Curriculum overview

The ambitions of our curriculum stretch far beyond the assessment results. Here at Ark John Archer Primary Academy, we aspire for all of our pupils to reach their full potential both academically and socially. With this in mind, our curriculum aims to develop highly aspirational, emotionally literate and knowledgeable individuals who have a genuine passion for learning and a positive sense of identity. From Early Years through to Year 6, our curriculum builds the foundations on which life-long learners and confident future leaders can grow.
 
A key element of our curriculum vision is exposing pupils to practical, creative, engaging and challenging opportunities which develop their natural curiosity to learn, broaden their understanding of the world and bring classroom learning to life. By working together as one, we strive to provide our pupils with the strong start to their educational journey that they both need and deserve.

The Ark John Archer Curriculum is rooted in five key principles: 

Knowledge rich and learning through enquiry
Knowledge is an essential tool which enables our learners to access to a wealth of opportunities, make well-informed decisions and begin to shape their own personalities. Our curriculum provides pupils with the necessary knowledge to engage with the world in a meaningful way, and to navigate a diverse range of contexts and challenges with confidence. We opt for a deep learning approach and favour depth of knowledge over breadth - pupils explore content in detail and then apply this knowledge in practice, developing a wide range of skills in the process.

A holistic approach
Our pupils are at the heart of our curriculum. The curriculum framework support pupils to continually build upon their individual starting points, and to make the necessary connections in content that will piece their learning together. We cover all areas of the statutory National Curriculum and offer equal importance to all subjects. Pupils are offered a broad range of learning experiences, with core elements interspersed throughout. This way, pupils are exposed to multiple disciplines and can begin to ascertain where their passions and interests lie.

Inspiring joy for learning
We are mindful that for our pupils to excel, our curriculum must engage and inspire them daily. We want our pupils to develop a sense of fascination, awe and wonder, and for our teachers to deliver the curriculum in a similar vein. Pupils should feel compelled to share their discoveries with others, speak enthusiastically about the new knowledge they have gained and conduct their own independent research and activities to further enhance their learning.

Character curriculum
We passionately believe that education should not be constrained to academic achievement alone; we also want our pupils to become compassionate, empathetic and confident navigating their relationships with others. Our character curriculum explores our core school values, and exposes pupils to a broad range of experiences in order to develop their sense of identity, and their pride in both themselves and their school. We provide opportunities for pupils to participate as team members in sporting events, perform as part of musical ensembles, visit places of interest and experience different career paths – amongst many other activities. 
 
Parents as partners
Parents, carers and the wider community are integral to the success of our curriculum, so we actively bring you along with us on the journey. We keep you well-informed about the learning that takes place in the classroom, engage you practically in your child’s education through curriculum events and workshops, and support you to continue your child's learning journey beyond the school gates.

We continually review the impact of our curriculum and, where necessary, make adaptations to ensure it continues to provide a high standard of education while remaining reflective of our pupils’ interests and needs.

We use the following measures to measure and analyse the exact impact our curriculum is having:

• Quantitative results – from assessments at end of key stages / planned points throughout the year. Strong academic attainment and progress should be a natural byproduct of a broad and rich curriculum, where a consistent approach is adopted and gaps in provision are closed.
• Qualitative results – A planned cycle of surveys and reflective opportunities for pupils, parents and teachers helps to highlight successes in the curriculum and identify areas for development and refinement.