Our curriculum offer has been constructed with a view to making sure we have a sequenced, standardised approach across all EdStart Schools that will help enhance the development of knowledge and skills for our young people.
At the heart of our EdStart Way is our SAS curriculum, a structure that reflects the natural rhythm of the school day and the needs of the young people we support.
- Self-Reflection (on arrival): Every day begins with a period of Self-Reflection, giving students the chance to settle, regulate and prepare for learning. This time is used flexibly for PSHE, RSE, Catch-Up sessions or Mentoring, depending on the needs of the individual or group, helping students arrive at their academic learning in the right frame of mind.
- Academic Studies (mid-day): The core of the school day is dedicated to Academic Studies, where students focus on GCSE and core curriculum subjects, taught with high expectations and a strong emphasis on progress and attainment.
- Social Curriculum (after lunch): The afternoon session moves into our Social Curriculum, a series of structured sessions covering areas such as creative arts, music, humanities, PE, and wellbeing. This part of the day allows students to explore broader interests, build social skills, and engage with learning in a different, often more practical and collaborative way.
Our main centres offer the opportunity for various GCSE subjects to be acquired in English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Religious Studies, and Physical Education (PE). With the exception of Mathematics that follows the Pearson Edexcel examinations board, all other GCSE’s work in line with the AQA examinations board. We also offer life skills lessons over 2 afternoons each week either in PSHE, including RSE, Humanities, Creative Art, Cookery, IT/Digital Skills, plus Careers, including Post-16 pathways, and reading sessions, 2 of our 5 key focus areas on our school improvement plan. English & Mathematics lessons are undertaken 3 to 4 times each per week to stress the importance of numeracy and literacy in everyday life, with 3 sessions of Biology, 2 PE theory lessons, plus 1 practical afternoon as part of healthy living through exercise and 2 Religious Studies lessons.
Timetables can on occasions be adapted to suit the circumstances of the day/week, especially where it is felt that something topical or specific to the group needs discussing, to benefit the whole school or a particular centre.
In some of our centres, our young people are provided with different offers of support from other alternative providers or via amended timetables to help with their specific needs. Many of these options are planned through the expertise of our SENCO & Outreach teams, who carry out detailed analysis of individual student needs and prepare programmes and 1:1 support for those who may have additional needs, to enable them to access a curriculum that benefits and develops their knowledge and skills further.
Wellbeing also forms an important part of our curriculum offer with keyworker staff assigned students to help, advise and guide when needed, reinforced by our school counsellor who works with individual students and staff across the whole school, as well as being accessible to our cohort during the school day.
All pupils receive a minimum of 24 hours formal education a week. Our timetable consists of all core subjects, PSHE, History, Religious Studies, PE, Art, Employability skills and Enrichment. We can add or remove subjects based on individual needs, however we pride ourselves on providing young people with a varied and robust curriculum, preparing them for their next steps. Ensuring we cover SMSC in our lessons and the importance of Fundamental British Values, we aim to allow pupils the chance to explore their own faiths, culture and communities, as well as learning about other people’s.
At KS3 we recognise achievements through the use of AQA unit award schemes, the Arts Awards, and in house rewards. We feel as well as ensuring pupils progress as they would do in mainstream school, it is vital we promote learning and make education and enjoyable experience, for those who are heading into KS4 Key Stage 4 (Year 10 / 11)
EdStart Schools is a registered exam centre and our KS4 provision allows learners to access various qualifications, led by staff who are experienced in raising attainment in demotivated learners. These include various GCSE’s in Maths, English, Science, RS, and PE.
Learning Support
Each student will have an opportunity to develop an individual learning plan with their Learning Mentor or Tutor which they will follow throughout their time on the programme. Goals and targets around behaviour and learning will be set for each half term young person and reviewed weekly to ensure progress is carefully monitored.
Pupils have the opportunity to participate in personal development experiences as part of our holistic curriculum offer. Trips in the past have included; sports centres, trampolining parks, ski centres, museums, art galleries, nature walks and places of religious significance. The experiences are delivered as part of a wider curriculum for subjects such as Creative Arts, Geography and PE. Many students would not otherwise have these experiences outside of school and so they act as an opportunity for personal and social development.
SEN and Personalised Learning Curriculum
At Edstart, we pride ourselves on our holistic approach to all students, and in particular those students with special education needs. We work with the students, families and specialists to support those students who have barriers to learning and our teaching staff, and specialist SEN support are dedicated to improving the outcomes of the pupils in their care.
On occasions we admit young people who require even more of a bespoke offer than our core provision. This may involve some teaching and learning, tutoring, mentoring, life skills, and experiential learning. Our aim is to ensure that all young people as a minimum continue to develop their English and Maths skills as part of the personalised package. Woking closely with the SENCo our team will develop a curriculum in line with each young person’s needs, including short and longer term ambitions
Wider Curriculum
Alongside our core academic provision, our wider curriculum offer gives young people a broad and enriching range of experiences designed to support their personal, social and cultural development. This includes PSHE (including RSE), Humanities, PE, Creative Arts, Cookery, IT/Digital Skills, and Music, complemented by music experiences and cultural visits to places such as museums and places of worship, helping students engage with the world beyond the classroom. We also offer Careers provision, including Post-16 pathways, to support students in planning their next steps, alongside dedicated reading sessions that reinforce our commitment to literacy across the school.