Our Great Place to Learn

Intent

At Alvaston Junior Academy, the curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of the ‘Alvaston Child’.We have analysed the barriers to learning which include some children  having well being needs, some children living in areas with high levels of deprivation and disadvantage and some of our pupils having limited social and cultural experiences and restricted vocabulary.

Through careful consultation and consideration of what our pupils need, we have introduced four key values that underpin our curriculum and are embedded in our school ethos, culture and learning experiences. Staff, pupils and parents have played an integral role in shaping the vision for the learning journey of our pupils at the Academy.  

We are in the process of embedding the INSPIRE curriculum, to meet the needs of the Alvaston child and through doing this, we aim to:

• Ensure reading is a priority as we see this as the cornerstone of all learning.
• Ensure our children have mathematical fluency and confidence in numeracy.
• Place pupil's mental health and well being at the core of daily practice.
• Provide children with opportunities to engage with the world beyond Alvaston.
• Increase cultural capital by specifically giving children experiences of authors, artists, music and theatre.
• Increase children’s knowledge of cultures and those from different faiths and backgrounds.
• Provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all year groups which builds progressive skills and knowledge of which the children can base their future learning.
• Deliver a curriculum which allows children to commit learning to their long term memory.
• Teach a wide range of metacognitive strategies and embed retrieval practice into lessons to enable children to understand how they learn.
• Ensure there is sufficient depth and coverage in all subjects we teach.
• Base our curriculum on pupils’ current knowledge and understanding.
• Provide opportunities for the children to build character including resilience, perseverance, confidence and tolerance through The Harmony Pledge.

We aim to provide an excellent education for our children, which develops the highest possible standards. We have adopted the INSPIRE curriculum written by schools withing The Harmony Trust.  Everything your child does in our academy is part of this curriculum. The total learning experience is designed to maximise achievement within the National Curriculum and develop skills, attitudes and attainment in the widest sense.

Investigate

Nurture

Skills

Practical

Imaginative

Reflect

Enjoy!!!

Our Long Term Plans are in line with the National Curriculum and are devised to incorporate cross-curricular links – where and when appropriate – and to integrate the principles of the INSPIRE curriculum.

Teachers are given the freedom to adapt their class timetables in the afternoon to ‘block’ lessons and to ensure quality outcomes.

We showcase our curriculum offer with the local community where we invite visitors in to school to look at the celebration of learning in each year group at the end of each unit of work. Parents are invited to these events also. We also ensure that our pupils experience a range of opportunities to express themselves and celebrate diversity and equality. This can be acheived through:

School Council – canvassing, voting, elections and implementation [values developed equality/democracy/ rules and laws]

Festival Assemblies – celebration of faiths and religions by each year group linked to significant events in the religious calenday [tolerance/respect/value/equality]

Community Links – Elvaston Lodge Residential Home, St. Michael’s Church, The Food Bank, Armed Forces Day [care/ respect/value]

Fundraising Activities – NSPCC, Genes for Jeans, Macmillan Nurses, World Widlife Fund, Cancer research, Children In Need, Red Nose Day, Sport Relief, Autism Awareness, Childline, Rainbows Hospice, Doorways - local charity to support the homeless.

Implementation

Subject leaders are responsible for implementation within their curriculum area and this continues to be an area of development within the academy. Through continuous professional development, school leaders are ensuring subject leaders have the knowledge, expertise and practical skills to fulfil their role effectively.Senior leaders role model exemplary subject leadership and provide individual training and coaching where identified.  Core subjects have been addressed as a priority and pupil outcomes remain a key focus for the academy. Over the last two years, our priority has been ensuring quality first teaching in every lesson of every day. 

The impact of the recent changes we have made, are being regularly monitored