Our Curriculum - Intent
At HAR we believe that education is the single biggest lever for social justice. We believe education is the means to transform many of the challenges that society faces be it injustice, poverty, or social disadvantage. This is part of our mission at HRSF.
At the core of our educational mission is the teaching of powerful knowledge that enables students to understand the world around us and supports them in reaching any university or career path they desire. It is for this reason we teach students both substantive and disciplinary knowledge. The teaching of powerful knowledge is at the heart of our education system. It develops our student’s intellectual abilities, enables them to think deeply and critically and it enables the transmission of our values and traditions from one generation to the next.
In an age where truth has become eroded – powerful knowledge enables our students to uncover truth. It is this knowledge that liberates our students from the tyranny of ignorance, the sweet words of the dictator and the fear that invariably follows a lack of understanding. Our students will step into the world with knowledge that enables them to become active, responsible citizens who make a lasting, and positive impact on humanity.
Our curriculum is the foundation from which our provision is developed. The curriculum determines our pedagogy, assessment, reporting and accountability systems. The emphasis we place on ensuring that students grasp and retain knowledge results in a teaching approach that revolves around explicit teaching of concepts. This means that teachers are encouraged to provide clear explanations, question students deeply, create opportunities for practice and provide feedback. Our assessment and reporting approach emphasises the use of knowledge tests and quizzes to aid the transfer of knowledge to the long-term memory.
A curriculum must have a coherent structure in that it pays attention to the knowledge which precedes and follows it and ensures that this allows students to organise and group knowledge meaningfully and enables the construction of schemata in the long-term memory.
Intent - The principles behind our curriculum
- Our curriculum is the key lever in promoting social justice and tackling educational inequalities. This is crucial for the life chances and opportunities of our students.
- Our curriculum is ambitious and challenges students to accumulate powerful knowledge in each subject discipline.
- Our curriculum is founded on subject-specific core concepts and is sequenced so that new knowledge builds upon pre-existing schemata.
- Our curriculum revisits key concepts and is supported by the science of learning to ensure the durability of knowledge in the long-term memory.
- Our curriculum is dynamic and regularly reviewed by subject experts.
The curriculum offer will be reviewed annually, incorporating any changes to statutory requirements. Decisions will also be made based on the needs of our students in each year group and the wider labour market as required. Careers advice and guidance will start early in Year 12 and be planned in an age-appropriate way that helps students plan and prepare at an individual level. The current curriculum offered can be viewed on the website.