Our aim as a department, is to offer curricula which can be adapted to provide for individual needs and are ones where every child can succeed, and where hard work and commitment will pay off for all students.

Our qualifications offer individuals of all abilities challenge that is relevant to their starting points and also encourages/engenders risk-taking and the acceptance of challenge on the part of the students: Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria are available on all units across all vocational qualifications at all levels*.

Mandatory, externally and internally examined units exist for all of our vocational qualifications plus there are additional unit choices which can be tailored to the needs of students and in which the tutor has some leeway with choice to maximise the opportunities to succeed for every student.

In addition to offering vocational qualifications, which assess the individual’s competencies in their chosen vocational area, students can also undertake the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness, which seeks to offer opportunities to students to:

Gain recognition for a wide range of personal achievements

Plan, undertake and review their own learning so that they may manage it more effectively;

Broaden their experience and help them to develop transferable independent learning skills;

The purpose of including CoPE in our curriculum offer is to enable students to develop the key skills of collaborative working, problem solving and improving one’s own learning and performance. This is key to their ability to plan, carry out and review their learning and subsequently, deepen their knowledge, understanding and abilities. It also encourages them to apply their skills, knowledge and understanding more generally, including to other subject areas across Key Stage 4.