Curriculum

The subjects taught are: English (often referred to as Literacy) Maths (often referred to as Numeracy) Science Social Studies Information technology Art Physical education (PE) Personal and Social Education Arabic Islamic Studies Quran French (from Year 7)

Primary Phase

The school uses the National Curriculum for England and Wales as the basis of its curriculum but makes adaptations to meet the needs of second language learners. Teachers are expected to use a range of ESL strategies during their lessons. The emphasis is on lessons that are designed for maximum student participation so that the girls at Al Maha become confident, enthusiastic and independent learners.

The National Literacy Strategy is quite extensively adapted, particularly in Years 1 & 2, in order that the girls can develop their vocabulary and their speaking and listening skills. Units of work for English are planned around themes and stories so that students are introduced to new work, be it vocabulary or grammar and punctuation, in a meaningful way. Each week lessons are planned so that students are given the opportunity to practise a whole range of skills, speaking, listening, reading, writing, spelling and handwriting.

The maths curriculum follows the National Numeracy Strategy very closely.

The school’s science planning follows the QCA units of work.

The school is in the process of developing its Social Studies curriculum (History and Geography). The aim is to cover the objectives laid down in the programmes of study from the National Curriculum but to teach those skills through topics that have more relevance to Arab students. Therefore some of the topics covered are based on QCA units of work, and some have been written by the school.

The school follows the QCA units of work for Information Technology.

The school follows the QCA units of work, with slight modifications, for Art.

The Arabic, Islamic Studies and Quran curricula are those provided by the Ministry of Education.

Secondary Phase

The curriculum for the secondary students follows the National Curriculum for England and Wales but with slight adaptations and is designed to prepare students for the IGCSE syllabi which will be taught in Years 10 and 11 from the start of the academic year 2010-2011.

Assessment

The school uses formative assessment (ongoing / teacher) assessment as its main form of assessment. Teachers report on students’ achievement at the end of each term. However, teachers will contact parents at more regular intervals if a student is experiencing difficulties and needs additional support.