ways of 'building up' qualifications rather than the 'all in one summer basket' approach we currently adopt.
• Currently the KS3 curriculum is identical for all ability ranges (with the exception of German and Litreracy)- over the residential we will make a decision about different pathways at KS3
• We will invite representatives from at least two schools to join us to share successful good practice.

Educational Visits at Highfield are a strong part of our 'ethos' but they do disrupt the curriculum - so how do we solve this dilema?

• Plan for special 'visit' weeks in the calender
• Start KS4 earlier to give more time and then allow visits as an when required?
• Ration visits allowing pupils only a certain number of days out of school over a Key Stage
• Band all visits that would encrougch on curriculum time?

EDUCATIONAL VISITS - Africa Visit