Curriculum Rationale
Curriculum Rationale
Curriculum Overview – Ormiston SWB Academy
At Ormiston SWB Academy, our curriculum sits at the heart of our mission to deliver a first-class education for every student. As a community, we share a determined optimism to provide an education that is ambitious at every stage, unlocking potential and promoting social justice for all.
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced across seven years, underpinned by detailed Schemes of Learning that offer both challenge and personalisation. It is designed to ensure that every student, regardless of starting point, disadvantage or SEND need, is equipped with the knowledge, skills and character to succeed in their next steps and beyond.
Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum is built on the foundations of:
- Great teaching that inspires and challenges.
- Strong literacy and numeracy embedded across all subjects.
- Excellent outcomes that prepare students for post-16 education and future careers.
- Positive behaviour and personal development that supports students to become responsible, respectful citizens.
Curriculum Implementation
Our subject specialists carefully select and sequence content to ensure depth, breadth and progression. The curriculum develops in complexity from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4, with opportunities to revisit and deepen understanding through purposeful independent practice. Alongside the National Curriculum, we enrich learning with experiences that reflect our local context.
As reading underpins learning across the curriculum, we deliver the Read Aloud programme and SWB Careful Readers to strengthen fluency and deepen comprehension. Alongside the academic curriculum, our CORE curriculum (Character, Organisation, Resilience and Excellence) enriches students’ personal development and broadens their opportunities. For further information, including a detailed breakdown of the CORE curriculum, please click below:
Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9)
Students follow a broad and balanced curriculum that includes:
- English (4 hours)
- Mathematics (4 hours)
- Science (4 hours)
- French or Spanish (2 hours)
- History (2 hours)
- Geography (2 hours)
- Physical Education (1 hours)
- CORE (1 hour)
- Computer Science (1 hour)
- Art (1 hour)
- Music (1 hour)
- Design & Technology (Design Technology & Hospitality rotation) (1 hour)
- RE (1 hour a fortnight, integrated into Humanities in Year 7–9)
To ensure strong foundations in literacy, selected students participate in our Lexonik reading intervention programme. This evidence-based provision delivers targeted, systematic support to accelerate reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension. By rapidly closing gaps in literacy, the programme improves students’ access to the full curriculum and enables them to make sustained progress across all subjects.
Key Stage 4 (Years 10–11)
Our KS4 curriculum is academically rigorous and prepares students for future study and employment. All students study:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science (Combined or Separate sciences)
- CORE (including RE)
- PE
Students also select a further three options from the list of subjects below and study each subject for three hours a week
- Spanish
- Geography
- History
- Philosophy, Religion & Ethics (PRE)
- ICT
- Computer Science
- Business
- Physical Education (BTEC Sport)
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Art
- Design Technology
- Hospitality
- Health & Social Care
- Media