artwork is taken from a piece of year 11 gcse coursework...

Artwork is taken from a piece of

Year 11 GCSE coursework - 2016

Page

Introduction __________________________________________ 4

GCSE Examination Analysis ______________________________ 6

Destinations _________________________________________ 10

Reintegration ________________________________________ 12

Attendance Analysis ___________________________________ 13

English ______________________________________________ 14

Maths ______________________________________________ 18

Science _____________________________________________ 22

Art and Design _______________________________________ 24

Expressive Arts _______________________________________ 28

Design Technology ____________________________________ 32

Child Development____________________________________ 34

PACC Key Stage 4 _____________________________________ 36

PACC Key Stage 3 _____________________________________ 38

History _____________________________________________ 40

Geography __________________________________________ 42

Literacy _____________________________________________ 43

Vocational Provision __________________________________ 45

Cross Curricular ______________________________________ 48

Looked After Children _________________________________ 50

Moving On 2016 ______________________________________ 52

List of contents

Introduction

A nother good year for examination results and destinations! CE Academy has again

surpassed the national results for alternative provision. The commitment of staff

and the excellent working relationship with Prospects, has resulted in few NEET. This year

saw an increased number of young people moving on to study A levels.

The balance of Vocational to GCSE examinations allowed some young people to achieve eight

GCSE equivalence.

An additional subject, Photography, was introduced this year with excellent results. We hope

to build on this success and timetable more young people in the coming year.

Young people joining us late in the year are either entered through their schools in which

case we supported as necessary; others took at least one GCSE or vocational qualification as

appropriate.

An increased number of young people left with a ‘Food Hygiene Certificate’: an essential

requirement for the retail food and restaurant industry.

The CE Academy has continued to expand its Vocational Provision with the setting up of

‘The Kitchen at Spring Gardens’. Currently this operates as a commercial kitchen with staff

and young people as customers for the restaurant. The long term aim is to open the

restaurant to be accessible to people from the community. A number of young people

achieved Level 1 City and Guilds qualifications and some units toward Level 2. At least two

young people immediately gained apprenticeships and others are on catering courses at

college.

A launch night on November 17th was supported by a number of chefs. All of whom were

impressed by the skills and commitment of the young people. Excellent food was produced

and appreciated by the large number of guests who attended.

The CE Academy was approached by people intent on opening an Alternative Provision Free

School in Warwickshire. Their original application was refused as it was felt they needed

experienced support. Warwickshire recommended they contact CE Academy. Unfortunately,

the application was again refused but this time because Warwickshire were unable to

guarantee funding for placements. This, due to a total delegation policy by the LA. The

feedback from DfE did however say that involving CE Academy in the bid was a positive

move.

The CE Academy has formally submitted an application to be accepted by DfE as a sponsor.

Professional Development for staff has included Safeguarding Training, Prevent, E Safety,

Early Help and Literacy. Zoe Lodrick presented an excellent half day of training on

Attachment Theory in relation to CSE and the push, pull factors involved. A number of young

people were given the opportunity to see ‘Chelsea’s Choice’.

The majority of staff visited Seeds of Change for a tour and explanation of exactly what is on

offer. This has increased staff understanding of the provision and made discussions with young

people more accurate.

There have been a number of trips and residentials. Govilon continues to be popular with

young people. There have been theatre trips to the Pantomime and more serious shows.

Staff have also given up their time to take the young people to sports events. We are very

grateful to all staff willing to give up their time to give the young people such important

enrichment experiences.

Visitors to the Campuses also provide a wider view of the world and increased skills. Young

people studying for GCSE Expressive Arts were able gain skills in animation and produced some

outstanding work.

A Peer Mentoring project has been very successful with young people from Fairlawn mentoring

Key Stage 3 pupils from Spring Gardens. Staff are now able to provide in-house training for the

young people to be mentors.

Fermyn Woods has again provided the young people with excellent opportunities to develop

their skills. A number gained a range of Arts Awards and work exhibited at the Alfred East Art

Gallery resulted in some young people winning awards and selling their work to members of the

public.

In June CE Academy held its first Prom: this as a result of a group of young people from

Fairlawn who joined with staff to create a Prom Committee. Two of the young women worked

particularly hard together with staff, decorating the rooms in a Hollywood theme. Food was

supplied by the restaurant staff and young people.

The event was held in ‘The Kitchen at Spring Gardens’. Young people were tasked with making

their own way to the Prom and did so from all ends of the County. It was wonderful to see the

young people from all Campuses across the County communicating well, talking and dancing

together.

A photo booth proved to be very popular with one of the staff being tasked to take a photos

(400 at the event)!

It was an absolute pleasure to see our young people dressed in suits and evening dresses,

behaving appropriately. The CE Team of young people and staff was evident with no discernible

divide, in fact quite the opposite. Needless to say the year 10s were already discussing their

Prom before September!

The CE Academy continues to have a very good team of staff willing to go the extra mile. It is

not an easy job but many show a phenomenal commitment to the young people and their

colleagues. A big thank you is due to all.

Introduction

2016 GCSE Exam Analysis

IntroductionIntroduction

In 2016 a total of 100 Year 11 pupils, the largest ever cohort, sat their GCSE

examinations with The CE Academy. As ever we work with an ever changing cohort of

pupils who vary significantly in their attitude to work, prior learning (many have missed

large areas of the curriculum) and ability to complete academic work. Due to our recent

expansion we are in the second year of offering an increasing variety of vocational

subjects and this is reflected within our results analysis.

Comparison with National ResultsComparison with National Results

This year results have again been pleasing for the majority of young people who attend

The CE Academy. This is reflected with headline results data showing that their

achievements are far in excess to pupils who attend similar schools (Alternative

Provision) throughout the UK.

This data is taken from DfE data (21/1/16) collected from a total of 421 similar provisions who serve a total of 8998 young people.

Once again we are pleased to report that young people at The CE Academy are more

likely to achieve GCSE qualifications or equivalents than young people at similar schools.

Only two pupils failed to pass any qualifications. One of these was a young man who

spent a large proportion of Year 11 in a Young Offenders Institution and the other a non

-attender who arrived late to his examinations.

Very pleasing once again was the high percentage of young people (38%) who achieved

at least one pass at grade C and above. This has given them confidence that they can

achieve in line with their peers of a similar age.


Another measure to indicate performance considers the average GCSE points obtained

per pupil. Using this data we are pleased to report that our young people have achieved

almost exactly twice the National average for pupils attending Alternative Provision.

Furthermore we can show that young people in receipt of Pupil Premium funding

performed better than those who were not in receipt of this funding, with both groups

at approximately twice the national average for Alternative Provision.

Pupil Premium AnalysisPupil Premium Analysis

We have also drawn comparisons between our Pupil Premium and Non Pupil Premium

cohort using a wider variety of performance measures.

This shows that young people who attend The CE Academy outperform other pupils in

similar schools nationally. This is the case for all of the nationally recognised perfor-

mance indicators. Even more pleasing is the performance of our Pupil Premium young

people with four times the National average of young people in receipt of Pupil Premi-

um achieving five or more examination passes than pupils attending Alternative Provi-

sion nationally.

Average

GCSE

Point

Score

1+

A*-G A*-G

(E&M) 5+

A*-G

5+

A*-G

(E&M)

1+

A*-C

National Results Alternative Provision (2014/15)

52 58% 19% 13% 10% 20%

CE Academy (2016) 103 98% 48% 48% 38% 38%

CE Academy Pupil Premium (2016) 105 98% 48% 52% 40% 42%

CE Academy Non Pupil Premium (2016) 100 98% 48% 43% 36% 33%


Comparison with previous yearsComparison with previous years

With the fluid nature of our roll at The CE Academy, each year we always analyse our

young peoples’ achievements in their own right. However as with any school we have a

constant drive to improve so always ensure that we also review our results drawing

comparisons with previous years.

A recent area of focus has been the development of our work related learning

curriculum. This has seen the development of a new vocational campus which includes

a hair salon, beauty salon, DT workshop, catering kitchen and music room. Additionally

we have set up a photography studio with dark room and embedded our already

established links with partner providers.

This focus was initiated with the dual purpose of preparing our young people for the

world of college and work and increasing the potential number of qualifications on offer

to them.

Both aims have been achieved with numbers of young people achieving vocational

qualifications the highest on record (with many young people going on to study

subjects at college or gain apprenticeships in their chosen field).


Secondly we have seen a significant increase in the percentage and number of young

people achieving five or more GCSE qualifications or equivalent. One pupil finished

year 11 with a total of ten qualifications achieved and two pupils with a total of nine

qualifications.

Even more pleasing is that this improvement has been achieved over a period of time

when GCSE examinations have become more rigorous and vocational qualifications

been scrutinised to ensure that their content and assessment requirements meet the

highest standards.

Gender and ethnicityGender and ethnicity

This cohort included 63 boys and 37 girls with girls outperforming boys in all

performance indicators. This was illustrated by 54% of girls gaining a GCSE in English

and Maths compared to 44% of boys and 46 % of girls achieving 5+ A*-G grade at GCSE

compared to 33% of boys. Considering ethnicity; 80% of this cohort was White British.

The other 20% was made up of a variety of different of other backgrounds (none

statistically significant to draw conclusions) One pattern that we can identify was that

EAL young perform did not perform as well in GCSE English as those who have English as

their first language.

Future developments and challengesFuture developments and challenges

One continued focus will be to fully embed vocational qualifications into our curriculum

offer, focusing primarily on Hair and Beauty and Catering and Hospitality. In 2016 we

have become an accredited to deliver qualifications at Level 1 and plan to investigate

the option of delivering qualifications in these fields at Level 2 in the near future.

Our progress tracker has enabled teaching staff and SLT to identify both specific young

people and subjects for interventions. This will be further developed and linked to

specific interventions with the aim to further improve examinations entries and results.

Further developments are also being implemented for our young people to take a

greater role in the self-assessment of their work. This will link with our two stars and a

wish marking policy and seek to improve self-evaluation and self-awareness skills

amongst our young people.

In addition we are investing in GCSE Pod, an online homework and revision resource

designed to aid understanding and allow young people to take more responsibility for

their learning.

Destinations: 2015-2016

DestinationsDestinations

When young people are referred to The CE Academy, a common question asked by fam-

ilies surround longer term prospects (ie will this impact upon future college and/or job

prospects). We have always held and continue to hold the notion that an exclusion from

school should not be seen as a barrier to future life chances. Therefore the primary fo-

cus is to ensure that all Year 11s have secured a destination when they reach their leav-

ing date. For Key Stage 3 young people the focus remains on attempting to support pu-

pils to return to mainstream education.

Government NEET statistics published in 2016 show that the most accurate estimate for

the National NEET rate for 16-18 year olds is 6.5% (1), reduced from 7.6% last year with

National NEET data for young people attending Alternative Provision (2014) being rec-

orded as 41%.

Once again The CE Academy continues to be very successful in ensuring pathways for

our Year 11 leavers with outcome measures not only in excess of other Alternative Pro-

vision but also on a par or better with National data for all schools.

(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547721/

NEET_and_NET_tables_Q2-2016.xlsx

(2) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-ks4-and-ks5-pupils-2013-to-2014

Destinations: 2015-2016

In 2016 our records show that 96.5% of young people were engaged with a destination

once they had left The CE Academy. This included sixth form (A-Level), college, youth

training, Princes Trust, Apprenticeships and employment. Our NEET rate was 3.5%

(including 1% at home with baby). This is an improvement on last academic year when

the NEET rate was 6% (Still better than the national average).

This year it was pleasing to see three young people return to mainstream sixth forms

to study A-levels, an increased percentage finding employment, several young people

gaining apprenticeships (in several different disciplines) and our NEET rate fall to 4%.

We are very proud that since we converted to be an AP Academy in 2012 we have had a

sustained NEET rate in line with or better than the National average and significantly

lower than other Alternative Provision institutions. We see this as a significant achieve-

ment for our young people and the partnership work we undertake with Prospects

Northamptonshire.

Reintegrations: 2016-2017

The CE Academy is set up to cater for a wide range of pupil needs across both Key Stage

3 and Key Stage 4. However, where suitable we strive to aid reintegration to an

alternative school (mainstream or specialist provision) where they can better meet the

needs of a pupil. This is a considered decision that needs to acknowledge the wishes of

parents but also take into consideration the impact another change in school/failed

reintegration could have on the young person.

We continue to strengthen partnerships with local schools and continue to have a

significant proportion of young people dual registered with school, some on long term

agreements and others as shorter term interventions.

In 2016 we saw 40 pupils reintegrated into county schools with a further 10 moving out

of County. These fall into three categories. 30% are pupils returning to an alternative

mainstream school, 15% returning to a specialist provision and 55% returning to their

original mainstream school.

We now have an established pattern of effective work in partnership with local

mainstream schools with a significant proportion being able to make a successful

transition back to their original mainstream school.

This shows the impact that The CE Academy has in impacting on the lives of young

people and illustrates the rapid progress that some pupils are able to make both socially

and academically. and academically.

Attendance 2016

AttendanceAttendance

The CE Academy continues to have a significant challenge in improving school

attendance and focuses efforts on reducing the number of pupils who are designated

persistently absent from school.

In 2015-16 85% of pupils referred to The CE Academy are designated as persistently

absent from their mainstream schools. Therefore attendance is always discussed at the

initial meeting with parents, and monitored closely by both key tutors and campus

secretaries with The Deputy Headteacher remaining responsible for pupil attendance.

Attendance procedures are included in the induction training programme for all staff

and all CE policies and procedures are regularly reviewed. The CE Academy also

employs an Attendance Welfare Officer who conducts Parental Contract Meetings and

advises SLT on attendance related matters and queries.

Comparison with mainstream school attendance

We have analysed the attendance rates of all those pupils permanently excluded from

school both prior to joining The CE Academy and during their time with The CE

Academy.

Through both strong partnerships with parents and other agencies, and the robust

implementation of our attendance procedures we continue to see a significant fall in

persistent absence rates.

The focus of this analysis is on the percentage of pupils who improve their attendance

whilst at The CE Academy, using mainstream school attendance as a baseline with 88%

of pupils improving or maintaining there attendance whilst at The CE Academy.

English


English is taught across the Academy at all nine campuses by a group of dedicated staff that has

risen from seven up to eleven.

All young people in every campus study English. If circumstances preclude them from accessing

the subject through the timetable at the campus a further dedicated team of staff teach the

subject on a one to one basis.

English staff promote the subject as being one that is based on a love of the language and the

vehicle for a set of skills that have been genuinely proven to give people a greater chance of

future prosperity.

Key Stage 3Key Stage 3

Changes to the National Curriculum, the introduction of targets created through Progress 8 and

the pressure that all mainstream schools apply on students at secondary level are having an

increasingly negative impact on the young people that come through our doors. Often, they

have chosen to reject English, seeing it as a grammar/spelling based science that they have

failed in too often. Add to this the stigma of failing in what is essentially the young people’s

mother-tongue and there is a recipe with the potential to destroy future success in a core

curriculum subject and a high scoring subject in Attainment 8.

There is still a focus on grammar and spelling, as it would be unfair to send our young people

out into a world where a certain aptitude in these areas is expected. However, we firmly believe

that, just as someone who gains a love of cars is more likely to understand what happens

beneath the bonnet, students who develop a love of English and of the language are far more

likely to work to improve in the technical areas.

Beyond spelling and grammar, we focus on:

The importance of Standard English and knowing when it is required

Presentation and pride in work

Structuring work and paragraphing

Punctuation

Improving expression

Empathy and sympathy

Understanding tone and implication

English

Theme, plot and foreshadowing

Creating and understanding atmosphere

Appreciating cultural, social and historical contexts

Respecting the points of view of others

Listening and conversational skills

We firmly believe that we have a responsibility to all our students to offer them an alternative

vision of their lives via the escapism of literature. We emphasise that the enjoyment and study

of books is a right open to all people, irrespective of background or circumstance.

All students that spend at least a year at The CE Academy will read a novel, sometimes to help

with GCSE exam preparation or sometimes at KS3 or even in Year 10, just for the experience.

This is something about which we remain staunchly proud.


At KS4, students at the CE Academy will, from this September, have the opportunity to study for

two English GCSES. AQA GCSE Language and AQA GCSE English Literature.

The literature to be studied is wide-ranging:

Blood Brothers by Willy Russell

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Poetry from the last three centuries, including works by Blake, Shelley, Tennyson, Hughes,

Wordsworth, Owen and Browning

For the English language, the students will study non-fiction from both the Nineteenth and

Twentieth centuries.

There is no longer a written coursework element to either English GCSE. Both subjects are

tested through terminal examinations (two for literature and one for language) in June.

Although Speaking and Listening remains, the mark awarded by staff no longer counts towards

the final GCSE, which we feel is a great shame.

English

Exam Entries and ResultsExam Entries and Results

We maintained the number of students who gained an A – C pass in English, which disappointed

us as we had hoped to improve this from last year. Although there is the factor that A –C

passes were lower nationally in English, we will not rest on our laurels.

As follows national trends, girls at The CE Academy out-performed boys, although the

percentage difference shrank this year.

The quality of coursework rose again. Following complimentary comments from both external

moderators, the marks went up of two percentage points in the literature and by just under two

in the imaginative writing. We are sad to be leaving coursework behind for good but can be

proud that we finished with our best ever average marks in both types.

Challenges Challenges

The challenges this year are the greatest that we have ever faced. A new GCSE, a new exam

board, new texts to study and an Ofsted year. This will not be a nine months for the faint

hearted but all the staff are totally committed to making it work. We fully understand that in

the new climate of Attainment 8 and the English Baccalaureate, the CE English department has

the opportunity to make a huge difference to our young people’s futures.

As teachers of English within CE we face many great challenges. Firstly, the old issue that

students bring to us: namely, that they have a dislike and even a mistrust of English from their

time in mainstream school. This could manifest itself as a fear of having their weaknesses

exposed, either through testing or reading aloud. It remains our policy never to ask students to

read aloud (they may ask us, of course!) and not to test in lessons. The changing face of Ofsted

and of mainstream education’s reaction to their inspection policies mean that as a service we

are to begin testing new referrals in reading. This is to be done away from the English lesson

and is designed to measure progress for staff, not pigeon-hole our young people.

Another fear of young people coming in to our lesson is that of the ‘blank page’. Independent

thought is not always a strength of our young people and we have invested in training,

literature and resources as a means of breaking this down.

CE

English

Developments Within The CurriculumDevelopments Within The Curriculum

As coursework disappears, so does the manner in which students were able to chart their

progress through the school year. This is something that we have taken very seriously and have

created a tracker system that all students and staff can use to show what progress they have

made and where any gaps might lie.

We have invested significantly in novels, study guides, text notes and other forms of media to

assist our young people as they journey through their GCSE and we have implemented ways to

use the literature as a means to prepare for the demands of the English language exam in order

to counter the enormous time pressure that the new GCSEs bring in an environment like ours.

Future PlansFuture Plans

Future plans will no doubt develop themselves as the new curriculum’s pitfalls are revealed to

us throughout the coming year. Certainly a greater emphasis on performance and theatre visits

is required. We are experimenting with new “self-marking” systems as advocated by teaching

and learning practitioners such as Doug Lemov and David Didau, which give students the

opportunity to focus on areas of their own work that they wish to improve. I also believe that

we do not make good enough use of the intranet or desktop publishing, as – especially at KS3 –

some of the creative writing is stunning and deserves to be shared.

We will closely monitor progress of all students throughout the year and make sure that we

adjust future plans to keep the maximum number of young people engaging in and succeeding

at English at all levels and year groups.

Mathematics


The mathematics curriculum group is committed to improving all young people’s understanding

and participation in the subject. We promote the importance of the subject to society and the

economic benefits to their individual futures.

The curriculum was delivered by eight members of staff including two subject specialists, four

multi discipline teachers and two trainee teachers.


We focus on teaching skills relevant to the age of the pupil whilst addressing the essential skills

that are missing from their education.

Key aims are:

To re-engage disaffected pupils.

Identify and address identified areas of need crucial to progress within the subject.

Maintain and extend existing knowledge to enable identified pupils to be re-integrated to

mainstream.

Promote a sense of value and enjoyment in the subject.

Identify pupils of higher attainment and encourage a desire to achieve at the highest level.

Prepare pupils for GCSE courses in year 10.

The scheme addresses the needs of pupils who may arrive in year 7 or later and stay with us for

a significant portion of their secondary education. It sets out clear objectives for each year

group and facilitates entry for the GCSE course in year 10 or early examination where deemed

appropriate on an individual basis. It also has the flexibility to include and engage pupils who

are dual registered for a fixed period of time.


We follow the OCR J567 Syllabus B GCSE course. This is a terminal exam only course available at

foundation and higher tiers. All young people study the subject in years 10 and 11 with the

expectation of being entered for accreditation by the end of year 11.

Entry in year 10 is still appropriate for a very small number of students. Any entries at this stage

will be made on an individual basis, according to these considerations:

Mathematics

The potential to achieve a minimum of a grade C that will provide the stimulus to study the

subject to a higher level.

Concerns that circumstances may place them in an increasingly vulnerable position outside of

education that will prevent engagement in year 11.

Pupils who need practical experience of the exam system to allow them to more effectively

assess their own ability and potential.

Exam EntriesExam Entries

In the academic year 2015–2016, 91% of all Year 11 students were entered, the highest of all

curriculum groups. Results showed a fall in quality of passes and performance measured

against English. There was an disappointing increase in the number of pupils not achieving a

pass.

10% of students entered achieved a grade A – C. A decrease of 2% on the previous year.

74% of pupils entered on the day of the exam passed (a decrease of 10%).

The distribution of pass marks for female pupils was better, however a higher percentage of

female pupils failed the exam.

Male pupils with FSM performed similarly to all males.

Female pupils with FSM had a better distribution of grades than all females and a higher level

of entry.

There was no significant difference in results between examination centres.

Fairlawn achieved a 21% pass rate at grade C.

The threshold for passing once again was raised from 41 marks to 44 marks, this contributed to

2 pupils failing that would have previously passed. This represents the fourth year in a row that

the pass mark has been raised for the weakest pupils.

ChallengesChallenges

Many pupils come from mainstream with significant issues in the subject that include:

Lack of confidence, self-esteem and resilience in the classroom.

Historically poor attendance or withdrawal from the subject in mainstream.

A deep dislike or mistrust of the subject engendered from mainstream experiences.

Mathematics

Additionally, many of our young people are:

In vulnerable circumstances and may have to prioritise personal issues over their learning and

education.

Practical necessities dictate that the majority of lessons are of mixed age and ability and are

subject to constant change.

Reluctant to engage as a consequence of parental attitudes.

This year will see pupils sitting 3 terminal exams (instead of 2) with the terminal grading of 1 to

9. Uncertainty over the difficulty level of the new exams and grade boundaries still exist.

It is very probable the changes will disadvantage many of our students by removing some

examinable content taught across both key stages. The increased emphasis on algebra content,

much of it brought down from the higher tier will represent a barrier to many of our pupils,

both in terms of ability to learn the content and in their perception of its relevance to them.

Additionally some practical topics that our students found useful have also been dropped.

Developments within the CurriculumDevelopments within the Curriculum

During this year, the following have been introduced or pursued across all campuses:

Continued promotion of pupil’s self-awareness and assessment of their progress.

Continued promotion of the importance of achieving a grade C (we believe this will be

equivalent to a level 5).

Continued use of online resources to support pupils within the classroom and at home with

parents.

Written revision guidance for pupils and parents was sent out this year, prior to the terminal

exams.

A set of simplified revision notes was developed by the curriculum group and sent to all

parents and pupils via post to ensure delivery.

Parents were encouraged to support the pupils with revision and preparation for & during

the exams.

Mathematics


Continue to promote participation in the terminal exams.

Increase the aspirations of students to achieve a minimum of a level 5.

Continue to promote the importance of the subject for 16–19 education and employment.

Integrate changes to the curriculum for the Key Stage 3 scheme of work by the end of 2017.

Effectively use online resources to support students across all key stages

Review the decision making process for entering pupils for the terminal and more effectively

identify pupils who are not ready.

Improve the effectiveness of interventions for pupils not making sufficient progress with

particular focus on LAC, EAL and KS3 transfers.

Identify pupils not making progress earlier and develop systems for evidencing this.

Review the use of a dedicated numeracy assessment to improve baseline information upon

admission.

Investigate alternative qualifications for pupils not achieving at GCSE level.

Complete the revision resources for the new syllabus.

Develop a bank of resources and guidance for non-specialist staff in the subject.

Support the development of non-specialist staff, trainees and NQT in the department.

Science

Introduction Introduction

The science curriculum group is committed to improving students’ understanding and

enjoyment of science. All young people study science at Key Stages 3 and 4 unless attendance

at college or other curriculum arrangements preclude them from doing so.

Science is taught only by specialist staff, who firmly believe in the importance of science within

the curriculum but also as an opportunity to improve pupils scientific literacy; develop enquiring

minds; and improve life skill through a topical and relevant themes.

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3 work is based on the Smart Science scheme from Smart Learning Ltd, together

with the Boardworks KS3 Science resource. The scheme follows the National Curriculum

programme of study and encouraged students to develop an understanding of the following

areas:

Scientific thinking

Applications and implications of science

The cultural context of science

Collaboration

Practical enquiry

The Scheme of Work allows for a variety of learning styles: experimentation; discussion and

research. We hope that our curriculum will encourage young people to question the world

around them and look for explanations of how thing work in real life settings. This is done by

providing opportunities to develop experimentation, discussion and personal research.


At Key Stage 4 young people follow the OCR Gateway Science B Specification. This is available

at both Foundation and Higher levels. Should students sit the examination in Year 10 they may

be offered the opportunity to take a second GCSE qualification (usually Additional Science) in

Year 11. The curriculum is broad and balanced and, at the same time, enables us to structure

its delivery to accommodate individuals’ interests and needs.

The controlled assessment comprises 25% of the final GCSE grade. The remaining 75% is derived

from two written exam papers.

This course will have its final exam in the Summer of 2017 and the following year there will be

significant changes to the course and to the exam with the introduction of the new GCSE 9-1

specification.

Exam Entries and Results Exam Entries and Results

2016 saw a rise in entries with 56 pupils entered for the exam. This was a higher percentage

than for the 2015 cohort.

In general there was a downward shift of pass grades, in line with this year’s GCSE results

across the country. The percentage of passes at grade C and D decreased in 2016 to 21.4%

compared with 33.9% of all entries in 2015.

Science

100% of all students entered obtained a C to G pass grade.

Boys gained 3 C grades whilst no girl achieved a grade C. However, when looking at the

numbers for grades C to D, boys and girls achieved 6 each.

Challenges Challenges

Many young people who join us have negative feelings about science as a subject. This can

often be because of the general belief that science is hard and the frequent exclusion from

science lessons due to their poor behaviour. In addition our young people have often

experienced long periods of interrupted education and join us at unpredictable times during

the school year. This means our teaching groups, whilst small, consist of pupils across years 10

and 11 at Key Stage 4, and years 7, 8 and 9 at Key Stage 3. Groups can also be subject to

frequent changes.

Developments within the Curriculum Developments within the Curriculum

The curriculum group continues to explore the use of online resources and developing practical

activities. We have purchased and adopted the Smart Science Scheme of Work for Key Stage 3

and are also using Key Stage 3 Boardworks as an interactive discussion tool. Both increase our

ability to differentiate and bring our lessons more alive.

The Key Stage 4 curriculum has major changes which commenced in September 2016 where

science will no longer be able to be examined as a single science from 2017. Only a double

qualification will be available. This will make teaching science at GCSE in an already tight

timetable difficult. The curriculum group continues to investigate alternative qualifications. We

are looking towards adopting a single GCSE in Biology but with some Chemistry and Physics

taught alongside in order to ensure a more broad coverage.

Future Plans Future Plans

The science curriculum group will be teaching themed weeks in order to give students a broad

and balanced curriculum throughout the year. This will happen in both key stages.

It is hoped in Key Stage 4 by mixing up the contents required for both exam papers throughout

the year and focusing on key concepts exam performance will improve.

RAG (“Red Amber Green”) sheets will continue to be developed to track pupil progress and

promote self-assessment.

We are also looking at ways that other curriculum areas can support science. For example, how

cooking, maths or design technology can be used to cover parts of the science curriculum.

2017 will be the final year of OCR GCSE Core Science B and we are in the process of making

changes to support the new 9-1 GCSE qualification. With the staffing levels available and time

that is available on the timetable a combined GCSE may not be practicable so we are looking at

possible GCSE 9-1 Biology syllabus to adopt and also how to ensure broad coverage of

Chemistry and Physics.

Art and Design


The art and design and textiles curriculum group is committed to improving young peoples’

understanding, knowledge and skills. The group consists of 10 dedicated and hardworking staff

who have a diverse range of specialisms including Photography, jewellery making, textiles, print

making, 3D design, painting and drawing and ceramics. All young people have the opportunity

to study art and design at Key Stage 3 and 4 across all campuses unless attending college or

other curriculum opportunities. We see art as an important means to helping young people gain

confidence, self–esteem and understanding that the process of creating art can be beneficial in

improving their attitude towards learning. We are committed to improving students’

enjoyment of art as well as encouraging student centred independent learning. We encourage

our young people to explore and develop their own ideas, in turn, building their self confidence

and enabling them to pursue their own interests.


At Key Stage 3 young people follow schemes of work linked to the national curriculum for art

and design. A two year programme enables young people to develop skills and understanding.

The programme allows them to develop vocabulary and techniques and to be able to give a

considered evaluation of their own and others work.

Each year there are six project titles which are linked to artists, craftspeople or designers that

young people are encouraged to investigate. The schemes of work allows for a variety of

learning styles and includes opportunities for verbal discussion, written evaluation as well as the

development of hands on practical skills.


At Key Stage 4 young people follow a programme of study following OCR specifications. The

theme ‘Environment’ offers all the young people an extremely broad range of subject matter to

investigate, research and record. This contributes to them producing coursework which is

engaging, vibrant and refined. The course consists of a coursework portfolio with a final

outcome and an externally set exam which is currently 10 hours in duration. Most young

people at Key Stage 4 work towards taking Art and Design GCSE. The Fairlawn campus offered

Textiles as an additional GCSE subject and Photography GCSE was offered to a limited number

of students at Cromwell Campus.

Art and Design

Fermyn Woods Contemporary Arts WorkshopFermyn Woods Contemporary Arts Workshop

Key Stage 3 young people have had the opportunity to attend the arts workshop again this year.

Fermyn Woods’ continue to provide us with a diverse group of artists. The young people have

worked to improve their skills in drawing, modelling and carving and several have obtained Arts

Awards at a variety of levels. Work produced by CE Academy pupils at Fermyn Woods was

exhibited at the Alfred East Gallery in Kettering during the summer term. Pupils achieved

awards and even sold their work. Art staff attended two successful skills sharing workshops at

Fermyn Woods in June.


This year 61 young people were entered for OCR GCSE Art and Design and this has increased

from last year where 47 young people were entered Three young people were entered for OCR

GCSE Textiles. Five young people were entered for GCSE Photography.

Achievements:Achievements:

Art and Design

98% pass rate

18% achieved A* - C. An increase from last year

36% achieved A* - D

One young person achieved an A grade

Textiles

100% pass rate

Photography

100% pass rate

80% achieved A*- C, one young person achieved a B grade

The achievement of boy and girls was more evenly matched this year in the A* - C band.

Art and Design


Many young people attend art lessons feeling negative and lacking in confidence generally

because of previous experience in their former school. Often they would be excluded from art

lessons because of behaviour issues and a feeling that they don’t have the necessary skills to do

art. In Key Stage 4 young people joining at different stages in the academic year makes it

difficult to encourage interest and enthusiasm for art. Teachers work hard to find a level that

young people feel comfortable and confident with. Young people have achieved lower grades

on their exam in comparison with their coursework portfolio.

Developments within the curriculumDevelopments within the curriculum

It has been identified that our young people lack enthusiasm for observational work. The art

team have explored ways to address this which should reflect positively in next years results.

Staff are now using a progress tracker to identify any concerns with pupil progress. These will be

discussed at every campus and art curriculum meeting.

More time will be given for exam preparation to address the shortfall in exam attainment with

all staff starting the exam preparation directly after Christmas.

A booklet containing annotation guides and student help sheets has been produced and

distributed for use in all campuses.

Key Stage 3 will continue to work to improve young people’s skills, ideas and confidence. The

Fermyn Woods Arts Workshop will continue to support the young people’s learning in an

exciting and positive way. Staff have been sharing their skills , running workshops and this will

continue throughout the next year. Some members of staff attended workshops at Fermyn

Woods and the skills they have already been trialled with young people.

Future plansFuture plans

The new specification is now in place and will be taught to Year 10 students. Staff will receive

training to ensure marking is in line with the new specification and an internal moderation will

take place to ensure marking is consistent.

We intend to explore the possibility of changing course to Fine Art as it requires only one

discipline rather than two which we feel will enable us to enter even more students, as many

arrive at our school with little time to complete the requirements of the course.

As a curriculum group we intend to develop our own practice by sharing skills and running

workshops for the group in our curriculum meetings. We also wish to continue the staff

workshops at Fermyn Wood.

After the success of the photography course at Cromwell Campus it has been expanded to give

more young people the opportunity to gain a GCSE and this is to be supported by Art staff.

It is hoped this year that all young people will have the opportunity to visit museums and

galleries. After the successful visit to Northampton University it is intended that this will be

expanded to allow more students to benefit in the future.

Art staff will focus on displays to ensure they are relevant and contain examples of student

work which corresponds to the assessment objectives. Displays should be used as a tool to

enhance learning and provide an inspiring environment for young people.

Expressive Arts


GCSE Expressive Arts is now firmly embedded in The CE Academy curriculum at Key Stage 4 and

is successfully delivered by a variety of staff with different subject specialisms.

The beauty of this subject is that it extends pupils’ understanding of different art forms and

encourages them to explore relationships between each of them, whilst allowing pupils to

develop their creative and imaginative skills.

It encourages independent learning and decision making and introduces pupils to a wide range

of media. A variety of programs, software and techniques allow students of all abilities to access

this GCSE at appropriate levels whilst providing suitable challenge. At CE it is particularly

successful as it enables pupils to work to their strengths and allows opportunities for them to

develop their own skills and interests. It is also a great subject to introduce different cultures

and arts practitioners perhaps unfamiliar to pupils.


At Key Stage 4 pupils follow the OCR GCSE Expressive Arts specification. This is made up of three

mandatory units:

working in response to the study of artworks by practitioners;

working in response to a stimulus;

working in response to a commission in a community context.

The first two units are controlled assessments and comprise 60% of the final grade. The final

unit is a practical exam. Throughout the specification pupils must explore and apply the work of

practitioners and develop final realisations for each unit in at least three art forms. They can

choose from the following:

Art and Design

Music

Drama

Dance

Music


It has been another good year for expressive arts at CE. The status for expressive arts at CE

remains high with 49 entries for the subject.

We had a 100% pass rate with all 49 pupils entered achieving a GCSE Expressive Arts with 33%

gaining A-C grades. Again this is a huge achievement; slightly down from last year but still a

marked improvement from previous years.

Other specific achievements included:

two pupils achieved a grade A and 3 pupils achieved a grade B;

a year 10 pupil entered this year achieved a grade B;

expressive arts out performed art and design with a 15% higher A-C achievement.

We achieved our objective to improve boys’ outcomes. This year an equal amount of boys and

girls (5 of each) achieved an A-C grade.


Many young people join us without having any experience of expressive arts and what it means

so it is essential that the subject is introduced to them in an exciting and imaginative way. Many

pupils wrongly assume if they do not like art as a subject that this will also apply to expressive

arts. We feel it is important that we make a clear distinction. Where possible we endeavour to

teach expressive arts in a classroom other than the art room.

GCSE candidates at mainstream school often perform their exam pieces for the external

moderator when demonstrating drama as an art form. At the Academy we have used both film

and still image successfully as a way of representing drama, as many of our young people do not

have the confidence to perform to an audience. The spread of sites would also cause logistical

difficulties.


The use of stop-motion animation in pupils’ work was again strengthened by workshops held in

campuses by Barry Skillen from the Manchester based company ‘Animation Nation’.

The CE Academy now has its very own YouTube channel, enabling a wider audience to access

films made by CE pupils, following the success of the film produced by pupils at the Fairlawn

Campus, “A Sparkle Waiting to Itch”. We continue to receive positive feedback for the film

which played an integral part in achieving the gold Artsmark.

“Thank you for forwarding this link…….powerful stuff….and very beautiful too!”

Artsmark Team, The Mighty Creatives Jan 2016

We have been asked by the Artsmark team to share good practise and they are keen to

highlight the work at The CE Academy and use the Academy as a case study.

The CE Academy has a history of collaborating with a variety of different art practitioners;

theatre groups, visual artists and dancers. Again pupils experienced live theatre by going to see

‘A Perfect Murder’ at the Derngate in Northampton and had the opportunity to see a Christmas

pantomime.

Expressive Arts

Expressive Arts

This year we have focused on increasing opportunities for pupils at CE to experience music as an

art form and have collaborated with Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust. Two

pupils at the Fairlawn Campus have been participating in weekly vocal coaching sessions and

another two pupils have been learning how to play the guitar. One girl wrote, performed and

recorded her own song as part of her expressive arts coursework and another has developed

her skills enough to teach her father how to play the guitar. Pupils in several campuses had the

opportunity to experience a live rock/pop band, New Beats and then participate in a music

workshop delivered by the musicians. Different genres of music were explored; pupils were

encouraged to try the different instruments and experiment with song writing. Each group

produced and took part in recording a song track which contributed to their expressive arts

course.

Another positive collaboration between Key Stage 3 pupils visiting Fermyn Woods and DJ and

music producer Daniel ‘Hussla D’ Johnson, resulted in music being produced and included on an

album showcasing young talent.

The expressive arts team have worked hard to produce user guides for the use of different

software packages: I Can Animate, Crazy Talk, Serif, Audacity and Photoshop. This has been a

great help for both staff and young people in developing their work further and improving their

skills.

The theme of India was the focus of Key Stage 4 cross curricular 2016 with the return of

expressive arts being the driving force. Pupils experienced a range of workshops looking at

different Indian art forms over the two days.


Unfortunately the future of the arts is bleak; 2016/17 is the last year GCSE Expressive Arts will

be available. Due to new GCSE qualification requirements a combined Expressive Arts GCSE will

be discontinued and will not be redeveloped as Ofqual believe it to be too similar to reformed

qualifications in other arts subjects.

This is not only sad for CE but potentially damaging for the creative industry and for society as a

whole. A narrow focus on science, technology and maths will not deliver the innovation and

creative thinking society needs. The creative industries contribute over £77 billion a year to the

UK’s economy and £15.5 billion of exports. The creative economy accounts for over 2.5 million

jobs. The exclusion of art, music, drama and other expressive subjects is limiting and short

sighted and will discourage young peoples’ ambitions and undermine the UK’s creative

industries. Although the arts are not the only vehicle for ‘creativity’, they offer particular ways

of encouraging creative thinking in children and young people which are relevant to every

profession, in particular those in STEM industries and the creative industries.

In the UK the Cultural Learning Alliance has used large scale cohort studies to demonstrate that:

learning through arts and culture improves attainment in all subjects;

participation in structured arts activities increases cognitive abilities;

students from low income families who take part in arts activities at school are three

times more likely to get a degree;

employability of students who study arts subjects is higher and they are more likely to

stay in employment;

students who engage in the arts at school are twice as likely to volunteer and 20% more

likely to vote as adults.

As this is the last year GCSE Expressive Arts will be available at The CE Academy, we are aiming

for a record number of entries. We intend to enter all year 10 pupils who are currently studying

the subject as well as current year 11s.

We are currently exploring alternatives to expressive arts and do not wish to limit the creative

opportunities for the young people at CE. We feel confident that we can replicate the success of

expressive arts with hard work, enthusiasm and passion.

Expressive Arts

Design Technology


The Design and Technology (DT) curriculum group is committed to improving our students’

understanding of good quality design and of the role that technology plays in everyday life. DT

is timetabled at both Key Stage 4 (Cromwell, Fairlawn and London Road Campus sites) and

Key Stage 3 (Chiltern, Spring Gardens and William Knibb Campus sites). DT is taught by four

members of staff. We see the study of DT as not just the nurturing of practical ability, but as a

subject which equips students with skills that employers value. Of equal importance is the way

in which the subject promotes independent research, evaluation and risk taking, all of which will

be useful throughout the young peoples’ lives.


At Key Stage 3, the curriculum allows young people to design and construct a range of products

that incorporate processes and materials to equip students with the knowledge and skills they

will need for their transition to the GCSE syllabus in Key Stage 4.

The scheme of work provides an opportunity for individual enquiry and scope for students to

communicate their design ideas using traditional graphical media and also through the

utilisation of CAD and CAM technologies. Modern materials are explored and the concept of

quality is investigated through the honing of existing skills and the development of fresh ideas

and competencies.

The scheme of work allows for a variety of learning styles: experimentation, discussion and

research.


At Key Stage 4 young people follow the WJEC Design and Technology Resistant Materials full

course specification. If students sit the examination in year 10 they may be offered the

opportunity to re-take the qualification the following year, depending on the previous GCSE

grade attained. The curriculum is broad and balanced and, at the same time, it enables us to

structure its delivery to accommodate individual interests and needs.

The WJEC Design and Technology, full- course qualification is comprised of one 30 hour

controlled assessment module that carries 60% of the final marks. The remaining 40% of the

marks for the final grade are contained in a 2 hour final written examination paper.

Students learn about sustainable design, research methods, work of designers selected by the

WJEC for study, manufacturing processes, tools and their uses, construction methods and

methods of fixing.


This is the second year that our students have been entered for this WJEC qualification. There

has been a considerable increase in the number of students that have taken the DT exam.

The quality of student entries has continued to improve due to measures implemented in the

DT curriculum development plan; staff have introduced writing frames into the Controlled

Assessment workbook, which have led to higher attainment.


Many young people who join us have negative feelings about DT as a subject. This can be the

result of the increased opportunity for off task behaviour that the subject provided when they

were in mainstream education. Many of our young people report that they were excluded from

DT lessons in their mainstream school. In addition, our young people have often experienced

long periods of interrupted education and join us at unpredictable times during the school year.

Teaching groups, whilst small, consist of pupils across years 10 and 11 at Key Stage 4 and years

7, 8 and 9 at Key Stage 3 and can be subject to frequent changes.


The curriculum group continues to strive to improve the quality of practical projects by the

introduction of project workbooks, which feature opportunities for students to develop their

creativity, subject knowledge and knowledge of making processes. Student technical

vocabularies and exam subject knowledge have been a concern and work has been actioned to

incorporate key words into lessons and to improve workshop displays, by tailoring content to

student need. Student self and peer evaluation of work and ideas has been built into all project

workbooks, with regular marking providing direct tutor feedback through following CE Academy

policy. Additional training has taken place to enable staff to effectively integrate CAD CAM and

3D modelling into lessons and to improve the quality of student products.


Changes made to the National Curriculum Design and Technology programme of study have

prompted the curriculum group to revise the Key Stage 3 scheme of work to incorporate

programmable digital electronics and opportunities for student led design and making activities.

This year’s student cohort will continue to access this revised Key Stage 3 curriculum.

The curriculum group believes that planned changes to the 2018 WJEC GCSE examination may

disadvantage our student cohort; the group are currently looking at alternative courses to

ensure that improvements in student engagement and attainment can be sustained.

Design Technology

Child Development


Child Development is taught at both of the school age mother campus sites, as well as our

mixed Key Stage 4 campus in Corby. Where possible students from other campus sites who

express a keen interest in Child Development have also been offered the opportunity to study

and work towards a GCSE in this subject.

Child Development is a fundamental subject for our students in preparing them for the

expectations and changes that occur during pregnancy and parenthood.

Students follow the OCR GCSE Home Economics: Child Development. The subject focuses on the

growth and development of children from conception to the age of five. Areas covered include:

Family and parenting

Preparation for pregnancy and birth

Physical development

Nutrition and health

Intellectual, social and emotional development

Community support

The OCR child development course for GCSE consists of 4 controlled assessments and a final

written exam.

The present scheme of work allows for students to learn using a variety of learning styles. They

are also required to complete some of the work outside of school in the form of a child study

where 6 child observations are required.

Due to smaller group number it is possible for individuals to choose their own short task titles

from a list provided by OCR. This enables students to choose topics and learning styles that they

have an interest in and is most suited to their style of learning offering diversity of learning

methods to our learners in order for them to best achieve.

Unit BO11: Three short tasks Unit BO11: Three short tasks

Candidates are required to submit 2 practical and 1 investigative short tasks chosen from a list

of tasks provided by OCR. Each of the 3 tasks should focus on different practical skills and

knowledge. 60 marks (20 marks per task)/30 % of the total GCSE marks. This unit is internally

assessed and externally moderated. These tasks will assess the following skills: planning,

practical work, evaluation, investigation.

Unit BO12: Child study task Unit BO12: Child study task

Candidates submit one individual task chosen from a list of themes provided by OCR. 60 marks/

30% of the total GCSE marks. This unit is internally assessed and externally moderated. This task

will assess the following skills: research, selecting and justifying choices, planning, practical

work, evaluation.

Exam entries and resultsExam entries and results

All pupils who were entered for the examination achieved a pass grade, with two pupils

achieving ‘B’ grades.


Due to the substantial nature of the controlled assessments, young people who are referred to

The CE Academy in year 11 have a significant amount of work to complete in a short period of

time.


Opportunities for pupils to engage in self-assessment have improved pupils’ self-evaluation

skills.

Flexibility in timetabling those from other campuses has widened opportunities for some

pupils.


Focus on differentiating teaching methods/tasks and controlled assessment tasks with the aim

to further increase GCSE entries.

PACC - Key Stage 4


PACC is an acronym, standing for PSHE, Activities and Careers and Citizenship. We consider it a

vital opportunity to engage pupils in these aspects of their education. To this end an entire

Wednesday morning is dedicated to its delivery across all centres. All staff have a role in its

delivery, preparation and planning in order to promote its importance and effective delivery.

This enables a wide range of personal experiences to be incorporated into lessons.


At Key Stage 4, we seek to incorporate topics designed to meet the specific needs of our pupils.

Within the time allocated, staff try to balance a range of topics that we feel all students should

be made aware of with current affairs and issues that are dominating our campuses or young

people’s lives. The stated aim of these sessions is to prepare our young people for life beyond

school in a manner that cannot be achieved in a lesson that has coursework/GCSE objectives.

However the delivery of many of these topics is supported and reinforced on an informal basis

throughout the school day. Many opportunities arise within lessons and unstructured times to

continue discussions generated earlier and incorporate them into a wider appreciation of their

education.

We have identified a number of topics that are considered to be of paramount importance to

the well-being and development of the young people. A record of participation in these topics is

maintained to enable staff to ensure that they are addressed at another time if the young

person has missed them within the PACC timetable.


Many pupils find the subject content challenging for a variety of reasons. These can include a

reluctance to engage in topics that are outside of their personal experience and a reluctance to

admit the relevance of topics to their personal lives and aspirations. A personal background that

is already in conflict with societies accepted conventions and responsibilities. For all these

reasons, it is vital to develop their sense of membership of a wider community, not just on a

local level, but also on a national and global level. Our pupils need the opportunity to develop

their awareness of such issues to enable them to make the most of the opportunities and

challenges facing them in a rapidly changing world.


We will continue to develop an electronic databank of resources that is shared between

campuses. This is intended to be a comprehensive library of resources that will enable staff to

effectively deliver topics, confident that many multimedia resources will be available. Alongside

this development will be a review of existing topics and lesson plans with consideration to their

current relevance.

Last year the Cromwell PACC group gave the students time to participate in the planning of the

PACC curriculum and we were very pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Areas that the

students requested included topics such using a bank; filling in forms; applying for passports

and licences as well as nutrition. This policy is now being used at Fairlawn, amongst other

campuses.

We have developed sessions to address the Government’s strategy of ‘British Values’ and

staying safe on-line.

The Science curriculum group is also developing resources focussed on the use of drugs and

alcohol on the human body that support both our aims in PACC and the Science GCSE.

A review and evaluation of resources gathered for KS3 will also be carried out with the intention

of continued development by all staff involved its delivery.


PACC remains an essential component of the pupil’s wider education. Attendance and pupils

oral feedback suggests that they benefit from the more informal and wide ranging approach to

the topics.

The hard-drive will continue to evolve with the involvement of all staff. It will need to meet ever

more specific and demanding needs, reflecting the rapidly changing society in which we live.

A dedicated member of staff has been appointed to oversee the delivery of Sex Education. They

will train staff as well as support in its delivery. This will enable a more in-depth and consistent

approach to such an important area of education.

There have been huge changes in society and education in recent years. With the cutting away

of the arts in schools and other areas that teach students to express themselves appropriately,

such as Speaking and Listening in English, being marginalised in favour of the relentless march

of literacy and numeracy, in combination with Brexit, radicalisation and the digitalisation of

society in an uncertain future, we believe that PACC has never been more important to the

young people at The CE Academy.

PACC - Key Stage 4

PACC - Key Stage 3


PACC is a valued and important component of The CE Academy curriculum designed to reflect

and enhance the Academy’s ethos which includes: equal rights for all, encouraging self respect,

everybody has the right to fail and that all pupils have the right to be involved in decisions that

affect them.

PACC at Key Stage 3 is split into smaller, targeted sessions, focusing on working together as a

group or in a community. At its heart is a long process of socialisation which we feel strongly is

the basis of the education we are providing for our young people.

A whole morning is dedicated to PACC and all staff are involved in delivering the subject using a

variety of different activities and teaching styles.

The scheme of work accommodates for a variety of learning styles and the different attitudes

and values that are held by the young people. The curriculum enables and encourages the

development of practical and personal skills and provides opportunities for communication

through a variety of different medium including written work, pictures, drama and discussion.

AimsAims

PACC as a subject incorporates PHSE, Careers and Citizenship.

PHSE:

enables young people to develop confidence, responsibility and

make the most of their abilities and opportunities;

helps young people to develop a healthy safer lifestyle and promote positive

relationships, respecting the differences between people.

Careers:

promotes self development - understanding themselves including influences;

encourages career exploration both in learning and work and career

management;

assists in making and adjusting plans and managing change and transition.

Citizenship:

provides knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens;

develops skills of enquiry, communication and participation;

encourages responsible action towards others in the community.

Some of the key topics covered include:


There are no formal exams or qualifications gained in PACC. However, progress is monitored by

feedback and the improved skills and attitudes displayed by the young people.


Many young people who join us have had negative experiences and may come from

backgrounds where there are antisocial values and where positive attitudes towards others are

not necessarily reinforced. Some of the topics can be of a sensitive nature and young people

are given the option to discreetly remove themselves if they feel uncomfortable in the sessions.


The curriculum group continues to develop its use of resources and build relationships with

external agencies to support students and provide talks in house and visits off site. Each centre

has a nominated local charity and young people are given the opportunity to raise money and

awareness for both these and the nominated CE Academy Charity each year.


The Key Stage PACC scheme of work is constantly under review to reflect changes in society and

trends of the young people.

PACC - Key Stage 3

Human rights

Crime and the law

Challenging racism and

discrimination

Legal rights and the law

Economy

Business and enterprise

Rights and responsibilities

Media and the news

Europe

Global issues

Charity

Animal welfare

Personal Hygiene

First Aid

Disabilities

Smoking and drugs

Sex and relationships

Diversity and migration

Bullying

Peer pressure

Recycling and the environment

History


The history curriculum group is committed to improving students’ understanding and

enjoyment of history. Many young people study history at Key Stages 3 and 4 across The CE

Academy unless attendance at college or other curriculum arrangements preclude them from

doing so. It is taught by three members of staff. We see the study of history as essential for our

students’ development in terms of study skills and awareness of the wider world. In addition we

feel it is a gateway to many career opportunities.


At Key Stage 3 young people follow the SHP Development of Britain course which allows

students to develop an understanding of the following key areas:

Skills in historical enquiry

Applications and implications of history

Cultural understanding

Evaluative skills

The curriculum enables the development of practical enquiry skills, an understanding of

evidence and opportunities for communication through both written work, ICT based work and

discussion. The study of history in real life settings (locally, nationally and globally) is also

catered for. We hope the study of history will encourage young people to question their world

and find explanations.

The scheme of work allows for a variety of learning styles; visual, intrapersonal, social, aural,

verbal, kinaesthetic and logical.


At Key Stage 4 young people follow the AQA History B Short course specification. The

curriculum is broad and balanced and, at the same time, it enables us to structure its delivery

to accommodate individual interests and needs.

The controlled assessment comprises 50% of the final grade. In addition there is an exam paper

which makes up the other marks.


For many years our entries for History GCSE have compared favourably with other

humanities subjects. 2016 was our second year delivering the AQA specification. Although the

number of entries did not increase on the previous year 100% of the students entered were

successful in getting the GCSE. We plan to build on this moving forward and raise the grades

achieved.

Of the 17 students entered 10 sat their exam at the Forest Gate campus and 7 sat their exam at

the Cromwell Campus.


Many young people who join us have negative feelings about history as a subject. It is often one

of, if not the first subject, to be removed from their timetables during the build-up to their

being permanently excluded. This can often be because of the challenging nature of the subject

and the literacy content involved. This is something that is being addressed directly in the

department’s lesson planning and differentiation and indirectly by The CE Academy’s literacy

strategy and work with Ruth Miskin and Reading Wise programmes at Key Stage 3.

In addition our young people have often experienced long periods of interrupted education and

join us at unpredictable times during the school year. This means our teaching groups, whilst

small, consist of pupils across years 10 and 11 at Key Stage 4 and years 7, 8 and 9 at Key Stage 3

and can be subject to frequent changes.

Developments in the curriculum Developments in the curriculum

To aid KS3 to KS4 progression students will be introduced to the themes of Cold War within the

KS3 curriculum. This will allow for a greater understanding of Capitalism and Communism when

they begin to study the Cold War period at Key Stage 4. Students at Key Stage 3 will also be

given a background to WW1 and 2 along with skills required to evaluate sources.

Having taught the KS4 specification for one year and assessed it accessibility to our students the

decision has been made to teach Topic 3: Hitler’s Foreign Policy and the Origins of the Second

World War in place of Topic 5: Crises of the Cold War and Détente 1960–1980. As a curriculum

group we feel that this will build on any prior knowledge and understanding the students may

have and consequently will aid their ability to access the new information we will be providing

them with.

The curriculum group continues to access and develop its use of online resources, media and

ICT based resources. The BBC History Timeline as an ICT tool is a central theme to our

programme of study at Key Stage 3. The roles of software packages such as Crazy Talk, Serif

Movie, Photoshop and the MS Office suite are as consistent as they are essential.


As we have changed specification the history curriculum group has identified the tasks needed

to be undertaken to fully prepare students for this and working groups are looking at different

aspects of this.

Tasks for these groups include:

Continuing to adapt our delivery of the new controlled assessment aspect of the course to ensure we meet the needs of our young people.

Adapting our Cold War programme of study to allow for the absence of source evaluation in favour of content driven materials.

There is also a Key Stage3 working group to review the curriculum for years 7 to 9.

History

Geography


Geography is delivered within The CE Academy at Key Stage 3 and 4. Last year it was delivered

in two of the Key Stage 4 campuses and at William Knibb at Key Stage 3.

Geography at both Key Stage 3 and 4 is linked to other curriculum areas such as English and

science.


At Key Stage 3, geography was taught at William Knibb. The subject aims to develop the

students’ understanding of their local area and how this interlinks nationally, with the rest of

the European Union and the rest of the world. The programme of study includes physical and

human aspects which takes account of current issues such as flooding, migration, employment,

industry and sustainability. They study indicators of development.


At Key Stage 4, geography was delivered in Fairlawn and Oaklands. The students followed the

OCR short course. The course is assessed by a final examination which makes up 50% of the

final grade. The remaining 50% is teacher assessed through one enquiry which is fieldwork

based.


In 2016 eleven students were entered for the GCSE at Foundation Level. Students performed

significantly better in the coursework component than in the written exam. All students

entered achieved a grade at GCSE.


Many of the young people who sat the GCSE had no previous experience of geography so were

studying the subject for the first time. Geographical knowledge and understanding of subject

specific vocabulary are consequently limited. The level of knowledge required for the final

exam was a clear challenge to the students; this was reflected in the difference between their

performance in the controlled assessment compared to the exam.


This is the final year of examination for the current syllabus; from September 2017 only a full

course GCSE will be available.


At The CE Academy we aim to improve the literacy skills of young people . All young people

attending our Key Stage 3 campuses have 30 minutes targeted literacy support every day.

All Key Stage 3 staff teach literacy and have received training in delivering the literacy

curriculum both in-house and by external providers. Some of the Key Stage 4 staff have also

been trained and are able to offer targeted support to those whose poor literacy skills are

having a detrimental affect on their learning in other lessons. We hope that by improving

literacy skills we will remove a barrier to learning in all subjects and develop or rekindle the

desire for young people to read for pleasure.

Key stage 3Key stage 3

The daily 30 minute literacy lessons are very much embedded into the ethos of the Key Stage 3

campus sites. We are currently using three different programmes (Fresh start, Reading Wise

and First News) and each young person is timetabled into groups to suit both their literacy level

and preferred learning styles.

Ruth Miskin Fresh Start:Ruth Miskin Fresh Start:

Is a highly structured scheme where students work through up to 35 modules with each one

providing a variety of different activities including:

Understanding and identifying the different phonemes (sounds) in words and the Graphemes(letters) used to represent them.

Reading and spelling words using a given sound.

Sentence creation and improving sentence structure.

Finding errors and editing the work of themselves and others.

Answering questions about text both verbally and in writing

Guided writing tasks.

The highly structured approach gives opportunity for success at all levels.

We have seen significant improvements in the reading ages of most young people following this

programme. However, due to the highly structured and prescriptive nature, we have found that

not all young people are actively engaging.

Reading Wise:Reading Wise:

In October 2015 we subscribed to the ‘reading wise’ online resource. This is a programme that

is designed for young people to work through independently using a computer and headphones

with staff supervision and support. This is a phonic based programme that uses a variety of

tasks that suit different learning styles to support reading and identifying the sounds in words.

This is a progressive programme that enables the students to learn at a pace that suits them.

Literacy

Literacy

When competent enough with the phonics of reading the young people then move on to the

comprehension exercises which also become progressively harder at the student’s own pace.

All Key Stage 3 staff and English teachers have received training in this programme and can

track the student’s engagement and progress whilst they are working using the teacher login.

First News:First News:

For those who no longer require or struggle to engage with the highly structured schemes of

Ruth Miskin or Reading wise we have also invested in the use of ‘First News’ resources. These

provide a variety of comprehension activities based on the articles in the weekly newspaper

that aim to improve literacy skills and link to current news.


There are no formal examinations in Literacy, however we have seen significant improvement in

the reading ages of the Key Stage 3 pupils and hope that by focusing on literacy skills we will see

a significant improvement in exam results across the board.


Many of the young people who attend The CE Academy have experienced periods of

interrupted education and may have not developed basic literacy skills or have an underlying

reading difficulty, which has not been detected, as hidden by poor behaviour in school. In

addition most of our young people have limited access to books and other written materials

out of school and place little value on reading for pleasure.

Developments within the curriculum and future plansDevelopments within the curriculum and future plans

The CE Academy continues to develop its use of different resources and staff training to

improve Literacy across the Key Stage 3 Campuses and this is merging into Key Stage 4 with

identified pupils receiving support.

We are continually reviewing the materials used in the literacy lessons and all staff expected to

teach Literacy receive regular training and support to deliver the programmes offered.


At CE Academy we strive to continue to offer a range of external and internal vocational

provisions that we hope will inspire our students to gain the confidence to work towards

setting and achieving their own personal goals. The purpose is to present our students with

the opportunity to experience new or challenging activities with the goal of increasing their

confidence and belief in myself and their capabilities. It also provides some of our students

the opportunity to gain a qualification in a practical area, for example motor vehicle.

One of our objectives is to offer a wide range of provisions that will engage our students and

diminish the negative attitudes and perceptions that some students hold of education. This

may then be taken forward into other subject areas with their individual learning.

Between September 2015 and July 2016, in addition to GCSE’s, The CE Academy continued to

offer vocational courses to our Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 young people using the following

external provisions within Northamptonshire as listed below:

Vocational Provision

Northampton College

Motor vehicle—repair and re-finishing

Centurion Training

Motor Vehicle

Future Starts

Fishing

Personal Development

Employability skills

Photography

Youth Works

Bike Maintenance

Music Technology

Groundwork – The Green Patch

Gardening and Horticulture


Adventureways

Personal Development – Outdoor Activities

Fermyn Woods

Art Workshops

Seeds of Change

Equine

Land Based Studies


Employability skills

Vocational Provision

The provisions that we offer vary from main stream colleges to organisations that are run

privately. The courses offer a range of levels of qualifications including personal development

qualifications and Entry Level starting at Entry Level 3 ( this is available for Key Stage 3 students)

to Entry Level 2 (Key Stage 4 students). Some of the courses do not offer the opportunity to

achieve a qualification but provide the opportunity to deliver valuable life skill experiences to

our students.

At The CE Academy we also offered a variety of courses that are delivered in-house at our

Cromwell Campus in Northampton and Spring Gardens Campus in Wellingborough. These

include Hair and Beauty, Catering, Music Technology, Design Technology and Photography.

The opportunity to work towards a qualification in these subjects is available at either Entry

Level 3 or Level 1.


All Key Stage 3 timetables include academic study in one of our campus buildings and

enrichment activities at either external provisions or in house workshops. These include:

The Key Stage 3 courses were felt to be ideal for this age group and resulted in good attainment

and achievement. The young people who were capable and willing were given the opportunity

to gain Entry Level 3/Level 1 units of qualifications. This year 1 year 8 and 2 year 9s have

achieved vocational certificates.


At Key Stage 4 we offer Level 1 led qualifications which enable our young people to achieve

greater success. We are exploring the possibility of offering Level 2 courses on appropriate

courses where pupils are capable of working at a higher level.

In 2016 a large proportion of our young people achieved at least one vocational qualification.

In year 10, 23 young people completed one or more courses and in Year 11, 52 young people

completed one or more courses. The majority of year 10 will continue with their courses into

year 11 and work towards achieving their qualification.


Achievement for Key Stage 4 has continued to improve this year with the majority of our young

people who attend for a full year achieving Level 1 Awards and Certificates in Equine and/or

Land Based Studies, Fishing, Motor Vehicle, Construction, Hairdressing , catering. For those

Design Technology

Hairdressing

Music Technology

Motor Vehicle

Photography

Personal Development – Outdoor Activities

Personal Development – Equine/Land Based

Gardening and Horticulture

Bike Maintenance and Bikeability Training

Fermyn Woods arts Project

Vocational Provision Page 47 Vocational Provision

who did not manage to achieve a full Award or Certificate, units at Level 1 could be achieved.

Key Stage 3 achievement also improved with the majority achieving some units at Entry Level 3

or Level 1 and also AQA units.


This year transport has continued, to some extent, to be a challenge. However, we have found

that the majority of students are prepared to undertake the journey, often catching one or two

buses in order to attend the vocational provisions. Where it is felt appropriate taxis have been

put in pace to over come this barrier.

One of the most significant barriers to our young peoples’ learning whilst working towards a

Level 1 and/or Level 2 qualification can be low levels of literacy. Due to this the majority of

courses we offered were unit led which allowed our young people to achieve part of a

qualification where the full award was not achievable. Additionally, most of our young people

join us throughout the school year - this too can be a barrier to them achieving a full

Level 1 or 2 Award or Certificate.


We continue to keep up to date with the changes in the vocational areas and offer qualifications

that have a natural progression in a given subject area and are relevant to employers. We have

also increased our in-house workshops throughout the county and now offer workshops in

Northampton and Wellingborough. We work on the premise that any qualifications gained

should be useful to our young people in the real world. For this reason we continue to work

with our partners to ensure that qualifications on offer to our young people are recognised by

both employers and further education providers.


Our partnership with Seeds of Change Equine Learning continues to evolve and this enables us

to continue to provide the opportunity for our Key Stage 3 to experience a full day at The Acorn

Centre where the curriculum includes literacy and numeracy tasks, land based studies and

equine learning at Level 2 which has proved to be successful. Key stage 4 students work towards

achieving a City & Guilds Land Based qualification and City & Guilds Employability Level 1.

Our Hair and Beauty workshops at both Wellingborough and Northampton campuses continue

to develop and 14 students achieved a City & Guilds Level 1 Certificate in Hair and Beauty this

year.

Our Catering provision at Spring Gardens, Wellingborough had a successful first year with 4

students achieving a Level 1 Certificate in Food Preparation and Cooking. This has been a

positive first year and the course is already proving popular again this year.

We plan to continue to build our partnership with City & Guilds and to offer Level 1 and

possibly Level 2 qualifications in the future in both Hair and Beauty and Catering and

Hospitality.

Cross Curricular


Britain is a multicultural society and has a rich heritage of cultural and ethnic diversity. In order

to promote and celebrate this and to increase pupil awareness, The CE Academy run a two day

cross curricular event at the end of the summer term each year. At Key Stage 4 this is an arts

based programme with a different cultural theme each year, which enables the young people to

learn about cultural diversity. This can help them to live and work together in diverse

communities, both in this country and the wider world. Arts activities are important vehicles in

promoting community cohesion and ‘one off’ programmes are an effective way to motivate and

energise young people to interact in new ways.

The timetables are collapsed in all campuses and a programme of activities is delivered both by

CE staff and visiting practitioners. We invite many practitioners both local and from further

afield into the campuses to work with the young people teaching them new skills and allowing

them to experience a vast and varied array of activities. All work produced during the two days

is displayed to provide pupils with a positive and happy memory of school for their return after

the long summer holiday.


This year our theme at Key Stage 4 was India. Staff dressed up in traditional outfits celebrating

the beautiful fabrics and colours used in Indian attire. Staff in each campus worked hard to

decorate classrooms and social areas using saris, flags and a variety of artefacts, including a

large statue of Shiva. There was a large variety of displays informing pupils about Indian art,

food, monuments and geographical information. When pupils arrived on the first day of cross

curricular they were surprised to see the campuses transformed. It definitely gave them the

wow factor!

Pupils had the opportunity to participate and experience a range of activities including silk

painting, making tea light holders inspired by Diwali and a Photoshop workshop where pupils

were able to transform themselves into Bollywood actors on film posters! Pupils enjoyed

cooking a range of Indian dishes which was a great opportunity to try new food and flavours.

We invited a range of practitioners to CE to deliver workshops in their chosen field. Pupils were

taught how to play the dohl drums, dance in the Bollywood style and learnt the Indian art forms

of rangoli and mehndi. Some beautiful pieces of art were produced and put on display and a lot

of fun was had.


At Key Stage 3 pupils explored the topic of ‘flight’ during their two day cross curricular

programme which covered many areas of the curriculum. Pupils had the opportunity to make

and launch a range of model rockets using air, water and baking powder, which enabled them

to work together in groups. Pupils developed their literacy skills when researching different

aspects of the topic, such as air pressure and numeracy skills were challenged when measuring

the distance travelled and interpreting data onto graphs. Some lovely ‘bird’ mobiles were made

in art.


Cross curricular at The CE Academy is organised and refined by a team of four members of staff

from different areas of the curriculum. This year, information about the programme was filtered

back to staff through emails and at campus meetings. As a way to encourage pupils to use their

work as part of their expressive arts coursework, it was decided to focus on one finished task

that could be completed in the two days.


We will be developing a 2017 cross curricular programme and will continue to offer a menu of

exciting activities and will be inviting practitioners in to share their expertise and knowledge

with our young people.

Our aims for the coming year are:

to provide existing young people, who will be returning to The CE Academy the following

academic year, with a positive and happy lasting memory of school for their return in the

autumn;

to enable KS4 pupils to produce coursework for GCSE;

to promote community cohesion;

to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of local and national communities;

to promote good relationships and mutual understanding within different communities;

to promote an understanding of cultural diversity and to widen pupil

understanding of different cultures, lifestyles and beliefs;

to allow young people the opportunity to meet and work with visitors from a diverse range

of ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds;

to promote common values and help pupils to value differences and challenge prejudice

and stereotyping.

Cross Curricular

Looked After Children

Analysis of the LAC cohortAnalysis of the LAC cohort

For the academic year 2015-2016 a total of 21 students were classed as Looked After by a

Local Authority through the year, this was a slight increase on last year’s figure.

Breakdown by year group:

Breakdown by other factors:

Of the 21 students - 15 were males and 6 females (which is an increase in the proportion of

female LAC students)

10 students were exclusions, 8 were dual registered, 3 were single registered

17 were on roll at a campus, 3 were registered with ILP and 1 remained on our roll but was

tutored in his residential home out of county

16 students were under NCC’s care, the remaining five were from other counties

As usual there was some fluidity through the year with students coming into/out of care. There

was an increase in students being moved out of county – a total of six were found placements in

other counties as their specific needs could not be met within the existing provisions in

Northamptonshire. One student was moved to a different educational provision within county,

one dual registered student returned to their mainstream school and one who went out of

county was kept on our roll and the work was provided for them to be tutored at the home as it

was too late into Year 11 for a suitable local educational provision to be found.

Changes to the LAC educational systemChanges to the LAC educational system

In November of this year Northamptonshire County Council went over to an electronic PEP

system. Two members of staff from CE went on the training provided by Virtual School prior to

the system going live. There were some initial problems with the system which the Virtual

School were quick to respond to, however, overall the electronic system has not proved popular

with Designated Teachers across the county as it is more time consuming and less efficient than

the paper system.

Year Group Number

7 0

8 4

9 2

10 8

11 7

One of the major changes that the ePEP system has brought is that the Pupil Premium Plus

money is no longer paid directly to the school, each intervention now has to be costed and the

money required applied for via ePEP targets, this is then subject to approval by the Virtual

School before money can be allocated. The amount allocated for schools is now £1500, the

remaining £400 goes into a fund that schools can apply to where they have extra costs for

certain high needs students.

The role of the Designated Teacher is currently being reviewed by the DfE and the proposed

changes will increase the responsibility and accountability of the Designated Teacher/school for

showing progression of Looked After students within their educational setting to external

agencies. This is particularly pertinent within Northamptonshire as that is an area of children’s

services that Ofsted are monitoring. The Designated Teacher did attend Virtual School’s

training around the changes and will be attending the Virtual School Attachment Disorder

Training in the Autumn Term in line with the new requirements.

Examinations and destinationsExaminations and destinations

One student who maintained his care placement and attendance at The CE Academy gained six

GCSEs and two vocational qualifications. He is now attending Northampton College.

Despite other Year 11 pupils having their care placements disrupted during the exam period,

all have secured a destination, either at college or in employment.

Moving On 2015


During the Summer Term Year 11 students and their parents/carers were questioned about

their experience of The CE Academy.

The student questionnaire indicated that our students preferred the smaller classes and felt

that staff were understanding and that they were supported by them. They also felt that they

had the opportunity to learn more at CE Academy, were respected by staff and were taught

how to learn. Students commented on the less formal atmosphere at CE Academy whilst

acknowledging boundaries were in place. Vocational opportunities were also highlighted as

another positive aspect of their time at the academy.

At least 90% of students believe their attendance, behaviour and work rate was satisfactory or

better.

There was an increase in the proportion of students who were aware of their behaviour targets.

A large proportion of students felt that reviews gave them the opportunity to have their say

with students commenting on how they felt listened to.

The vast majority of students stated that they had received enough information on drugs,

alcohol and sexual matters. There has been an increase in students stating that they had been

given enough information on Citizenship and healthy eating.

Pupils said The CE Academy had:Pupils said The CE Academy had:

given them confidence;

given them the opportunity to sit their GCSEs;

helped them to express themselves appropriately;

helped them to improve their attitude and behaviour;

helped them to prepare for their future;

given them another chance.

Activities that students enjoyed most at The CE Academy included: Activities that students enjoyed most at The CE Academy included:

Seeds of Change (equine learning);

Govilon (residential trip to Wales);

off site visits to numerous places including London, the theatre, ice skating and

Salcey Forest ;

workshops including animation, music and singing;

hair and beauty courses;

a range of lessons including Expressive Arts, PE, photography and sex education;

Adventure Ways (outdoor activities)

work experience.

Students’ suggestions for improving The CE Academy include: Students’ suggestions for improving The CE Academy include:

shorter lessons;

bigger campuses;

more subjects;

support in every lesson;

a wider range of courses.

Again the parent/carer questionnaire illustrates the good relationships that we strive to make

between staff and parents and carers. Themes from the parent questionnaire showed that

The CE Academy encourages good behaviour and their child is expected to work hard.

There were fewer pupils expressing concern about relationships with their peers with 93%

stating that they had no concerns about bullying.

The final question asked for additional comments. Many students responded favourably about

their enjoyment of their time at The CE Academy, the progress they had made and the support

they had received. They stated that staff cared about them and their future and made them feel

welcome when they moved to the Academy. Staff were thanked for their patience, for listening

and for the respect that was shown towards them. Students felt that moving to CE Academy

gave them the chance to make a fresh start and escape the labels which had followed them

around in mainstream school. The importance of the key tutor role was clear with students

commenting on the support and guidance they had received. Parent questionnaires backed up

many of these points and also thanked staff for their support.

Moving On 2015

The CE Academy Annual Report 2015-16

artwork is taken from a piece of year 11 gcse coursework...

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