Stamford Free School: Vision and Ethos

CMAT equips, enables and encourages students to achieve their very best and has a strong proven track record of success. The Trust family includes Swavesey Village College situated north-west of Cambridge, Nene Park Academy (NPA), formerly “Orton Longueville School”, in Peterborough, North Cambridge Academy (NCA), formerly “The Manor: A Foundation School”. More recently the Trust has sponsored West Town Primary Academy in Peterborough.

Thepartnership between the Proposer Group and CMAT brings the best of both aspects of education – local passion to provide an outstanding education with the experience and expertise of local partners. Our vision for Stamford Free School is in direct alignment with that of CMAT as a group and can be summarised as follows:

  1. Achievement for all:We will drive up standards further by introducing an academic curriculumfounded on breadth and rigour. It will provide appropriate challenge for the calibre of students that SFS will provide for and we will utilise our experience of achieving ‘outstanding’ to achieve excellence. At Post-16 we will run the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme; we believe that this world-class qualification is the natural next step for our students.
  2. Valuing people: SFS will be a values-based school seeking to promote an educational philosophy based on valuing self, others and the environment. We believe that this approach will help students to develop holistically, nurturing a secure sense of self and supporting the raising of academic standards.
  3. A high quality learning environment: Our students will be educated in an environment which provides as many real-life opportunities as possible. We seek to work closely with Local Area Partners (local business, charity and social enterprise organisations) to ensure that students gain valuable experience of completing real and meaningful tasks at local, national and international levels.
  4. The pursuit of excellence: Stamford Free School will be unique in creating a Teaching School framework from the foundations upwards. We will appoint good or outstanding experienced teachers and then provide continual professional development through the Outstanding Teacher Programmes 1 and 2. The IB programme at Post-16 level will also contribute to this pursuit and will provide a unique opportunity in the local area for students to demonstrate excellence within the global environment.
  5. Extending the boundaries of learning: Academic and wider development is supported through the PLEDGES approach: Partnership, Leadership, Excellence, Diversity, Giving, Environment, Service. We will further support students by using our freedom as an academy to run a longer school day, typically finishing at 4.30pm (‘Session 6’), to ensure that we are able to provide a ‘parallel curriculum’ that all students partake in – the term ‘extra-curricular’ will cease. Such models have had many years of success in the (fee-paying) independent sector and we now wish to replicate this approach in our school.

Section D: Education plan – part 2

Subject/other activity (e.g. enrichment) / Hours per week / Mandatory/ Voluntary / Comments
English / Y7 / 4 / M / In Y7 English is incorporated into Linc2 (see main text). In Y9-11 students will study English Language & Literature
Y8 / 3
Y9-11 / 4
Maths / 4 / M
Science / Y7-8 / 3 / M / Key Stage 4 Science will be 80% Triple (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) & 20% (Core & Additional)
Y9-11 / 5
PE / 2 / M
Music / Y7-8 / 1 / M
French / Y7-8 / 3 / M
Y9-11 / 5
Mandarin / Y7-8 / 3 / M
Y9-11 / 5
Additional literacy / Y7-8 / 3 / M
Supported Study / Y7-8 / 1 / M
Design / Y7-8 / 3 / M / Art / D & T / Computing on rotation
Drama / Y8 / 1 / M / In Y7 Drama is incorporated into Linc2
Hums / Y7 / 5 / M / Humanities is incorporated into Linc2
IT / Y9-11 / 2 / M / IT refers to Computer Science
Personal Development / Y9-10 / 1 / M / Incorporates Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural dimension
Ex / Y11 / 1 / M / An important part of the curriculum used for controlled assessment of students (explained further in main text)
Geography / Y8 / 2 / M
Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects
History / Y8 / 2 / M
Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects
Business / Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects: interchangeable with Economics (demand led)
Sport / Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects: refers to GCSE PE
Design and Technology / Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects: interchangeable with Graphics, Resistant Materials, Engineering or Product Design (demand led)
Art / Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects: refers to Art & Design or Fine Art (demand led)
Drama / Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects
Music / Y9-11 / 3 / V / Part of the Guided Choices subjects
Session 6 / Y7-8 / 1 / M / These will double in number as the school grows in size
Session 6 / Y9-11 / 2 / M

Section D1

We propose a curriculum and school life that will provide what local parents desire and will prepare the young people of Stamford for the global market. We recognise the absolute requirement to stretch both the gifted and the talented and our curriculum will provide a balanced approach to progression and will allow students to explore in greater depth than traditional curriculum models.

It is critical that we ensure that this offer is targeted at providing for those for whom an academic curriculum is entirely appropriate but may not be in keeping with the previous experience of their family. We are committed to ensuring we close the gap in achievement and access by means of a robust and rigorous curriculum.

Delivering our vision through our curriculum

The curriculum is where our five values are at their most transparent:

Achievement for all

The Free School will be completely comprehensive in intake. Whilst there is a definite theme in our vision of the highest academic standards and a very academic curriculum, we believe we can cater for all abilities and provide the necessary support to ensure that all students reach their potential (as we have demonstrated at Swavesey Village College).

At Post-16 level we will run the International Baccalaureate IB programme. This qualification is widely recognised as providing a broad and yet rigorous curriculum that is excellent preparation for Higher Education.

Values People

In the future, the global workforce will be even more competitive. People from all parts of the world will have highstandards of literacy and numeracy. They will be technologically able and will be well practiced in reason and deduction. The key quality that will differentiate one individual from another will be that of creativity. The ability to create, design and innovate will distil society. Individuals will also need to embrace a culture of enterprise and managed risk-taking.

Our core aim is to prepare our students for the future needs of society. The young people of today will need the ability to adapt quickly to changing environments. They will need to be multi-skilled, technology-literate and disciplined in their actions. They will need to be able to work as part of a team and have the capacity to work in isolation. They will need to be active citizens and will need to contribute to the society in which they live. It is crucial therefore that we instil positive values in young people and teach them to empathise with and recognise the values of all of those in the communities they engage with.

Our curriculum, delivered through the course of our extended day, will promote and develop these essential skills and attributes within our students. More information on this aspect of our curriculum is provided later in this section.

A high quality learning environment

A high-quality curriculum requires a high-quality learning environment. The physical environment needs to enable effective delivery of the curriculum and, like the curriculum, should be dynamic. Flexible spaces and creative approaches to curriculum delivery will help SFS to utilise a variety of teaching methods to ensure the greatest progression for students. We will work with local businesses and organisations to ensure that our students learn in an environment founded on real-life context and need.

Within the learning environment, new technologies will play a vital role in enabling students to become independent learners. Today’s learners are conversant with a multi-platform information-exchange environment. They learn in different ways and their access to information is, by definition, greater than any generation before them. Technology will provide a common platform for media exchange and will be the key driver in the promotion of independent learning.

Technology also enables a more personalised approach to teaching and learning. In taking responsibility for their own learning, learners will finally be able to progress at a rate personal to them. They will be able to learn where they want and when they want – technology does not cease to operate at the end of the school day. A virtual learning environment will act as their record of learning, and will allow different ways of assessing progress and need.

IT will also play a key role in the wider assessment of learners. Strategic use of the management information system (MIS) will provide real-time access to the achievement of learners. Effective (and accurate) tracking and monitoring will, where necessary, allow for early intervention with students and, again, the impact of this will be increased attainment and achievement.

The culture and ethos of the school will also form a key part of the learning environment. The vertical tutor group system will mean a single point of contact for both students and their families and our experience indicates that this forms a central part of an environment in which students feel known and cared for. Ourvalues-based education and culture of high expectations will extend throughout SFS with all members of the school community acting as role models, mentors and aides.

Pursuit of Excellence

The pursuit of excellence in pushing boundaries underpins our approach to both innovation and continuous improvement. It recognises that there will never be a point at which we can rest believing that we have all the answers: we can always get better. It is also an approach that we aim to develop in every student. Rigorous assessment, clear target setting, aspirational subject choices and challenging mentoring are all representations of this.

Whilst providing a clear framework that enables success in a ‘traditional’ context, a key feature of our curriculum will be that it will be dynamic in its nature, with regular reviews. The world is changing at an ever increasing pace; as educators we need to ensure that our curriculum meets not only the needs of learners, but also of employers – both locally, nationally and internationally.

Our curriculum is founded on a notion of ‘quality rather than quantity’. A strong foundation of core subjects will form the basis, with students then specialising in their chosen subjects at GCSE – but this will be limited to 3 subjects rather than 4. As a consequence, students will be able to spend more time developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of their learning. This will result in our students being able to access the highest grades of A* and A, thus achieving personal excellence.

Extending the boundaries of learning

The very best schools in the country recognise that an outstanding curriculum extends far beyond the limits of a traditional classroom. We believe that achievement is not restricted to the realm of academic qualifications and that those with high self-esteem, confidence, resilience, empathy for and the ability to work with others are the highest achievers (and often the most content) in society.

A key vehicle for the delivery of this element of the curriculum will be the PLEDGES system that has been tried and tested not only at SVC but all of the other secondary schools within the CMAT family. It provides youngsters, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with an opportunity to engage in activities they may otherwise never experience. Sport, the Arts and the outward bound activities provide a basis for much of the system.

Our commitment to this element of the curriculum is demonstrated by virtue of the fact that it is incorporated directly into the curriculum – we do not view it as being optional, or indeed ‘extra’ to the curriculum, but ‘parallel’.

Values-based Education

Stamford Free School will work within a strong ethical framework – values-based education. This approach is supported throughout many countries and is based on research carried out by Dr Neil Hawkes at Oxford University and validated by Professor Terry Lovatt at Newcastle University, New South Wales, Australia.

Our school will be a values-based school. Values-based schools are successful because they are built on a foundation of good relationships. We will use a values-based approach to change for the better the way children and their families lead their lives. Values-based Education (VbE) is an approach that nourishes and enables learners to flourish, making a difference to the world through who and how they are. Values help to determine the formation of our character. Pupil and family wellbeing will be achieved through a focus on positive relationships and a rich and diverse curriculum

We expect that by the end of our second year we will have achieved the School Quality Mark. The International Values Education Trust’s (IVET) School Value Quality Mark is an independent certification that a school practices VbE effectively. Values-based Education works through:

  • Values Consciousness:Teachers think more deeply about their teaching and the values that they model both in and outside of the classroom.
  • Wellbeing:In thinking about and enacting values, students develop self-worth, empathy and responsible personal behaviour.
  • Agency:Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently, to make choices and act on them.
  • Connectedness:Values-based Education (VbE) builds positive and wide-ranging connections between teachers, students and parents. It supports student engagement in learning, improves parent engagement in their children’s learning and allows teachers to develop new relationships with their students, each other and the parents and families in their school community.

We will use a ten focuses approach(10Fs). It is these ten dimensions that act as a checklist for implementing a values-based education. They are worked on concurrently – not in list order – as the community moves towards being values-based. The areas of focus are:

  • Focus on environment, atmosphere and routines – ensure the internal and external reflect positive values.
  • Focus on you – encourage the valuing of wellbeing of self and others
  • Focus on relationships – it is acceptable to have a hierarchy of roles but not of relationships.
  • Focus on adopting reflective practices – encourage the skill of reflection
  • Focus on an ethical vocabulary – establish and constantly use a common and shared values language
  • Focus on being a role model for values – implicitly model values and explicitly foster the modelling of values
  • Focus on school assemblies – assemblies and other meetings are important for the conscious transmission of culture
  • Focus on the school’s curriculum and its leadership – think of values as an integrated curriculum concept – develop values-based leadership.
  • Focus on community – a values-based school is outward looking, it works with and in the community
  • Focus on values assessment – monitor the effects of values-based education and evaluate its effectiveness – celebrate its success.

Curriculum Model

To enable students to study their chosen subjects in depth, to explore beyond the confines of the syllabus and to develop a mature appreciation and love of the subject our curriculum is modelled on a three year Key Stage 4. The rationale behind this is simple – it will provide 55% more time in terms of guided learning hours. This will mean that students can develop higher-order thinking skills and gain a deep understanding of a subject and can hence access A* and A grades, providing the right grounding for successful future study. This may involve studying a wider range of topics or texts than specified in the syllabus (e.g. wider range of poetry from a poet), spending longer on and exploring specific elements of the curriculum in more depth or developing study over a series of returns to particular topics to review them in light of further learning (e.g. comparing historical periods).

The school day will initially be structured around 5 one-hour lessons with one “core additional period”, leading to a 26 hour week. The provision of the last lesson of each day (Session 6) will initially support some academic extension and targeted support and also our expectation of students to engage in more traditional activity (Arts and Sport). However, as the school evolves we anticipate Session 6 becoming a normal part of the school curriculum. This will enable us to provide more flexibility within the curriculum and to foster an approach to supported self-study that will encourage the habits that students will need to take into university and beyond. The growth to a “core” 27 hour week in Key Stage 4 is an illustration of this ambition.

The rationale behind the phased introduction of the extended school day is a simple scaling issue. In the first year, it is anticipated that there will be 120 students in Y7. Session 6 would run, but not necessarily throughout the week initially. As the number of children increases over time so would the staff body, and this would allow a more diverse range of activities to become available.

A draft curriculum plan for Stamford Free School is shown on the next page.

The Key Stage 3 and 4 core of Maths (4 lessons), English (4 lessons) and Science (3 lessons at KS3 and 5 at KS4) is larger than has recently been the norm in state schools. We believe that exceptional achievement in these gold standard subjects will provide the basis for the success of both our individual students and our school in general. It will also lay the foundations for successful completion of the IB in our KS5 provision.

The plan is subject to any changes in the national qualifications framework e.g. reforms to GCSE qualifications. At present, no information exists on the recommended guided learning hours for new courses or permitted combinations and hence our curriculum planning can only be carried out in the current context.

Following the vision set out in Section C, the curriculum is designed with academic excellence in mind. We have reduced the breadth of the curriculum and increased the amount of contact time for both the subjects that students choose (“Guided Choices”) and also the core subjects themselves. This model unashamedly tries to replicate a classic Independent sector model of fewer qualifications but all achieved to the highest standards.