Key Stage 3 (Year 7 - Year 9)

All KS3 subjects deliver the new national curriculum. Schemes of work and mapping have been quality assured to ensure full national curriculum coverage within a relevant context for our students, which includes the promotion of British Values.

These schemes also outline assessment models and secure inclusion of skills development e.g. literacy, numeracy, SMSC and employability. Progress data is collected every half term, which enables flexibility and responsiveness in terms of setting and banding students. Our in-school monitoring and analysis has demonstrated that if the ability range within a teaching class is similar, all students make more progress as the teacher is able to deliver activities which enable stretch and challenge and also accessibility for all. At termly intervals (allows adequate time to consistently demonstrate attainment), the placement of students may be reviewed and sets changed when required.

The opportunity for movement across bands is particularly important for our transition classes (2 in year 7), for students with low levels of literacy and numeracy (less than a level 3). These students follow a project-based curriculum, which develops literacy, oracy and numeracy, as well as subject content.

Key Stage 4 (Year 10 - Year 11)

The consistently excellent progress of students at Manchester Academy may be attributed, at least in part, to Manchester Academy offering an engaging, broad and balanced curriculum.

In addition to meeting progress 8 accountability measures and statutory requirements, the curriculum provide students with both the skills and qualifications they need for future progression and this is carefully balanced to ensure it also meets their interests and aspirations.

Curriculum provision for international new arrivals

To ensure international new arrivals have the opportunity to acquire a level of English that enables them to access to academic qualifications, they begin in the KS3 or KS4 induction group, where they intensively develop English skills.

Students enter mainstream lessons using a gradual phased approach when they meet NASSEA step 5 and are at a stage of consolidating their language acquisition. Each student’s timetable in induction is bespoke and based on their level, prior education and interests.