Academic Curriculum
‘Through a combination of holistic therapy and a bespoke curriculum offer, pupils flourish. They become enthusiastic learners, studying for qualifications such as GCSEs, and are supported to access a place in further education or employment’ Ofsted July 2024
At River Tees Hospital School, we offer a curriculum designed to empower our pupils to become experts in their subjects. Our approach fosters deep knowledge through a coherent and consistent learning framework. We recognize that every subject serves as a pathway for developing character, moral values, and a sense of community among our pupils.
At River Tees Hospital School, our curriculum is thoughtfully designed to cultivate progressive core knowledge and essential concepts through a diverse range of learning and subject-specific skills.
Our primary aim is to empower pupils to recall and articulate their knowledge and concepts across familiar, unfamiliar, local, and global contexts. We strive to create meaningful connections between their evolving understanding, prior learning, and personal experiences.
We encourage pupils to actively engage their literacy, oracy, and digital communication skills, enabling them to share and express their learning purposefully with others.
Ultimately, our curriculum is dedicated to fostering successful, confident, and responsible individuals and citizens, with a strong emphasis on facilitating smooth transitions to suitable educational provisions.
Our curriculum is designed with a focus on the 3Cs: Character, Currency, and Community. We believe that a broad and balanced curriculum provides our pupils with the best opportunities for success in other schools and post-16 learning.
Character: We aim to help our pupils understand who they are and who they aspire to be, fostering personal growth and resilience.
Currency: Our curriculum equips pupils with essential skills and knowledge that prepare them for future challenges and opportunities, ensuring they are well-prepared for the evolving demands of the world.
Community: We emphasise the importance of connections, helping pupils build relationships with others and understand their place in the wider world.
We believe that by integrating these themes into our curriculum, we can support every pupil’s progression to adulthood, equipping them with the skills, qualifications, and character needed to become valued and responsible citizens.
These themes are woven into the fabric of our subject curriculum implementation. Each subject area clearly outlines, through its 3C overview, how it will develop these themes, ensuring a cohesive and enriching educational experience for all our pupils.
At River Tees Hospital School, subject teachers collaborate closely to plan and deliver a coherent curriculum across all Key Stages. Drawing on their professional expertise, they carefully select and adapt resources and materials to meet the diverse and individual needs of our pupils. This collaborative approach ensures the sharing of best practises and mutual support, with a clear focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for every learner.
Subject leaders play a pivotal role in guiding the planning and progression of knowledge within their specialist areas across the school. They work alongside teaching staff to design a curriculum progression that builds core knowledge, skills, and concepts systematically.
Specialist subject teachers take responsibility for structuring this progression, ensuring that all staff are fully informed of curriculum expectations through targeted training, ongoing monitoring, and coaching. This rigorous approach supports all pupils in accessing the curriculum effectively and achieving their full potential.
At River Tees Hospital School, class teachers regularly evaluate pupil progress through half-termly progress meetings. This ongoing assessment enables teachers to analyse how effectively pupils are achieving or exceeding curriculum expectations and to make informed adjustments to their planning. Where necessary, tailored interventions are implemented to support pupils in meeting their individual learning goals.
Teachers provide the Standards Lead and Senior Leadership Team with timely summative data on pupil outcomes, ensuring a clear and up-to-date picture of achievement across the school.
Subject Leads, the Standards Lead, and Senior Leaders systematically review these summative outcomes for all pupils. This rigorous analysis informs targeted actions to enhance the quality of teaching and learning, supports the moderation of assessments, and benchmarks pupil progress against established expectations. Through this continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement, we ensure that every pupil’s educational journey is both effective and personalised.