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Our Curriculum
Act Fast has made a commitment to give all learner access to a broad and rich curriculum. Using our current model ensures our learners experience linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education alongside personal development sessions. This offers a more balanced curriculum and aids engagement. Addition enrichment activities have an underlying focus of developing speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy skills alongside SEMH needs.
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Our curriculum also enables and encourages learners to develop their interests and talents. We have a number of students here who have found their passion for music, learning how to play the guitar, as well as a large number of young, talented motorbike riders who love learning about riding, fixing and maintaining the bikes.
It’s important to us to support our learners in keeping them physically and mentally healthy. We provide access to: Mental Health Champions, outreach support and therapeutic counselling services, which is available to all our learners. We have regular sports activities within our timetable to encourage physical exercise, as well as access to local gyms and leisure centres. These activities help to prepare young people to access their community in adulthood.
Core Subjects including Maths, English and PSHE
Sport and Physical Education
Motor Vehicle Technology
House and Home Skills
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Hospitality and Retail
Cooking
Other subjects on our enrichment programme include:
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Arts & Crafts
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Enrichment Activities
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First Aid
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Horticulture
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Independent Living
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Motorcycle riding
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The 24hr Curriculum
We provide 24 hour support for all our pupils and the learning opportunities are not just limited to the classrooms. We offer a well-structured supported and student led Curriculum focused package to aid pre and post session learning as well as an option to access distance learning. The support material can be found in the curriculum area sections.
View our Curriculum Policy, please click the button below.
Hidden Curriculum
Act Fast’s curriculum, throughout the range of its delivery, is heavily invested in the “Hidden Curriculum”. The Hidden Curriculum argument is that the most valuable lessons our young people receive here are to arrive on time, respect authority, follow instructions, keep regard for safety, take responsibility for their actions, behave in an acceptable standard, liaise with other people respectfully, and respect other people’s personal choices, encouraging equality and diversity.
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Other ways in which we support personal development include:
Maths up to Functional Skills Level 2 standard
English up to Functional Skills Level 2 standard
Motor Vehicle Technology with the Institute of the Motor Industry up to Level 2 standard
PSHE (including RSE) against a verified and recognised scheme
Motocross, delivered by qualified and experienced staff
Arts / Crafts
Music
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Further to this, lessons in the following subject areas are delivered as embedded features of the timetabled lessons.
Human and Social Understanding
Aesthetic and Creative
Scientific
Technological
British Values
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Our learners know if they work hard, they are awarded by riding the motorcycles here at Act Fast. This has proven to be successful, helping young adults to achieve their qualifications and have a positive attitude toward learning.
Educational Framework
It is our aim to provide an educational framework which is heavily invested in the hidden curriculum. By that, we mean that as well as lessons formalised in Maths and English for example, our young people develop an understanding of:
Working to a process
Arriving on time
Respecting authority
Abiding by the rules
Accepting that their first choice may not always be the right choice
Following instructions
Not expecting to leave early
Attending every day
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These are the skills whereby a young person will be employable post 16. Without these key skills, a young person is unlikely to be able to function in the workplace.
We develop the hidden curriculum, embedded in everything we do, in order that our learners gain an understanding of their expectations being matched by the expectations of attendance, compliance and engagement
We have a tracking system in place for our core subjects.
We also use a “readiness to learn” scale, whereby a learners attitude, engagement, and involvement in their own work is measured.
Bespoke
"When evolving Act Fast into an independent school I was very mindful that Mainstream school had not been a successful outcome for the majority if not all of our learners. It was imperative that we were bespoke and able to meet the needs of all our learners and not just the few. For this reason we created our own curriculum that is more sympathetic to our learners’ needs.
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Our teachers create an environment that allows our young people to focus on learning. 1:1 support as well as small group teaching (where appropriate) is in place to make teaching more effective, allowing tutors to concentrate on each individual learner’s needs.
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We believe in student voice here at Act Fast. Our EHCP’s (Educational Health Care plans) allow us to capture our learners’ views. It’s not only in our annual reviews that we give learner’s opportunity to be heard. For example, one young adult suggested we invested in a bigger bike here, so we put arrangements in place and made this happen. We encourage our learners to make their voices heard. Below are some examples of student voice council meetings held at Act Fast and how they shape decisions made at the school"
- Peter Sembiante, Principal and Director
View our Student Voice Meeting Agenda 04.03.2022
How we can help
Narrowing the gap - filling the gap in learners knowledge
Developing skills toward improved employability
Consolidating learning from mainstream schools
Offering recognised qualifications and awards, including AQA and NCFE
The qualification Act Fast offer mirrors those provided by local colleges, meaning that learners will have an equal opportunity once they leave our tutelage
All Act Fast employees are fully enhanced, DBS checked and cleared to work with young people
Balancing the requirement for attainment with the desire for progress.
Would you like to know more about the curriculum offer?
A carefully designed curriculum is key to educational development, if you would like to know more about our offer, please contact the curriculum Lead below:
John Regan