Curriculum Intent

At Longbenton High School, our vision is that students will Evolve, Create, Discover, Perform and Achieve. Our curriculum is central to this vision. It is designed to give every student the knowledge, skills, confidence and cultural capital they need to achieve well, thrive as young people and move successfully into the next stage of education, employment and life.

We are ambitious for every student. Our curriculum is broad, balanced and challenging, and it is designed to ensure that students at Longbenton can compete with confidence alongside students from any school, including selective and independent schools. We have a strong moral purpose in making sure that all students, including disadvantaged students, students with SEND, students known or previously known to children’s social care and students who face other barriers to learning or wellbeing, have access to the full richness of school life.

A distinctive strength of the Longbenton curriculum is the value we place on creativity, performance and practical learning. Music, drama, art, technology, food, physical education, computing and creative media sit alongside the academic curriculum as essential parts of a rounded education. These subjects help students to discover talents, develop confidence, experience success and build the cultural capital they need to understand and contribute to the wider world. For many of our students, including those who may have faced barriers earlier in their education, these subjects provide powerful opportunities to belong, achieve and flourish.

Curriculum Design

Our curriculum is carefully planned from Year 7 to Year 13. Subject leaders construct and refine curriculum plans that identify the most important knowledge, concepts and skills that students need to learn over time. Each subject has a clear progression model which shows how learning builds year by year, so that students gain knowledge securely and are able to use it with increasing fluency, confidence and independence.

We operate a 3 year Key Stage 3 and a 2 year Key Stage 4. This enables students to study the full National Curriculum across Key Stage 3 and to develop strong foundations before moving into examination courses. Our Year 9 curriculum choices allow students to deepen their study in selected areas, including creative and practical subjects, while still maintaining a broad and balanced curriculum. This helps students to make informed choices, remain motivated and prepare well for GCSE study.

At Key Stage 4, students study a rich combination of GCSE and vocational qualifications. Our curriculum supports high ambition through subjects such as Triple Science and Further Mathematics, while also valuing practical and creative pathways such as Construction, Photography, Art, Drama, Music, PE, Business, Computing and ICT. Humanities subjects are strongly represented, and we continue to strengthen the experience and uptake of modern foreign languages. We believe that students achieve best when they are guided towards choices that are ambitious, appropriate and meaningful.

Our sixth form curriculum continues this breadth through our shared Key Stage 5 provision with George Stephenson High School. Students can access a wide range of A Level subjects, including larger courses such as Mathematics and Science, as well as smaller subjects such as Politics, Philosophy, Photography, Music and Theatre Studies. Most students study 3 A Levels alongside an enrichment programme that supports wider interests, leadership, volunteering, work shadowing and preparation for adulthood. Students who need to continue developing their English or Mathematics are given additional teaching time and support. 

Teaching and Implementation

A strong curriculum depends on strong teaching. At Longbenton, students are taught by subject specialist teachers who know their subjects well and are passionate about sharing that knowledge. We place great emphasis on recruitment, training, professional development, staff wellbeing and the retention of high quality teachers.

Our approach to teaching is informed by evidence about how students learn. We use clear explanation, modelling, guided practice, questioning, checking for understanding, retrieval practice and carefully planned assessment to help students know more, remember more and do more over time. Teachers focus on the most important knowledge and concepts within their subjects, present information clearly, identify misconceptions and adapt teaching so that students can access the curriculum successfully.

We trust subject leaders and teachers as experts. Our whole school teaching and learning principles are informed by Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, but we do not impose a single house style. Different subjects have different traditions, methods and ways of thinking. We want departments to make thoughtful decisions about how best to teach their subject, while maintaining consistently high expectations for all students.

Subject leaders regularly review the quality of curriculum and teaching in their areas. This includes looking at how well students are learning the intended curriculum, how securely knowledge is retained, how effectively assessment informs teaching and where further professional development may be needed. Curriculum development is ongoing and is shaped by assessment information, subject expertise, national developments, student need and the wider context of the school.

Strong Foundations

We recognise that strong foundations in communication, reading, writing and mathematics are essential if students are to access the full curriculum and succeed later in life. At Longbenton, literacy is not treated as an add on. It is part of every subject.

We know that the vocabulary gap is a major barrier for some students, particularly those who are disadvantaged. Our curriculum therefore places strong emphasis on disciplinary literacy. This means students are taught the words, concepts, reading approaches and writing structures that belong to each subject. Subject leaders identify important Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary, and teachers explicitly teach students how to use this language accurately and confidently.

Reading is developed across the curriculum. Students are supported to read increasingly complex texts, understand subject specific material and build confidence in academic reading. Where students have gaps in reading, writing, communication or mathematics, these are identified as early as possible and addressed through teaching, targeted support and careful monitoring. Our aim is to help students keep up, not simply catch up later.

Oracy is also an important part of our curriculum. Students develop the confidence to speak clearly, listen carefully, debate respectfully, explain their thinking and take part in meaningful discussion. Registration time, PSE, assemblies, subject lessons, student leadership opportunities and extra curricular activities all contribute to this work.

Inclusion and Access for All

Our curriculum is designed for all students. We are ambitious for students who are disadvantaged, students with SEND, students known or previously known to children’s social care, students who speak English as an additional language, students with lower prior attainment, more able students and students who face personal, social or emotional barriers.

Inclusion at Longbenton means maintaining high expectations while removing barriers. Teachers use information about students’ starting points, learning needs and wider circumstances to plan and adapt teaching. This may include scaffolding, carefully chosen resources, explicit vocabulary teaching, additional practice, reasonable adjustments, targeted intervention and support from specialist staff.

Our SENCo, pastoral leaders, safeguarding team, teaching staff and support staff work together to make sure that students’ needs are identified accurately and reviewed regularly. We use a cycle of assessment, planning, action and review so that support is purposeful and has impact. Where needed, we work with families, external agencies and specialist services to ensure that students receive the right support at the right time.

We want every student to feel that they belong at Longbenton. Our curriculum, pastoral systems and wider school life are designed to help students build confidence, develop positive relationships, understand themselves and others, and take pride in their contribution to the school community.

Assessment

Assessment is used to improve learning. It helps teachers understand what students know, what they can do, what they have remembered, what they have misunderstood and what needs to be retaught or revisited.

Across the curriculum, students experience regular retrieval practice and spaced practice so that important knowledge is revisited over time. Assessment is used to help students embed key concepts, use knowledge fluently and develop deeper understanding. It also helps teachers adapt future teaching and provide feedback that moves learning forward.

Students are supported to understand their next steps. This may be through whole class feedback, individual feedback, questioning, low stakes quizzes, formal assessments, extended writing, practical work, performance tasks or examination practice. Assessment approaches vary by subject because each subject has its own knowledge, skills and ways of working.

Personal Development, PSE and CEIAG

Our curriculum goes beyond examination specifications. We want students to leave Longbenton as knowledgeable, confident, healthy and responsible young people who are ready to contribute positively to society.

PSE is taught as distinct lessons across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. It includes relationships, sex and health education, citizenship, personal safety, mental health, financial awareness, online safety, current affairs and preparation for adult life. CEIAG is delivered through PSE, assemblies, curriculum subjects, visits, events and individual guidance. Students learn about local and national job markets, future pathways, further and higher education, apprenticeships and employment.

Our registration programme gives students a calm and purposeful start to the day. It supports attendance, punctuality, relationships, year group identity, current affairs, debate, oracy and the school’s 6 Ps expectations. For some students, this settled daily routine is especially important in helping them feel safe, prepared and ready to learn.

Student voice is central to our school community. Our school council, student mentor team and student groups provide opportunities for students to share views, take responsibility, support others and celebrate identity. We want students to understand that they have both a voice and a responsibility within their school and wider community.

Cultural Capital and Enrichment

Longbenton has a rich extra curricular offer because learning does not only happen in classrooms. We want students to experience culture, creativity, performance, sport, leadership, travel, teamwork and service.

Each year, students take part in ambitious school productions performed on a professional stage at Whitley Bay Playhouse. Students can access music tuition, drama opportunities, clubs and performances. Our extra curricular programme includes activities such as chess, music, sport, dance, table tennis, clubs across subject areas and a wide range of local, district and national competitions. Our trips and visits programme is broad and ambitious, including opportunities such as the annual ski trip to Italy.

We want enrichment to be inclusive. Every student should be encouraged to take part, not only those who already have confidence, resources or experience outside school. Our enrichment offer is designed to broaden horizons, develop talents, build confidence, support wellbeing and help students discover interests that may shape their future choices.

Pastoral Support and Wellbeing

Strong pastoral care underpins our curriculum. Students learn best when they feel safe, known, supported and challenged. Our pastoral leadership team, safeguarding leads, support staff, tutors and teachers work together to remove barriers to learning and wellbeing.

We place strong emphasis on attendance, punctuality, behaviour, positive relationships and readiness to learn. Our expectations are clear because students deserve calm, purposeful classrooms and a school environment where learning can flourish. At the same time, we recognise that some students need additional support to meet these expectations, and we work with families and external partners to help them succeed.

We work with a range of external agencies and community partners, including organisations that support wellbeing, aspiration, mentoring, confidence and personal development. This wider support helps students to access the curriculum, build resilience and feel part of the school community.

Our Aim

The Longbenton curriculum is ambitious, inclusive and distinctive. It is rooted in strong subject knowledge, expert teaching, creativity, cultural capital and exceptional pastoral care. It is designed to help every student build strong foundations, achieve academic success, develop confidence, discover talents and prepare for a successful future.

We want every student to leave Longbenton High School able to say that they have evolved, created, discovered, performed and achieved.