Whitley Academy Opening Minds

Whitley Academy is proudly leading the way in promoting an innovative curriculum delivery – Opening Minds. We are delivering a KS3 curriculum that prepares students for the 21st Century. This will meet all traditional subject requirements but challenges and extends all students through the development of transferable competences and skills.

These skills are based on the RSA’s Opening Minds Curriculum. This is a complementary framework to the National Curriculum which enables students to develop the skills required by employers in the modern world.

We have recently become an RSA Training School and we lead on the delivery of this competence driven approach to learning with our Key Stage 3 students. Teachers and senior leaders from other schools across the country come to learn from our outstanding practice. Our students have up to two teachers for two thirds of their lessons and focus on developing leaning competences as well as separate subject knowledge and skills. This is our ‘Opening Minds’ programme.

All evidence points to it providing an easier transition from primary to secondary and a more coherent learning experience for students.

All students in Years 7 and 8 experience this innovative curriculum.

Whitley Academy uses the National Curriculum to provide learning objectives for its students but they are not delivered though individual lessons. Opening Minds teachers plan student learning through thematic work that focuses on developing skills and competences as well as knowledge.

In the remaining 10 periods of study students go to lessons in Art, Drama, Food Technology, Physical Education, Information and Communication Technology, MFL and Product Design. These subjects deliver the key learning competences too. Their work is also linked to the content of the Opening Minds lessons.

Student learning will meet all traditional subject requirements but each term will challenge and extend all students through the development of transferable learning skills. The curriculum will make perfect sense to students as a coherent experience, rather than a series of disjointed lessons.