George Greens's School

Foundation Learning

The Curriculum at Key Stage 5 - Years 12 and 13

The sixth form curriculum falls into 4 broad groups:

Entry Level courses (linked with Foundation Learning vertical grouping KS4/KS5)
Level 1 courses (Diploma)
Level 2 courses (BTEC, and GCSE retakes)
Level 3 courses (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and International Baccalaureate Career-related Certificate)

We are the only school in Tower Hamlets - and one of only a very few schools across the whole of London - to offer the International Baccalaureate.

Since September 2011 we have offered the IBCC (IB Career-related Certificate) alongside the IBDP. This provides more flexible pathways for level 3 students, combining double award Applied Business with 2 IB certificates and the IBCC core. This is a pilot programme and we will be closely tracking the progress and outcomes for students.

Entry level	ASDAN Entry Level
Level 1	Hospitality Diploma - including Functional Skills in English, Maths, ICT (Level 1)
Level 2	BTEC Business GCSE re-takes in English and Maths
Level 3 : IB	The following International Baccalaureate subjects - equivalent to AS/A2 - are available to be taken either as stand-alone subjects or in combination to achieve the full IB Diploma : English French Spanish (standard and ab initio) Business Economics History Geography Social Anthropology Physics Chemistry Biology Environmental Systems Design Technology Psychology Mathematics Art Film To achieve the full International Baccalaureate Diploma students are required to choose a specific selection of 6 subjects from the above together with 3 core requirements: Extended essay Community Action Service (CAS) Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
Level 3: IBCC	IBCC Based on: Applied Business Two subjects taken from the list above IBCC core

Delivery of Foundation Learning by stage not age

We have started to deliver foundation learning to students from Y10 upwards to mixed-age groups, organised according to student need rather than chronological age. This will extend to Y9 from September 2012.

This means students aged 14-19 with special and complex needs being taught together in cross-age groups. When fully implemented there will be four groups, as follows:

Entry
Entry Level
Stage 1a
Stage 1b

This arrangement will retain the number of groups previously offered, in that they will replace the two Asdan groups, which cater for students in the 6th form, and Y9, Y10 and Y11 Access pathway groups. The staffing needs will therefore be broadly similar, if not identical.

The Entry group will comprise the most needy students and the Stage 1b group the most able students out of the overall cohort.

The Stage 1b group will follow the Level 1 Hospitality and Catering Diploma currently offered only to Y12/13 students. The Stage 1a group will follow the NVQ Hospitality and Catering course, currently offered to Y9, Y10 and Y11 students. The Entry level and Entry groups will have access to vocational experiences through attendance at college one day a week and/or through activities organised in conjunction with Mudchute Farm.

All students have supported access to two hours PE per week via the core PE sessions timetabled across Y9, Y10 and Y11. All students have access to English, Maths, Science, Citizenship, RE, Art and Drama weekly - in some cases delivered by teachers from the specialist teams, in some cases by members of the Learning Support team - plus other enrichment activities as practicable.

For students chronologically in Y9, Y10/11:

In the core subjects (English and Maths), the number of groups timetabled across the year will be reduced from 8 to 7 - with the staffing released either transferring across to the Foundation Learning provision or being freed up for other purposes
For options, whilst most students would likely have been following Access courses anyway under the existing arrangements, the new pathways will still be timetabled to enable students to continue to access courses outside the Access line, where this would be appropriate.