We are extremely proud of our school and the achievements of all our pupils and hope when you explore our website that you gain some insight into all of our successes.

Our primary phase is a very special place to be. We have a collective passion for learning which permeates all we do.

Our pupils are at the heart of every decision we make and their ideas and voices form a large part of developments in the school.

We give our pupils the chance to discover who they are. To challenge themselves and see their successes celebrated by their peers.

Intent

Our curriculum is designed to give our students the knowledge and skills they need  to enable them to understand themselves and connect this to their learning experiences, the school/local community and the world we live in. It is also designed for them to be well, be happy and thrive and achieve at all key stages.

The curriculum aims are to provide:

• Rigour (high expectations from all and high standards)
• Breadth (a tailored version of the National Curriculum, faith-based, technology-based, outdoor, flexible and real-world learning)
• Perspective (international-mindedness, spiritual, personal and civic purpose, a moral compass and a growth mindset drawn from a range of cultures, traditions, ways of thinking, seeing, listening, being and doing)
• Information literacy (critical thinking, reflection, reading for a range of reasons, sense-making, appraising)
• Technology-oriented, careers and vocational learning independent and collaborative learning experience across the whole curriculum 
• A love for learning – fostered through inclusive and and diverse experiences, friendships, memories, mentoring, enjoyment, discovery, ambitious goals and celebrations of all achievements

Through strong curriculum alignment, mastery learning and well-structured transitions, the curriculum provides students with inward and outward-looking orientation – a clear vision of their learning journey, growth and progress and an appreciation for their participatory input in the dynamic and interactional aspects of learning.  At the same time developing character and skills for learning, life and the future: being respectful and appreciative of difference, resilient through challenge and kind. Our curriculum is supported by various co-curricular activities, clubs and pupil agency through the student council, pupil leadership, our prefect and house systems.

Discussion is at the core of every lesson, and we are keen to foster a familiarity and ease with ambiguity. They are encouraged to take on complex and challenging areas, and are encouraged to take courageous risks.

Our team engage in research-informed teaching practice. We have cross-disciplinary collaborative planning and professional development to ensure continual best practice. Just as we encourage our students to be critical thinkers, we also encourage our teachers to be mentor and collaborate with one another.

This is an adventurous place to learn; our curriculum is continually evolving, and our students are provided with the tools and dispositions to be lifelong learners, leaders, change-makers of the future and those who learn for the love of learning!

Implementation

Our curriculum has been designed to create opportunities for  coverage of the National Curriculum and a range of experiences which allow our pupils the opportunities to broaden their life experiences. Our curriculum provides our pupils with experiences and opportunities which best meet their learning and developmental needs. Through clear strategic planning, our curriculum provides not only fun and memorable experiences but is rich in opportunities from which the children can learn and develop transferable skills. 

The acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills is carefully planned to create a purposeful and exciting learning 

journey for every child, ensuring that milestones are met at key stages throughout their education.

Our vibrant and rich curriculum is designed so that the subject specific skills are scaffolded within a cross-curricular theme 

or context each term. In order to ensure that progression and balance is maintained, the programmes of study are then 

developed into medium term plans which clearly highlight the learning objectives, assessment opportunities, differentiated 

tasks as well as links to other subjects. Teachers plan and tailor units of work and lessons to address the specific individual needs of pupils so that all pupils are able to reach their full potential regardless of their prerequisite knowledge or hurdles to their learning ensuring a robust, personalised level of challenge and support for every single pupil.

Ambitious, research-informed teaching 

• Staff have high expectations of themselves and all of the children. 
• Teachers are expected to impart knowledge accurately and with enthusiasm.
• Teachers are expected to take into account prior knowledge and experiences and to build upon this in a systematic
• way
• Highly focused lesson design with sharp objectives; 
• High demands of child engagement with their learning; 
• High levels of interaction for all children; 
• Appropriate use of teacher questioning, modelling and explaining; 
• Emphasis on learning through dialogue; 
• An expectation that children will develop resilience and accept responsibility for their own learning and work 
• independently; 
• Regular use of encouragement and praise to motivate children.

Impact

Children are assessed during every lesson which enables our teachers to plan the next steps for each child. Teachers assess pupils against mastery-based learning objectives and the basic skill requirements for each year group and provide feedback I’m a range of ways which enables each pupil to make progress within the lesson and over time. Children are expected to make good or better progress across the curriculum and this individual progress is tracked and reported to their parents/guardians at parent’s evening and on the end of year report. Read Academy uses rigorous triangulated monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design.  Senior and Subject Leaders monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupil voice, providing 

individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating development, progress and achievement and highlighting areas of developmental review that through reflection journals, workshops, professional reflection opportunities, coaching and continued professional development are tailored and strengthened. The curriculum impact is quantified and

reviewed on a half termly basis and progress is measured against year-end outcomes for each pupil, each year group and across key stages.

Enjoyment of the curriculum promotes confidence, excellence, achievement, confidence and high standards of conduct and productive learning and social behaviours. 

The attributes of excellence promote psychological safety for children to try new things with self-esteem and self-confidence 

The pupils will be able to work collaboratively with their peers and independently as inquisitive learners who are motivated

to excel and who have a thirst for learning. The pupils will have a strong desire to embrace challenge and to be resilient 

learners.

Our curriculum will also enable our pupils to become good citizens and demonstrate an appreciation for each other, the 

school community and the world. Our pupils will be respectful and will show positive openness and acceptance to those from different faiths and backgrounds. All pupils at Read Academy participate in our House system and connected House Points progressive reward scheme which focuses on rewarding learning behaviours and attributes that demonstrate empathy, active participation in the school and wider community determination, courage in school life and responsibility for their learning.

We continually  measure the impact of our curriculum using data measures.