Welcome to Sociology

We want all young people to have mastery of classical sociological theories and to apply that understanding to a range of contemporary topics. Students will have a passion to become social scientists and become active, critical citizens.

Implementation Key Principles:

• Students will have the opportunity to learn about and understand key sociological theories before they are explored through taught topics.
• Content is rich, relevant and reflective of the diverse world in which we live.
• Learning is sequenced to enable young people to develop knowledge and skills.
• Literacy is explicitly delivered across the curriculum. 
• Learning is adapted to support the specific needs of individuals.
• A sustainable approach is supported through the curriculum.
•  Resilience is promoted for students by frequent (low stakes) assessment to inform teaching

In classrooms, this may look like:

• Student opportunities to show knowledge and understanding of key theories and concepts.
• Application of knowledge and understanding of sociological theories in lessons, often via exam practice.
• Students given opportunities to evaluate concepts and theories.
• Carefully planned shared schema, developed by experts and tailored by teachers to meet the needs of teaching groups
• DO NOW tasks drawing on prior learning
• Signature strategies used for Checking Understanding, such as Show Call, Show Me, Intentional Monitoring
• Shared literacy and reading strategies in place, such as Inside Outside Beyond and whole class reading work
• Precise pedagogical decisions made for students with additional needs (EHCP, SEND K, PSP, Behavioural, PA) including additional adults, alternative resources or outcomes, seating arrangements, precise deployment of signature strategies
• Teaching which alters according to student understanding demonstrated both from assessment points and within lessons

In work produced, this may look like:

• Regular opportunities for class discussions with Students being able to debate sociologically drawing relevant arguments from sociologists/concepts.
• Weekly independent study where Students will pre-read ahead of lessons.
• Regular feedback, which addresses knowledge or skills gaps
• Opportunities for conscious practise by students (reteach episodes, ‘fix-it’ sessions, revision)
• Opportunities for self and peer assessment, engaging with success criteria
• As relevant to Key Stage, opportunities to engage with exam-style content
• Home learning will promote digital literacy in line with school strategy

For students, this experience may include:

• Class discussions - Sociological memory revision recall activities
• Timed exam style questions.
• Consistent staffing in lessons with teachers who know them and similar learning journeys across year groups
• Regular opportunities to engage with feedback on progress (parents’ evenings, progress grades, reports, assessment feedback, in-class feedback, marking)
• A clear sense of the curriculum journey leading to CEIAG – how can you pursue this field of study? What might it lead you to?
• Where students are taught by professionals at the start of their career, they can expect additional adults in classes supporting through a range of strategies (live coaching, learning walks, observations, team teaching)

In evaluating the impact of our curriculum, we will consider:

• Outcomes data, such as A level and BTEC Results, GCSE results, Additional qualifications (sports leaders, community languages, Entry level qualifications) and the performance of vulnerable groups within that data
• Destinations data at common points of transition from the school (Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5)
• Internal and external Quality Assurance processes (Ark review processes, governor accountability processes, internal audit processes, Ofsted)
• The development of professionals into experts in their field through their work in supporting colleagues, supporting other schools, developing curriculum resource, becoming examiners etc.