CTS have assembly and/or tutor time everyday. These are highly important activities within our school day, as it: contributes to student motivation through recognition of achievement, develops school spirit and unity among students, it also bridges the gap between what they learn in lessons and how they can be applied to everyday situations. Assemblies cover student well-being and have themes each week therefore there is variety throughout the year to ensure that it is enjoyable for the students.

Tutor time is a time within the school day where students can ask any questions that they might have to their form tutor, or express any concerns. This is important as the tutor is an integral part of a student's life at school. Tutor time is filled with a variety of activities, such as developing current affairs knowedge by watching the news, curriculum subject based quizzes and a time to reflect on their week.

 

Homework Guidance

Homework is important at all stages in a child’s education and when used properly it extends the challenge open to the pupil and ensures that teaching time is used to maximum effect. Homework will only be set if it’s appropriate to the needs of the children. The task set will be accessible to all students. Longer term project homework can be difficult for students to manage – teachers will consider this when setting and chunk it into manageable stages for students. Student’s performance for homework will be reflected in their ‘Attitude to Learning’ grade on termly reports.Homework will have clear and relevant objectives, and develop learning; teachers will give careful consideration to the quality of task they are setting, for example

• Learning vocab /keywords in advance of a class test
• Consolidating a new skill learned in the lesson, such as practising a certain style of exam question.
• Tackling material that introduces a topic in advance of a lesson (flipped learning)

How much?

Year	How long should each piece take?	How much is that on average per week?
7 and 8	15 – 20 minutes	Between 45 minutes and 1 hour 20 minutes
9	20 – 25 minutes	Between 1 hour 20 minutes and 2 hours 5 minutes
10 and 11	30 minutes	Between 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours 30 minutes

Department homework plans 

English	Spelling tests to be revised every week Termly homework sheet where students choose their homework task for the term
Maths	Homework will be set weekly on the first lesson of the week (Years 7, 9, 10, 11) – Monday (Years 8) – Tuesday It will be based on what they have learned the previous week. Homework will be given on green paper to distinguish it from their other work when its stuck in their books. It will then be marked and returned the following Monday – ready for the next homework.
Science	Students will be set homework where it will either support the learning in the forthcoming lesson or where it will consolidate the learning from the previous lesson. It will always link closely to the topic being taught. Students will be provided with a timescale and any resources that they need.
Humanities	KS3 Weekly literacy tasks for key words and knowledge in class KS4 Geography A3 revision sheets History are doing flipped learning tasks.
MFL	Year 7: Vocab learning – biweekly.   Translations - 2 per term Year 8: Vocab learning – biweekly.    Translations - 2 per term Year 9: Vocab learning – biweekly.   Speaking booklets/roleplay preparation - biweekly (alternating with vocab) Year 10: Vocab learning – biweekly.  Speaking booklets/roleplay preparation - biweekly (alternating with vocab) Year 11: Vocab learning – biweekly.   GCSE reading and writing tasks - every week
DT	Design Technology Students are given a task grid (e.g. 3 by 3), in each box they are set a topic style task. All tasks are differentiated and the students opt into the appropriate activity, guided by teacher. They have weeks 1 to 5 to complete 2 of the 9 tasks. Tasks support the scheme of learning and will be marked. Engineering Students are given a task grid (e.g. 3 by 3), in each box they are set a topic style task. All tasks are differentiated and the students opt into the appropriate activity, guided by teacher. They have weeks 1 to 5 to complete 2 of the 9 tasks. Tasks support the scheme of learning and will be marked.
Art	Students in all years are given a journal sketch pad. They will be given task on a regular basis (3 compulsory and 5 more open ended per term).
PE	Core PE – students must organise themselves to ensure they have the correct, clean kit for each lesson. GCSE PE – tasks will be set throughout the course.

Flipped Learning

 

At Corby Technical School you will begin your KS4 journey at the end of year 9, this gives you an opportunity to focus on the areas that are most important to you. This will allow you to concentrate on the subjects that you enjoy the most and ensure that you are fully prepared for the rigour of GCSE.

CTS has ensured there is a range of choices available to you. It is important that you make the right choices and you should seek advice from your teachers, tutor and parents/carers about your future.  The grades you achieve at GCSE and the subject choices you make at this point will have a significant impact on your options post-16 and post-18. As a school we will review your options to ensure that you have challenged yourself and set realistic goals that will result in you being successful.

The structure of the KS4 curriculum is included in your options pack. Another thing you may want to consider is choosing subjects as part of the English Baccalaureate. This is not an actual qualification but does recognise student achievements across a range of selected academic subjects. The English Baccalaureate will cover achievement in English, mathematics, science, a modern foreign language and either history or geography. All students should aim to do this.

The grades you achieve at GCSE and the subject choices you make at this point will have a significant impact on your options post-16.

As a school our aim is to make sure that you are able to study the subjects of your choosing. However, it is important to note that there may have to be some changes once you have submitted your form.  

At Corby Technical School we want to do everything we can to support our students learning and personal growth.  It is for this reason that we have launched PiXL Edge with our Year 7 students.  PiXL Edge is designed to help students to develop the skills desired by employers and that are necessary for future success.

PiXL Edge helps students to develop the LORIC attributes:

• Leadership
• Organisation
• Resilience
• Initiative
• Communication

Levels of challenge

PiXL Edge has three levels of challenge, Apprentice, Graduate and Masters.  It is designed so that students start on the Apprentice level in Year 7 with most completing this by the end of Year 8.  In Year 9 and 10 students will then work towards the Graduate level.  Some students will go even further in Year 11 to 13 and will complete the Masters level.

Challenges needed to complete the Edge

 

Attribute	Apprentice	Graduate	Masters
Leadership	2	1	1
Organisation	2	1	1
Resilience	2	1	1
Initiative	2	1	1
Communication	2	1	1
Any of the above	0	3	1

The completion of each level leads to a recognised, (unregulated) qualification from NCFE.

 

How to complete challenges

All Year 7 students have a logon and password for the Edge website.  The website contains a database of challenges that can be searched by LORIC attribute, key word or subject.  The database contains hundreds of challenges.  If a suitable challenge cannot be found students can speak to either their tutor or Mr Chatfield to suggest a new challenge.  New challenges can then be submitted to PiXL, and if approved will appear on the database in a few working days.
Once a challenge is selected students need to complete a short description of what they intend to do.  Once the challenge is complete they then need to complete a short reflection on how the activity helped them to develop the LORIC attribute, (e.g. Leadership).
 

If a student has forgotten their password or logon they should see either their tutor or Mr Chatfield. 

At CTS, we have a positive reward system in which students can earn house points for displaying good behaviour in and out of lessons. 

CTS also have a badge scheme, where students take up responsibilities within school. Students are given a badge to proudly display on their blazer in order to show what responsibilities they do around the school, this can be anything from sports ambassador, peer mentor, being on the student council etc. 

There are a number of ways that students can show good behaviour, which is displayed below.

Swipe Cards 
            

Students are issued with a swipe card when they join Corby Technical School. These cards are vital throughout the day. Students use the cards to gain entry into the school each day, they are used to record attendance and they are needed for the cashless catering system in the restaurant. You can put money on your card by logging onto Wisepay or by topping up at reception.

Your swipe card is your responsibility. You will need to replace your card at a cost of £2 should it be lost or damaged.