Curriculum

Curriculum

Ernest Cookson School aims to provide a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum that caters to the unique needs of our students. Our curriculum is designed to:

Develop academic excellence: Equip students with the knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary for future success.
Foster personal growth: Promote students' emotional, social, and moral development.
Instil a love of learning: Cultivate a positive attitude towards education and lifelong learning.
Prepare for the future: Provide students with the tools and opportunities to succeed in their next stage of education.

Ernest Cookson School adheres to the following legislation and guidance:

National Curriculum: Ensures that students receive a broad and balanced education.
Education Act 2002: Upholds the statutory requirements for maintained schools.
Equality Act 2010: Promotes equality and inclusion for all students.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: Provides guidance for supporting students with special educational needs.

Ernest Cookson School is committed to providing a fully inclusive curriculum. We ensure that all students have equal access to learning opportunities, regardless of their background or abilities. This includes:

Differentiated Learning: Adapting teaching methods and resources to meet the needs of individual students.
Special Educational Needs Support: Providing additional support for students with identified special educational needs, including the use of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and Personal Support Plans (PSPs).
English as an Additional Language (EAL) Support: Offering language support for students whose first language is not English.

EHCPs and PSPs play a crucial role in differentiating and adapting our chosen schemes to meet the specific needs of students. These plans outline individualised goals, strategies, and support services to help students achieve their full potential.

EHCPs: For students with significant and complex special educational needs, EHCPs provide a detailed plan of support, including education, health, and social care services.
PSPs: For students who may require additional support, PSPs outline personalised goals and strategies to help them access the curriculum and achieve their potential.

Teachers work closely with students, parents, and other professionals to develop and implement EHCPs and PSPs. These plans are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain relevant and effective.

By effectively utilising EHCPs and PSPs, Ernest Cookson School can tailor the curriculum to meet the individual needs of students with special educational needs. This ensures that all students have the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

For more information about the curriculum, please contact Mr Jones, Head of School.

Core Subjects:

English

At Ernest Cookson Shcool, we follow the Read, Write, Inc and Fresh Start programmes to help develop early word reading and transcription at our school.

We follow Literacy Counts for the comprehension and compositional aspects of the English national curriculum. Our boys work through a carefully considered reading spine and engage with high quality texts that inspire, challenge and motivate them to understand their worlds and the world beyond their everyday experiences. We follow the teaching sequence: immerse, analyse, plan and write. This allows our pupils to experience vocabulary and themes they would not normally come across and apply it into their growing understanding of what it means to be an experienced reader and writer.

english overview january 2025.pdf

Maths

At Ernest Cookson School, we use the White Rose programme, based on the National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014) and the EYFS Statutory Framework as the basis of our mathematics programme. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils achieve mastery in the key concepts of mathematics, appropriate for their starting points, in order that they make genuine progress and avoid gaps in their understanding that provide barriers to learning as they move through the school. The small steps approach to building knowledge and understanding allows our pupils to access content relevant to their starting points.

Maths- Curriculum Overview

Science

At Ernest Cookson School, we use the White Rose programme, based on the National Curriculum for Science (2014) as the basis of our science curriculum offer. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils understandign the substantive knowledge needed to be successful in science, as well as developing their disciplinary knowledge, understanding and skills as they 'work scientifically' throughout the scheme. The small steps approach to building knowledge and understanding allows our pupils to access content relevant to their starting points.