Northern Leaders Trust has introduced a new elective curriculum, which they are rolling out across their two schools, Kenton School and Studio West.
Developing its students’ interests, providing new opportunities and preparing them for life after school, the elective curriculum offers every student the chance to participate in an activity of their choice for 35 minutes at the end of each day. The initiative is generating positive results and excitement across both schools.
The elective curriculum offers a wide range of activities, from sports and creative arts to academic clubs and skill-building sessions, all aimed at enhancing the student experience. Students can choose from activities such as the 5k Running Club, Debate Club, Sewing, Film Critics, Studio Bakes and more. With a range of options to choose from, there is something to engage everyone, whether their passions lie in sports, creative arts or academic pursuits.
The initiative is available to all students at Kenton School and Studio West. This ensures that every student, regardless of background, can access the same opportunities to develop new skills and interests.
The introduction of this curriculum stemmed from a commitment to further engage students with their education and give them something to look forward to each day. UK qualification board, Pearson, recently reported that 1.5 million children struggle to engage with their learning, so the elective curriculum at Northern Leaders Trust stands as a proactive approach to address this statistic.
Staff were encouraged to offer activities they are passionate about, allowing them to share and pass on their interests to the students. In addition, student councils at both schools were consulted, ensuring that the choices reflected the students’ interests. This collaborative process led to a diverse selection of activities being offered, enabling every student to find something they will enjoy.
Through the initiative, Northern Leaders Trust are not only promoting personal development, but also academic learning. Each activity has a set of learning objectives which are made clear to the students in order to help them understand the skills and/or additional qualifications they will gain through their participation.
The early results reflect that the initiative is already having a positive impact on both schools. Attendance has improved and students are excited about meeting and working with peers from other year groups. This is helping students develop confidence and communication skills that will serve them well in school, future employment and social situations.
Students have shared their positive experiences of the elective curriculum, with many expressing enthusiasm for their chosen activities. One Year 10 student, Tre, said “Positive Mental Health group is really nice to be a part of. You have more freedom than in lessons and the opportunity to make others feel good.”
Another student enjoys the fruits of their labour, emphasising that “Studio Bakes is so much fun, I get to bake and then bring it home to share with people.”
Year 8 student Joseph shared his excitement about Fantasy Football, saying, “We are building a team together, which is making us think about tactics.” This feedback demonstrates the wide-reaching benefits of the elective curriculum, including the development of teamwork skills, creativity and enthusiasm.
Executive Principal at Northern Leaders Trust, Martyn Gordon, reflects on the importance of the initiative, while emphasising the Trust’s commitment to offer every student a well-rounded education: “At Northern Leaders Trust, we are driven to deliver a holistic educational experience for every student that we serve. We challenge ourselves to ensure the full range of experiences is of the highest quality. We are incredibly proud of our academic curriculum, which is vitally important, but is just one element of the overall picture. Equally important are the experiences deemed to be extra-curricular and those that are less tangible: the ethos, high expectations and culture, which transmit subliminal messages to all in the school community.
For this academic year, we wanted to offer something additional, that would motivate and inspire our students to meet all of our expectations and complement their learning, which led to the creation of our elective curriculum.
“It was designed to provide our students with the opportunity to realise their full potential in all areas. We want education in our schools to be rewarding and life changing, by providing a wide range of activities which allows happy and motivated students to engage and achieve well.
Our broad and exciting elective curriculum is having a colossal impact, with improved attendance, punctuality, engagement, achievement and progress in both schools. Student and staff feedback has been incredibly encouraging and everything is indicating that our exceptional students will continue the highly positive trends from the last few years.”
www.pearson.com/en-gb/news-and-policy/news/2024/06/pearsonschool-report-2024
northernleaderstrust.org