Curriculum
An Inclusive School
West Bromwich Collegiate Academy is a co-educational, non-selective, non-religious Academy for the community.
Religion
The Academy will have no religious ethos. The school will teach RE through Literacy for Life themes and through Focus Days and Tutor Time activities. GCSE RE will be an available option. The school uniform code will allow flexibility in religious dress.
Dietary requirements shall be reflective of the school intake, with vegetarian options available each day and halal products marked as such.
The Prevent Agenda and British Values
West Bromwich Collegiate Academy is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its students. As a Trust we recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is no different from safeguarding against any other vulnerability. At West Bromwich Collegiate Academy all staff are expected to uphold and promote the fundamental principles of British values including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust has a zero-tolerance approach to extremist behaviour for all community members. We rely on our strong values to steer our work and ensure the safeguarding care of our pupils strives to protect them from exposure to negative influences.
We have created a set of online resources to promote British Values and understanding of different religions through the Celebrating Faiths website, which is used through Tutor Time activities.
Aims and Principles
We work alongside other professional bodies and agencies to ensure that our students are safe from harm.
The objectives are that:
- Students are encouraged to adopt and live out our Core Values. These complement the key “British Values” of tolerance, respect, understanding, compassion and harmonious living.
- Students are helped to understand the importance of democracy and freedom of speech, through the SEAL (Social, Emotional, Aspects of Learning) assemblies and through Student Voice members.
- Students are taught how to keep themselves safe, in school and when using the internet.
- Students participate in local community events so that they appreciate and value their neighbours and friends who may not share their faith background.
- Students’ wellbeing, confidence and resilience is promoted through our planned curriculum and out of hours learning opportunities.
- Students are supported in making good choices from a young age, so they understand the impact and consequences of their actions on others.
- Trustees, Governors, teachers, teaching assistants and non-teaching staff demonstrate an understanding of what radicalisation and extremism are and why we need to be vigilant in school.
Staff Training
- Through training day opportunities in school, we will ensure that our staff are fully aware of the threats, risks and vulnerabilities that are linked to radicalisation; are aware of the process of radicalisation and how this might be identified early on.
- The Trust has a full time Safeguarding Manager who is able to facilitate the delivery of the Home Office Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent. This is a 45-minute briefing and will include specific details of referrals locally.
- All SPC members and Trustees have and will receive WRAP training.
PSHE and SMSC
Our Programme of Study for PSHE education aims to develop skills and attributes such as resilience, self-esteem, risk-management, teamworking and critical thinking in the context of learning grouped into three core themes: health and wellbeing, relationships and living in the wider world (including economic wellbeing and aspects of careers education).
Issues of inclusion are at the heart of competency education. Competency education strengthens personalised learning with a transparent structure that enables greater systemic and personal accountability, as well as continuous improvement.
The L4L curriculum has a number of strong embedded themes which focus on PSHE. For example, the first theme in the curriculum, Citizen Me, uses family history projects, religious festival sharing and opportunities to create class conduct rules as an opportunity to bring together disparate communities in shared values of tolerance. Projects like this have students and families work together, learn about each other’s customs, beliefs and ideas and respect each other’s views.
RSE
This year we are required to teach the new national policy on Relationships and Sex Education. This is a much-expanded set of lessons which covers all aspects of positive relationships, safety in relationships, health, different types of families, consent, e-safety and a number of items informing students of criminal offences such as FGM and forced marriage.
The Trust has now published the policy, which has been altered based on feedback from the consultation a few months ago and we thank you for your comments. You can find the policy here which includes the topics taught year by year. There are a very limited number of areas that can be opted out of in the new framework and you can find more information in the policy.
Supporting Organisations
The Trust runs a safeguarding service which supports local schools and provides training and expertise. The Trust has relationships with the following organisations:
- Sandwell Women’s Aid
- Shield
- Sandwell Young Carers
- Birmingham Young Carers
- DECCA
- CAMHS
- Targeted Youth Support
- Barnardo’s Family Support
- The CSE team (based in Sandwell Children’s Services)
- Brook
- Barnardo’s SPACE (Birmingham CSE team)
- Family Support Team (part of Birmingham Children’s Services)
- Krunch (mentoring and girls’ group)
- Brushstrokes
- Smethwick Food Bank
- ASIRT (advice and support for asylum seeker families)
- St Chad’s Sanctuary (for refugees and asylum seekers)
- RESTORE (befriending service for asylum seeker families)
- Smethwick Asian Families Support Service
- PREVENT team
Ensuring the Integration of Disadvantaged Students
In 2015 the Trust’s founding secondary Academy was named as the leading secondary school in the West Midlands in relation to the support offered to Pupil Premium students.
We believe that closing the gap happens through the following interlinked approaches:
- Dealing with students’ complex needs, through safeguarding and delivering a strong programme of PSHE and citizenship. This may involve engagement with outside agencies, including the Local Authority, where necessary.
- Equality of opportunity, which we seek to provide through equality of access to the enrichment programme, equality of access to technology, equality of access to experiences and by providing safe and secure areas where students can study. Pupil Premium students have first opportunity to subscribe to all trips and enrichment opportunities.
- Raising aspiration by getting students involved in national competitions, giving strong careers awareness and providing students with opportunities for success amongst their peers and the local community. This also includes the constant development of students’ cultural capital to ensure they are not disadvantaged relative to their peers.
