Orchard Academy Curriculum 2022/23
Curriculum Statement Summary
At Orchard Academy, we aim to provide a bespoke curriculum that is built on the needs and experiences of our children. Our curriculum is designed to encompass and combine the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum (2014) with our own tailor made, child and teacher generated topics.
As a school, our curriculum is built around three drivers. These curriculum drivers reflect what we consider to be important to our children and our school.
Possibilities
At Orchard we want to develop children’s thirst for learning so they become children who show curiosity, don’t give up and aspire to life’s possibilities.
Community
At Orchard we see ourselves as an integral part of the wider community. We see ourselves as a place where children learn and understand the importance of how communities can bring people together.
Diversity
At Orchard we want to broaden the children’s horizons so they learn how to be tolerant and respectful of others.
At Orchard Academy, we pride ourselves on our values and we want our children to show:
Curiosity
We want to develop children who are curious about the world around them.
Reflection
We want to develop children who want to become better learners.
Co-operation
We want to develop children who are tolerant and listen to others.
Strength
We want to develop children who don’t give up.
Our drivers and values will be the common thread running through all of our topics. We will make our curriculum bespoke by making the content real to the children. We will start each topic based on what is ‘real’ to the children and what lies within their experiences. Teacher planned content activities should then be designed to provoke the children into asking their own questions and steer their own learning.
At Orchard, we seek to create opportunities for children to experience and excel in a range of activities that enhance and extend the National Curriculum. Children have opportunities both inside and outside the classroom e.g. Forest School Days, Residential trips, gifted and talented workshops, a variety of sporting events, visiting theatre companies and art projects. We also have excellent after-school clubs. We also value the role of modern foreign languages in the curriculum and French is taught to all children throughout the school by our specialist languages teacher.
When children leave Orchard Academy at the end of Year 6, they should be fully equipped with the full range of skills and experiences that enable them to become successful and lifelong learners.
For more information please contact the school office.
Our Phonics Programme:
At Orchard Academy, we understand that some children need additional support and take longer to learn to read than others. We work hard alongside these children to ensure that they leave us at the end of Year 6 being able to read and write. We want all of our children to have a love and passion for reading and writing.
We use Read Write Inc as our phonics scheme for those children who require it. We have a team of trained and experienced staff delivering daily phonic sessions across the school. We assess these children each half term to measure and track the progress being made.
Parents can find out more and download resources to support their children by visiting the Read Write Inc website (link is below).
EMAT’s Teaching and Learning Framework
The curriculum is the totality of our pupils’ experiences of education. Our curriculum is broad, balanced, rich and varied. We provide pupils with high-quality education and experiences so that they are ready for each next stage in their education and are prepared for their lives in modern Britain. Our Teaching and Learning Framework sets out the key principles and theoretical perspectives that inform our curricular thinking. It sets out what we believe are important features of the most effective teaching, learning and assessment practices, informed by reliable research. It gives us a ‘shared language’ with which we review, refine and improve our pupils’ educational experiences. The principles contained within it are not a ‘checklist’, but a conceptual framework that underpins our work to ensure our pupils’ successful learning.
