Curriculum Overview

At The Malling School every pupil, irrespective of starting point or individual learning needs, will be provided full access to the curriculum across all subjects. 

Pupils in years 7 to 9 study the National Curriculum, which has been interpreted, designed and sequenced by subject experts to prepare pupils for their next steps. Subjects such as Drama, whilst not forming part of the National Curriculum, are core parts of a weekly timetable for our pupils at key stage three as we understand how it contributes to the personal development of pupils in areas such as communication, empathy, discipline and emotional intelligence as well as our core character values. 

Our curriculum is knowledge-rich and delivers broad, diverse and ambitious knowledge, invaluable for ensuring all children are knowledgeable and are taken beyond their everyday experience. We believe our curriculum will enable all students to excel, not only in public examinations, but in their interactions with the world, ensuring they are prepared for their next steps and for them to lead happy, successful lives. 

Details of the curriculum for each subject can be viewed on our Subjects page, but a summary of the subjects all students attend includes: 

• English (Language and Literature) Mathematics 

• Combined Science 

• Art 

• ASDAN 

• Computer Science 

• Drama 

• Design Technology 

• Food Technology  

• Modern Foreign Languages (French and Spanish) 

• Geography 

• History 

• Music 

• Physical Education 

• Ethics & Religious Studies 

• Textiles 

• Careers education 

• Politics, Religion and Government (PRG) 

• Personal, Social, Health and Economics education (PSHE) 

• Sex and Relationships education (SRE) 

• Enrichment – Elective 

Pupils go on to study a rich and varied key stage 4 curriculum which is exemplified by the increasing numbers of Pupils entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), and the large numbers of Pupils accessing more creative subjects at key stage 4 such as art, 3D design technology and music. 

The curriculum is filled with ambitious qualifications that match the drive to ensure that all our Pupils achieve outstanding results to enable them to access their chosen pathway at Post 16. 

Details of the curriculum for each subject can be viewed on our Subjects page, but a summary of the subjects available to KS4 students is outlined below. 

Year 10 

• GCSE Art 

• GCSE Business Studies 

• GCSE Computer Science 

• BTEC Drama 

• GCSE Geography 

• GCSE History 

• BTEC Music 

• GCSE 3D Design 

• GCSE Sociology 

• GCSE Psychology 

• GCSE Separate Sciences 

• WJEC Hospitality & Catering 

• BTEC Sport 

• VTCT Hair 

• ASDAN CoPE 

Year 11 

• GCSE Art 

• GCSE Business Studies 

• GCSE Computer Science 

• BTEC Drama 

• GCSE Geography 

• GCSE History 

• BTEC Music 

• GCSE 3D Design 

• GCSE Sociology 

• GCSE Psychology 

• GCSE Separate Sciences 

• WJEC Hospitality & Catering 

• BTEC Sport 

• VTCT Hair 

• ASDAN CoPE 

• GCSE Citizenship 

• BTEC Dance 

In addition to their GCSE and vocational qualifications, all students at KS4 also attend lessons and assemblies in the following disciplines to supplement and enrich their education:

• Politics, Religion and Government (PRG) 

• Careers education 

• Personal, Social, Health and Economics education (PSHE) 

• Sex and Relationships education (SRE) 

• Physical Education (Core PE) 

• Socially and culturally significant events (Black History Months, LGBTQ History Month, International Women’s Day) 

EBacc - an academic curriculum 

As adults, we know that life can be demanding as we work our way through the ups and downs that it brings. Responsibility, character and resilience are so important as we face these varied challenges head on, whilst trying to remain positive, determined and aspirational. 

A key element of this aspiration is ensuring that students have the opportunity to develop these core skills through a highly academic and challenging core curriculum which is blended with additional curriculum options that allow all students to access a range of qualifications. These qualifications will serve them well in life, whichever pathway they choose to take or door they decide to open. 

Qualifications give students choices in life. They open doors and provide new opportunities and fulfilment. To achieve this vision, we ensure that our curriculum is not shortened at Key Stage 3 and not narrowed at Key Stage 4. 

The EBacc qualification involves students studying English, Maths, Science, History or Geography and a language. This is a very demanding set of curriculum subjects and has a high level of expected knowledge development, retention and application. This curriculum intent will robustly challenge all students academically. For those students who do not study the full combination of the EBacc subjects, they will all still study a very demanding range of core curriculum subjects which includes English, Maths, Science and either History or Geography. This again, will require a high level of knowledge development, retention and application when covering the curriculum intent. 

The table below shows current and projected entries into the EBacc qualification. 

Assessment Principles 

We recognise that curriculum and assessment are interlinked and support each other. In order to develop a powerful knowledge-based curriculum we must support this with valid, reliable and useful assessments to assess the planned curriculum. Our teachers use continuous formative assessment throughout their lessons to check prior knowledge and understanding, address misconceptions and inform targeted support. Feedback in class is focused on being ‘immediate and direct’ and is often verbal following use of mini whiteboards. Marking is fit for purpose and designed to help pupils to progress. It informs scaffolding at classroom level and informs short term, medium term and long-term planning. Effective and timely cumulative assessment design is also a tool in understanding pupil progress and reflecting on the taught curriculum to inform teaching; this also identifies cumulative dysfluency so that teachers can address this. 

Pupils will typically sit summative assessments 2x per year in KS3 and 3x per year in KS4 & KS5. High quality assessments accurately provided insight into a pupil’s knowledge of the curriculum which is used to inform future planning. 

Our aim is for all pupils to have learnt, practised and remembered a broad and balanced curriculum of knowledge by the end of KS3 to prepare for KS4.  Departmental curricula detail explicit end points pupils should meet by the end of Year 7, 8 and 9, in order to master key skills and knowledge ready to thrive in KS4. Assessments are designed with these standards in mind, and through accurate judgements made throughout KS3 we can ensure all pupils are ready for the next stage. Our curriculum intent is ambitious, and assessments assess this ambitious curriculum. The KS3 assessment structure fits the need of the curriculum, it is not a watered down KS4 assessment system. In years 10, 11, 12 and 13,  explicit end points are clear for key points of these pivotal exam years and assessments are designed to assess pupils with these standards in mind. Many teachers across the school are experienced exam markers and this vast knowledge of national assessments inform our KS4 and KS5 assessment plan. 

The curriculum is the progression model. Learning is a change in long term memory, and so the more of the curriculum that has been committed to a student’s long-term memory, the more has been learnt by them, and the more progress has been made. Our assessments assess how much of the curriculum has been learnt by students, and therefore indicate how they’re progressing through the curriculum.