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Welcome to the Social Science Faculty page, which includes the subjects Child Development, Health and Social Care, Applied Psychology, Psychology and Sociology.

The Social Science Department at The de Ferrers Academy aims to stimulate the minds of our students while encouraging them through a fascinating, diverse and dynamic curriculum in each of the subjects offered. 

In each of our subjects in the faculty, through careful mapping, students will build core, transferable knowledge and skills which will ultimately prepare them for the challenges of their next steps whether it be the workplace or further education. 

Curriculum Intent

The Social Sciences curriculum is intended to provide students with the foundations for scientific understanding of human behaviour. Students will learn to appreciate different perspectives and think holistically regarding the reasons why we, and others in society behave the way that we do and what support is available (health and/or social care) along with the issues they may face.

The curriculum is a broad and balanced across our subjects to enable our students to become successful independent learners who have a thirst for learning and strive to be the best they can be. Within the Faculty, students develop a wealth of transferable skills through our dynamic methods of teaching.

In all five of our subjects’ students will get the opportunity to analyse current and relevant world problems through a variety of contexts. Students will then look at the reasons for potential failings and possible solutions including the analysis of policy.

Aims & Objectives

  1. To inspire our students to develop into inquisitive and creative learners
  2. To help develop a culture of high expectations, exemplary behaviour and curiosity within every classroom.
  3. To critically analyse real world issues, in Health, Social care and Early year provision as well as in Psychology and Sociology and assess the range of possible solutions
  4. To prepare our students with the skills needed for the next steps in their life, whether it be continuing with education or going into the workplace

Curriculum Implementation

The sequence of teaching content and assessment is planned to ensure that there is progression. Details of the Curriculum Plan can be found in our Curriculum Map which details how we build and consolidate the skills required to produce young people with the skills they need to progress.

At Key Stage 4, Child Development and Health and Social care are optional subjects that students can choose alongside their core subjects. Students opting for these subjects will be taught by subject specialists, who have experience in the workplace, enabling students to fully understand the content in the real world. Students will have 3 hours a week of the subject to work through the units for that specific course. The knowledge gained from either of these two subjects enable excellent progression on to our A-level courses.

At Key Stage 5, Applied Psychology, Ctech Health and Social care (Single and Double Award), Psychology and Sociology are all choice subjects. These are delivered by subject specialists and students will have 5 hours a week of taught lessons, with the expected 5 hours of homework a week.

In both of the Key stages our subject lessons are meticulously planned so that students develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods involved in the Social Sciences discipline.  Through Health and Social care and Child Development key concepts such as the care values are taught to enable students to develop diverse skills that are vital in the health, social care and early years profession. In Psychology and Applied Psychology students will develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods involved in scientific enquiry when studying Human Behaviour and will learn to critically assess theory before applying it to practice. Lastly in Sociology students will learn the fundamentals of the subject and develop skills valued by employers, including critical analysis, independent thinking and research.

Each lesson will begin with a recap task (low stake quiz/questions/activity sheet) to check and activate prior knowledge, that will lead into the objectives and lesson questions. All of our lessons involve teacher involvement and support as well as student engagement, with homework set to ensure successful completion of the course. Homework’s will be followed up with formative and/or summative feedback as well as whole class feedback activities, which allows students to develop their understanding and maximise their understanding of the content.