Curriculum

Our curriculum is complex and ever changing to ensure we continuously meet the needs of all our young people

A good curriculum empowers children with the knowledge they are entitled to; knowledge that will prepare our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life so that they become actively involved in their community, contributing to society and living as independently as possible.

A good curriculum provides experiences and situations that focus on developing young people who will enter the adult world as respectful, tolerant, valued, confident and independent young people with resilience and ambition.

A good curriculum ensures young people play an active part, making remembering almost inevitable as we cleverly weave new experiences into our curriculum narrative.

The Head, Hand and Heart Curriculum Philosophy

Our curriculum intent is based on 3 key principles enabling it to be a community where amazing children do amazing things.

The ‘Head’ of our curriculum

Provide empowering and life enriching knowledge, so our young people can join in and fully contribute to create a fulfilling, healthy and safe future for themselves and others.

To achieve this we will…

· Provide a wide, varied and sequenced curriculum that meets the needs of all of our students and enables them to participate in everyday activities’ leading to a fulfilling life.

· Provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills so they are able to lead physically and emotionally healthy lifestyles.

· Provide students with a good understanding of physical, online and relationship safety for now as well as in the future

· Provide students with subject specific knowledge and skills that will prepare them for their next stage of education and adulthood

The impact of this will be

· Students make good progress throughout all curriculum areas.

· Students are able to demonstrate their progress through the external qualifications that they achieve.

· Students demonstrate that they are able to be safe and seek extra support and guidance when needed.

· Students will be equipped with knowledge that will help them with life outside of school.

· Students have a clear route to their next stage of education and have the necessary requirements to achieve this.

The ‘Heart’ of our curriculum

Provide a range of experiences, situations and guidance that are focused on preparing our students to enter the adult world as respectful, tolerant, confident and independent young people with resilience, ambition and compassion.

To achieve this we will…

· Provide a curriculum that enables and challenges students to be knowledgeable, respectful and tolerant citizens

· Provide a curriculum that enables students to explore and understand the many different aspects involved in being a British citizen

· Provide a curriculum where students are able to develop their understanding of healthy and safe relationships

· Provide a curriculum that supports preparation for adulthood and transition to the next stage

The impact of this will be…

· Students have a respectful and tolerant attitude towards others

· Students behave well towards their peers and adults both in and out of school

· Students have an awareness and understanding of the importance of different cultures, beliefs and identities

· Students are equipped to have healthy and positive relationships

· Students have a strong understanding about what being a British citizen involves

· Students are ready and able to move on to their next stage of education or training

The ‘Hand’ of our curriculum

Promote creativity, exercise, problem solving and practical skills to ensure students can play an active part in shaping and enhancing their own life experiences as well as that of others.

To achieve this we will…

· Provide a curriculum where physical activity and wellbeing is supported and promoted

· Provide a curriculum that enables students to develop their experiences, understanding and skills of a wide range activities that they will encounter in their adult life and potential employment

· Provide a curriculum that encourages students to use creativity and develop their use of imagination and creativity in their learning

· Provide a curriculum where students experience a range of education, training and workplace experiences to encourage them to be ambitious thinkers about their future

The impact of this will be

· Students have the confidence, resilience and skills to participate in a wide and varied range of activities both in and out of the school setting that will prepare them for their future life

· Students are able to participate in suitable physical activities that meet their needs

· Students will receive and participate in a wide range of cultural enrichment activities that will increase their understanding and enjoyment of the world around them

· Students will have a greater understanding of the employment, education and training opportunities available to them in the future and have a variety of skills that can be built upon

                                             

 Implementation

In order to provide students across Abbey Hill Academy with experiences that are relevant, interesting and challenging and to identify opportunities for progression, we have adopted a curriculum structure with 3 broad levels.

Due to the complex needs of our students, our approach to delivery needs to be flexible and highly personalised.

Impact

As part of our commitment to ensuring that each child makes exceptional progress from their own starting points we have implemented a robust target and tracking system, so that a student’s progress can be mapped out over time and each term teachers will be able to report on how far each student has progressed in terms of meeting specific targets. At Abbey Hill Academy this is a vital tool that ensures consistent high expectation which leads to stronger outcomes.

View\Download our Curriculum Impact Analysis 2021/22 <HERE>

View\Download our Curriculum Impact Analysis 2022/23 <HERE>