Curriculum Statement
We firmly believe that all children, irrespective of their starting point, are entitled to a broad and ambitious curriculum. To that end, we are delighted to offer an innovative and knowledge-rich curriculum, which enables any student within Northern Education Trust to full their potential and develop the all-important skills and qualities, which will serve them well in later life.
The curriculum reflects the Northern Education Trust vision of ‘outcomes focused, child centred’. Our curriculum delivers vital subject knowledge and skills, which are complemented by a raft of enrichment activities that broaden and extend the student experience.
The curriculum is designed to give all students the opportunity to develop as enquiring individuals who feel valued and respected, so that they, in turn, learn to value those around them. Equality of opportunity is a key principle in the design of our curriculum model and we fully support the entitlement that students have to study the English Baccalaureate.
Computer Science (ICT)
The subject area of Computer Science and ICT offers a blended curriculum that ensures national curriculum coverage while also giving the students a broad knowledge base from which to draw upon in Key Stage 4.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
The subject area of Computer Science and ICT offers a blended curriculum that ensures national curriculum coverage while also giving the students a broad knowledge base from which to draw upon in Key Stage 4.
Who should apply?
Non-specialist teachers who are teaching Computer Science and ICT at Key Stage 3 within a NET academy.
What is included in the programme?
The subject area of Computer Science and ICT offers a blended curriculum that ensures national curriculum coverage while also giving the students a broad knowledge base from which to draw upon in Key Stage 4.
We cover the following throughout the Key Stage 3 curriculum:
- Computer Science
- ICT
- Digital Literacy
The programme we offer is focused on the delivery of all elements of the curriculum but does focus on the more specialist areas of study, such as computational thinking and programming. Sessions will be a mix of pre-recorded videos that outline 100% of lesson content and live remote meetings to review prior content and to prepare for the next steps. This includes lesson structures used, understanding of content and questioning.
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English
Introducing English is intended for staff who are new either to teaching or to the subject, offering a thorough grounding in English as a taught subject, building understanding from the foundations of grammar and vocabulary all the way up to textual interpretation and construction.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
English is a subject that is fundamental to the educational success, personal development, and life opportunities of every student. As such, supporting staff in developing their subject knowledge, pedagogical mastery, and wider curriculum and strategic understanding is absolutely crucial.
The NET English Subject Development Programme is constructed to ensure that all staff involved in the teaching of English are able to access high-quality CPD that will help to build their understanding of English as a taught subject, whether that be in terms of the foundations of grammar and vocabulary, the intricacies of interpretation and construction, or the role of English within the wider school curriculum and education system.
Who should apply?
The NET English Subject Development Programme offers a number of ways to access CPD for English:
‘Introducing English’: Introducing English is a taught course intended for staff who are new either to teaching or to the subject, offering a thorough grounding in English as a taught subject, building understanding from the foundations of grammar and vocabulary all the way up to textual interpretation and construction. The course will take place from September to December 2023, featuring short weekly sessions delivered remotely by experts from across NET as well as reading materials and seminar-style opportunities. As part of the programme, staff are also given opportunities to network with teachers in similar contexts as well as to problem-solve with members of the director team.
‘Preparing to Teach…’: These will be regular one-off sessions on key topics featuring in the NET English curriculum. Sessions will be announced throughout the year and advertised through departments.
‘Snippets’: These will be short video-based presentations that will be appearing throughout the year on the NETSC English area. Topics will cover classroom pedagogy, subject knowledge, specification training, and examiner insights.
What is included in the programme?
‘Introducing English’: The course will run from September to December and will involve sessions building from the fundamentals of spelling, vocabulary and grammar to issues such as structure, perspective, and the various key writing styles, as well as text-based topics such as the study of poetry and Shakespearean drama. Reading materials will be provided for the majority of sessions to provide staff with the opportunity to develop their understanding, with sessions then balancing coverage of subject content with the application of that content in the classroom. Examples will be drawn from throughout the Year 7-11 curriculum. Each session will also end with a ‘teaching clinic’ opportunity in which staff can discuss issues arising with members of the English Director team.
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Geography
This course is designed to support participants in becoming highly effective geography teachers with the skills, confidence and knowledge to deliver a high quality geography curriculum.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
This course is designed to support participants in becoming highly effective geography teachers with the skills, confidence and knowledge to deliver a high quality geography curriculum.
Who should apply?
The course is for those that are teaching out of their specialist subject or new to teaching secondary geography.
These may be:
- Non specialist teachers
- ECT1s
- Teach First
- ECT2s
- Staff new to the Trust
This course is designed to support participants in becoming highly effective geography teachers with the skills, confidence and knowledge to deliver a high quality geography curriculum.
What is included in the programme?
The modular programme will be delivered through a blended learning approach including:
- Online training for each session from experts across the trust
- Online learning resources
- Online discussions and support
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History
In order to support staff in delivering the highly ambitious, challenging, knowledge based history curriculum, the programme is designed so that it is appropriate for any teacher of history within Northern Education Trust.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
In order to support staff in delivering the highly ambitious, challenging, knowledge based history curriculum, the programme is designed so that it is appropriate for any teacher of history within Northern Education Trust.
Who should apply?
This programme is aimed at non- specialists, ITT students and NQTs who are teaching history at either KS3 or KS4.
What is included in the programme?
The Northern Education Trust history curriculum is rigorous and highly challenging, helping pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Each lesson has enquiry at its core, thereby inspiring pupils’ curiosity of the past. The history curriculum will equip pupils with the skill to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement.
The modular units within Year 7, 8 and 9 follow DfE guidelines covering the National Curriculum requirements and are delivered in chronological order, which in turn allows students to make connections and analyse trends. Interleaving of content is an active part of each unit as students regularly address change and continuity.
The programme we offer is focused on the delivery of all aspects of the curriculum as well as how to utilise the NET structures within a history classroom. The intention of this programme is to develop staff’s skill set and knowledge of the systems and policies we use in NET, but with how they specifically relate to history and can be used in the history classroom.
Sessions will be a mix of pre-recorded sessions, face to face meetings and remote meetings via google hangout. For all sessions, pre-reading and further reading will be recommended to all participants to consolidate the content of the training session.
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Maths
Our mathematics training covers GCSE, Statistics and A-Level content and is designed to give you a detailed overview of the subject content and approach to teaching.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
Our mathematics training covers GCSE, Statistics and A-Level content and is designed to give you a detailed overview of the subject content and approach to teaching.
All of our information is available internally on our dedicated Maths CPD site.
Science curriculum support for Year 7 & 8
This training programme covers the 10 Big Ideas of Science that are introduced at Key Stage 3 and further developed through GCSE. These Big Ideas cover topics in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
This programme covers the 10 Big Ideas of Science that are introduced at Key Stage 3 and further developed through GCSE. These Big Ideas cover topics in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Who should apply?
The Science support for non-specialist teachers in Year 7 and 8 is for any teacher of science who is teaching out of specialism; without a conventional science qualification. It is also relevant to teachers who would like to expand and strengthen their subject pedagogical knowledge. The sessions are designed to show how big ideas develop in science from Year 7 to Year 8, with the awareness that these ideas are further developed throughout Years 9 to 11. The aim is to enable non-specialists in an area of science to be able to teach successfully across all areas of science.
Suitable applicants may be:
- Trainee teachers, NQTs and RQTs
- Science teachers without a conventional science qualification
- Experienced science teachers looking to develop their teaching of a new science specialism
What is included in the programme?
Students in Year 7 and Year 8 study 4 topics per Big Idea; for each topic a short video has been introduced to highlight the key subject knowledge, curriculum links and teaching strategies to enable science teachers to deliver these areas of science successfully to their students.
The training aims to focus on the most important concepts of each lesson within a topic to ensure any teacher is able to deliver the lesson effectively. Practical work will be highlighted with tips for delivery, alongside alternative approaches to the lesson. Videos will be released half termly for teachers to familiarise themselves with content prior to teaching. By considering some of the most difficult concepts of the biology, chemistry and physics curricula and how to use practical work successfully, the sessions will develop the confidence of classroom teachers and their understanding of pedagogical approaches.
The sessions include:
- Subject knowledge in key areas of biology, chemistry and physics
- Common student misconceptions
- How to teach and scaffold difficult concepts
- Links between different areas of the curriculum
- How to deliver practical work to enhance understanding
Learning portal
All of our information is available internally on our dedicated Science CPD site.
Science SKE
The Science Subject Knowledge Enhancement programme is for science teachers who would like to expand and strengthen their subject pedagogical knowledge. The sessions are designed to show how big ideas develop in science from Year 7 to Year 11.
Delivered by NET Inspire
Course duration 12 months
Course Overview
The Science Subject Knowledge Enhancement programme is for science teachers who would like to expand and strengthen their subject pedagogical knowledge. The sessions are designed to show how big ideas develop in science from Year 7 to Year 11.
Who should apply?
The Science Subject Knowledge Enhancement programme is for science teachers who would like to expand and strengthen their subject pedagogical knowledge. The aim of our SKE courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics is to make teaching across all three science disciplines accessible to all science staff within NET. A series of online training sessions will outline key subject knowledge, curriculum links and teaching strategies to enable science teachers to deliver these areas of science successfully to their students.
This course would be suitable if:
- you are new to GCSE teaching in science including ECT
- your degree is not in science
- you are looking to develop teaching of a new science specialism
The sessions are delivered online with access to course materials and opportunities for questions and discussion.
What is included in the programme?
The programme covers central themes of biology, chemistry and physics that are introduced at Key Stage 3 and then develop through GCSE. Staff are able to attend a full SKE course in biology, chemistry or physics; or choose specific sessions to attend which are most appropriate to their own professional development. Each session will include the following:
- links to pupil’s prior knowledge from KS2 and KS3 referring to the national curriculum, misconceptions and things students get wrong – including analysis of examiners reports
- a sequence through your topic from year 7 to 11
- the key and challenging ideas from the lesson sequence, both the science of it and the pedagogical subject knowledge, relevant practical links and how to transform the teacher’s science knowledge into pupil learning
- examples of GCSE questions- specifically Level 3 (Grade 6-9) questions
By considering some most difficult concepts of the biology, chemistry and physics curricula in depth and considering how to use practical work effectively, the sessions will develop the confidence of classroom teachers and their understanding of pedagogical approaches.
Learning portal
All of our information is available internally on our dedicated Science CPD site.