Curriculum Overview
Key Stage 3
At Fulston Manor students are taught in mixed ability teaching sets. Each student is provided with personalised learning goals based on prior attainment. This enables students to progress at their own pace and develop skills, knowledge and understanding to a high standard irrespective of their starting point. This also supports student transition to GCSE. Students are challenged in lessons based on their aptitude to different topics and supported where needed to access higher order material.
The sections below will enable you to see an overview of what our students will be learning about, in lessons, throughout Key Stage 3.
What will students learn in Year 7?
What will students learn in Year 8?
What will students learn in Year 9?
Key Stage 4
Teaching sets in the option groups at KS4 are also mixed ability. In subjects, such as Mathematics and Science, which have Higher and Foundation papers, it is necessary to set students to prepare them for the different content in each paper. If you would like further details on the setting in the core subjects please contact the relevant head of department:
|
Head of English |
Mrs G Chazot | [email protected] |
|---|---|---|
| Head of Mathematics | Mrs Clements | [email protected] |
| Head of Science | Mr Morris | [email protected] |
Why have we moved away from ability setting?
At Fulston Manor we believe that everybody matters. Every student deserves an equal opportunity to flourish at school. There is a growing volume of evidence that setting and streaming contribute to education and social inequality, which undermine the core values we hold at Fulston Manor.
Research (Taylor, Sloan (2016)) demonstrates that segregation by ability within schools exacerbates social inequalities. Disadvantaged students are disproportionately represented in lower sets, which has a significant impact on their self-esteem and motivation. This view is strongly supported by research from the government-funded Commission on Social Mobility in 2017 and the Educational Endowment Foundation.
As well as the absence of academic evidence or research supporting the case for setting, international comparisons suggest it does not improve academic attainment. In Finland, a country which consistently performs at a high level in international tests, there is a consensus that setting would encourage low expectations for some students. The Finnish education system is also equitable, with very little difference in outcomes for students from different backgrounds.
Fulston Manor School can no longer support a system which contributes to social segregation and encourages a fixed mindset amongst students and staff regarding the capability of all young people, irrespective of their backgrounds, to succeed in school. The Fulston Family is diverse and mixed-ability teaching celebrates this diversity by promoting student self-esteem. There are no glass ceilings or self-fulfilling prophecies for the students with the lowest prior attainment, whilst students with high prior attainment are less risk-averse as they are not fearful about being moved down. All students are supported to work together to become effective learners; false competition is replaced with real cooperation.
