Providing a Personalised Curriculum

Personalised learning
Students  at Twickenham Academy will meet with their base group tutor every week to create a personalised programme of study. During the tutorial session they will evaluate their progress and plan future work with the support of their base group tutor. Areas of difficulty will be highlighted and strategies agreed to overcome these. The structure of the ‘STEPS Curriculum´ allows students to progress at the pace best suited to their ability, whilst the Thematic Curriculum provides opportunities for students to develop their knowledge and skills more deeply through longer timetabled periods.

The STEPS Curriculum
English, maths, science, modern languages and ICT are organised using the ‘STEPS‘ Curriculum model. There are 40 individual ‘STEPS´ for each subject organised into blocks of five that relate to National Curriculum levels and, ultimately, to GCSE qualifications. Students are tested at the end of each ‘block´ of five steps to accurately measure progress. They will typically progress through 6  to 8 Steps in an academic year. Some achieving more quickly and go beyond this while others will receive additional support to ensure their progress.

‘Themed COURSES´
In the ‘Themed COURSES´ students will study technology, humanities and the arts, undertaking exciting projects, dealing with the ‘Big Issues´ and  emphasising the connections between subjects. Students study six COURSES in the academic year. PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health & Careers Education) is delivered through the ‘Themed COURSES´ and within the three college structure. Students also enjoy a varied and challenging PE  programme each week, to build up their personal fitness and to develop teamwork skills. All of these curriculum elements promote problem-solving, creative thinking, communication skills and enable students to develop the independent learning skills that will be so important as they progress through the Academy. In short they give students the learning skills so that they become more autonomous and independent learners

On-line with the Learning  Portal
All the resources used by students and teachers are available on a website we call the ‘Learning Portal´. Students, parents and staff can access this from computers in the academy, at home or anywhere with an internet link.

The Learning Portal, containing the STEPS courses and Themed COURSES, is unique to Twickenham Academy and our partner school Hampton Academy. Together we are part of a small group of Learning School Trust schools. This unique curriculum package has been specially developed by our staff, supported by national experts in each subject area, so that we can make the most up to date and engaging learning resources available to our students.

Building on primary education
Students normally arrive from their primary schools eager to extend their knowledge and skills. The Twickenham Academy education model builds on best practice in our primary schools by providing regular opportunities for students to discuss their learning and progress with their base group tutor.  An important aspect of transferring from primary school to Twickenham Academy is that each student will ‘join´ the curriculum at a place suitable for them. We will work hard with parents, Primary schools and during the early induction phase, to quickly assess the most suitable starting point for each student. They won´t, as happens in many secondary schools, all start again from the very beginning or at the same level! This can be  frustrating for many students and delay progress. We are firmly committed to finding the right starting point for each student, in each curriculum area.