Approved by:	Mr G A Hussain (Headteacher) Ms Hanila Ali Syed (Deputy Headteacher)
Reviewed:	July 2021
Next Review Date:	July 2022 (annually)

CURRICULUM POLICY IN CONTEXT

 This curriculum policy fits in with:

• Assessment handbook
• Planning, recording and reporting
• Key strands implementation handbook
• Behaviour
• School mission, statement and ethos
• Safeguarding KCSIE
• High potential Learner Provision
• Special Educational Needs Provision

OUR SCHOOL ETHOS:

OUR CURRICULUM AIM

Our aim, through our curriculum, is to ensure that our curriculum provides for all pupil needs. We have a personalised approach to student learning and their experience of school life, we encapsulate a belief that students may have differing needs at various different points and we are committed to providing an equitable and inclusive curriculum for every student at our school. The curriculum is designed and tailored to each educational stage and is comprised of a planned programme of learning and experiences that meet our C-O-R- E mission statement of Care, Opportunity, Respect and Excellence for all pupils.

Our curriculum is framed by National Curriculum for England and Wales requirements and is outlined by British and faith-based Islamic values. Our curriculum is broad, balanced and relevant to our 21^st century learners and we ensure that our curriculum provides progression and continuity support; ensuring that pupils are prepared and ready for the next stage in learning and in their personal and academic journeys. We achieve this with careful consideration for individual learning pathways and equity for all learners and giving continuous encouragement, feedback and a focus on strengths and areas for development.

OUR 5 CURRICULUM KEY STRANDS:

Our school curriculum has been developed to nurture our pupils from EYFS to the end of Key Stage 4 – not only to equip them with the skills and knowledge to achieve at GCSE level but also to excel in their post-16 academic, personal and vocational pathways. The curriculum is built around five key strands grounded in British and international citizenship as well as faith-based moral values and principles. The five key strands that are embedded within our curriculum are:

1. Celebrating individuality and building potential (CIBP)

The curriculum is designed to ensure students feel valued, encouraged to value others and on structures and support in place for academic and personal progress, through student-teacher and student-student interactions, teaching practice and celebration of individuality and various kinds of capacity-building.

2. Advocating and respecting the rights of all (ARRFA)

All learning is underpinned with firm student understanding of their own rights (as children, as residents of Great Britain, global citizens and as those of a Muslim faith), the rights of others and of other living things and through student-teacher and student-student interactions, teaching practice interactions of advocacy, agency and respect for all irrespective of gender, race, orientation, beliefs or background.

3. Participating in British society and democracy (PIBSD)	Children’s participation in learning activities, discussions and experiences with sound awareness of British society is entrenched into the school curriculum. Curriculum planning is specifically aimed at promoting democracy in an age-specific manner and encouragement and modelling of democratic, active and socio-culturally enriched participation in British society.
4. Understanding cultures, moral values and faiths (UCMVF)	Our curriculum is framed with an appreciation of differing cultures, faiths and moral values in an age-specific manner. Curriculum design ensures children are balanced in their perspectives and have awareness and an inclusive mindset about those holdinng different opinions, beliefs and faiths/non-faiths. Student-teacher and student-student interactions are planned such that children are encouraged to be open-minded, caring and possess positive curiousity about diversity.
5. Innovating for a sustainable future (IFSF)	Our curriculum is grounded in providing children with the opportunity to consider their impact on society in terms of choosing actions that support sustainability and we empower students to think about being a change maker for a better future through STEAM, teacher-student and student- student interactions of innovation and sustainability.

Our focus on each strand individually and how they align horizontally and vertically within the Read Curriculum, allows our pupils to grow into positive and responsible citizens, who aspire to be role models of British society, who can work and co-operate with others; whilst developing knowledge, skills and a positive attitude to learning so that they achieve their true potential. These strands are not just a part of our whole school curriculum they are also living ethos embedded within our school culture.

CURRICULUM SUBJECTS

Our curriculum is focused on developing the pupil’s knowledge and skills across:

National Curriculum core subjects	National Curriculum foundation subjects	Interdisciplinary themes	Additional Faith-based subjects
●        English (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening) ●        Mathematics ●        the Sciences	●        Art and design ●        Computing ●        Design and technology ●        Geography ●        History ●        Physical Education ●        PSHE and RSE ●        RE	●        Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development ●        21st skills and international mindedness ●        Literacy and numeracy ●        Sustainability ●        Entrepreneurship ●        Life skills ●        STEAM	●        Arabic ●        Quranic Arabic ●        Islamic Studies

We offer pupils an excellent education in a safe, inclusive, creative and stimulating learning spaces and a curated mix of dynamic, interactive and calm learning environments. Every child is valued as an individual; we aim to nurture well-rounded, respectful and confident pupils who will develop skills for life-long learning. We nurture our pupils on their journey and encourage them to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals – respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world.

GENERAL CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Our curriculum through all three phases (EYFS, Primary and Secondary) aims to inspire and challenge all

learners and prepare them for the future. The school’s aim is to develop a broad and balanced curriculum that builds on young people’s experiences in each phase and that helps all young people to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

Specifically, the curriculum should help young people to:

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW BY PHASE (EYFS-PRIMARY-SECONDARY)

EYFS CURRICULUM

The EYFS framework includes seven areas of learning and development, all of which are important and included in the delivered curriculum and provision. There are three prime areas, which are seen to underpin the fundamental skills children require. These prime areas also support the development of the specific areas of the curriculum. The Prime areas are: • Communication and Language – Listening and Attention, Understanding and Speaking • Physical Development – Moving and Handling and Health and Self Care • Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Making Relationships, Managing Feelings and Behaviour and Self-confidence and Self-awareness The Specific areas are: • Literacy – Reading and Writing • Mathematics – Numbers and Shape, Space and Measure • Understanding the World – People and Communities, The World and Technology • Expressive Arts and Design – Exploring and Using Media and Materials and Being Imaginative

PRIMARY CURRICULUM – KEY STAGES 1 and 2

At our Primary Phase, a strong emphasis is placed on Literacy and reading to secure a sound basis for other subjects. Reading is given a high priority in our curriculum as the ability to read and understand opens up the learning for all of our pupils. The development of pupil’s vocabulary is a vital tool in learning and understanding the curriculum. The curriculum includes all the planned activities that promote learning and personal growth and development. It includes the requirements of the National Curriculum, but extends more broadly to include the ‘hidden curriculum’, or what pupils learn from the culture and ethos of our school – The key strands. We provide opportunities for pupils to voice their ideas and explore their own interests through taking responsibilities, involvement in wider aspect of school life as well as in making decisions about their learning in the classroom. The purpose of our curriculum is to ensure a well-rounded education, one which ensures that pupils gain knowledge, understand the purpose of their learning, why it is relevant and how it may be useful to them.

 

SECONDARY CURRICULUM – KEY STAGES 3 AND 4

In KS3-KS4, we aim to: • Put pupils at the centre of curriculum decisions, putting their needs above that of the school. • Have a curriculum that is fit for purpose, offering differentiation and personalisation. • Be a centre of excellence in learning and teaching. • Prepare all pupils for the next stage of their education and for a successful adult and working life in modern society. • First achieve and then exceed national standards in achievement, attainment and progression. • Be committed to excellence and continuous improvement. • Nurture the talents of all and celebrate success. • Work with the Primary school to ease transition. • Involve parents/carers.

CURRICULUM OUTCOMES

At Read Academy, we aim to offer a balanced and broad-based curriculum which enables all pupils to:

●        Enjoy learning ●        Feel successful in their learning and to promote high self esteem ●        Become creative, independent learners ●        Be given significant time to learn new skills and have time to practise those skills ●        Have the flexibility to decide how best to learn in different situations ●        Have the flexibility to decide what they are going to learn and how ●        Be given the opportunity to decide upon the final outcome of their learning ●        Be able to set own targets for learning ●        Know what their strengths are and which areas they need to develop ●        Become successful lifelong learners who are able to reach their full potential ●        Be able to evaluate and assess their own learning ●        Develop their critical thinking ●        Understand and value the importance of truth, fairness, right and wrong ●        Nurture positive relationships promoting working co-operatively with one another ●        Help children understand Britain’s cultural heritage ●        Explore their spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development. ●        Learn and practise the basic skills of English and Mathematics. ●        Makes learning more meaningful by putting it into context ●        Challenge themselves and engage themselves in deeper learning

We take our responsibility to prepare our pupils for life-long positive participation in contemporary British society very seriously and ensure that our curriculum intent, implementation and impact have a clear and

cohesive integration of British and moral values in and out of the classroom, in our staff faculty, parent community and that these values are lived out authentically through the ethos and work of our school.

OUR CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS

CURRICULUM PLANNING

Planning provides the structure for pupil’s learning whether this takes place through a topic or in different

subjects. Planning is completed in three phases, long, medium and short term.

Short Term Planning:	Medium Term Plans	LongTerm Planning
At Read Academy, short term planning documents are produced. The planning includes: ∙  Specific learning goals and learning outcomes, clearly showing progression in learning and skills across the week. ∙  Core learning goal, key skills areas and success criteria. ∙  Outline teaching input. ∙  Assessment opportunities – formative assessment, questioning Teachers are encouraged to record assessments and make annotations where necessary. Teaching is adapted within the lesson or in subsequent lessons	Teachers work together to compile medium term plans which give guidance on the objectives and teaching strategies that is used when teaching each topic. Teachers identify units of work to be covered in lessons and plan their time allocation and sequence of learning. There is a clear focus on transition aligned to horizontal alignment and opportunities for cross- curricular learning through collaborative planning and team- teaching.	The main content, objectives and outcomes for each theme are identified on a long-term curriculum map which identifies overall provision for each subject across each year. As pupils begin a unit, they need to know how it fits in to the wider whole so that they can see, appreciate and learn the particular topic by locating it in the general. Information is shared with parents at the beginning of each year so that parents can become more involved in their children’s learning and are able to follow home learning suggestions and support their children at home.

taking assessments in to account so that gaps and misconceptions are addressed or time is not wasted on things that pupils already know, understand or can do.

The maps identify: ∙  The core theme which is used as the basis for cross-curriculum learning. ∙  The main subjects’ areas to be covered in relation to theme. ∙  Key knowledge/skills to be taught during the unit of work.

CURRICULUM MONITORING, REVIEW, EVALUATION AND REVISION 

Monitoring, review, evaluation of the curriculum is conducting by:

●        Regular collaborative review of class work in books and classrooms ●        Monitoring planning ●        Through analysing assessment data ●        Monitoring targets ●        Lesson observations ●        Learning walks ●        Work scrutiny ●        Displays ●        Curriculum walkabouts ●        Pupil discussions ●        Parent discussions ●        Pupil progress meetings ●        Staff meetings ●        CPD

 A combination of these approaches enables us to evaluate the impact of teaching on learning over time. It enables us to make adjustments so that our curriculum remains dynamic and responsive to the needs of our current learners.

OUR 10 LEARNER ATTRIBUTES:

Learner attributes allow pupils to adopt various forms of learning and make connections of these forms of learning across the curriculum. We believe that through the curriculum and through promoting our ‘Learner Attributes’ we can impact upon how pupils think and how they feel about themselves so that they become resilient and are prepared to handle any challenges that they face.

Our curriculum is designed to build capacity and encourage our pupils to be:

–          Inquirers –          Knowledgeable –          Thinkers –          Communicators –          Principled –          Open-minded –          Caring –          Risk takers –          Balanced –          Reflective

We have embedded these attributes into the whole curriculum:

Inquirers I am an enquirer. I wonder, I am curious and I ask questions.	They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Knowledgeable I am knowledgeable. I know about many things and I remember what I learn.	They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers I am a thinker. I use my thoughts to solve problems, make decisions and learn from my mistakes.	They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators I can share my ideas with others in many ways and in more than one language. I listen to others.	They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Principled I’m honest, fair, respectful and responsible. I can share with others.	They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
Open-minded I listen to other people and respect their ideas	They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring I have a caring attitude towards people and the environment. I want to make a positive difference in the lives of others and I am sensitive to their needs.	They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Courageous risk-takers I am a courageous risk-taker. I challenge myself to try new things and stand up for what I believe in.	They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
Balanced I am balanced. I look after my mind, body and soul. I try to stay happy and healthy.	They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
Reflective I am reflective. I think about my actions and my work. I know where I have done well and where I can do better.	They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their

strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

LINKS SMSC / SEMH

Through our focus on SMSC learning (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural) and SEMH learning (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) we aim to ensure that our pupils understand themselves, their place in the world and how to make the world a better place. We aim to build resilience in our pupils and encourage a Growth Mindset.

THE SCHOOL’S COMMITMENT TO THE CURRICULUM

• Caters for the needs of individual pupils of both sexes from all ethnic and social groups, including the most able and those who are experiencing learning
• Facilitates pupil’s acquisition of knowledge, skills and qualities which will help them to develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically, morally, aesthetically and creatively, so that they may become independent, responsible, useful, thinking, confident and considerate members of the community.
• Creates and maintains an exciting and stimulating learning
• Ensures that each pupil’s education has continuity and
• Ensures that there is a match between the child and the tasks he/she is asked to
• Provides an appropriate curricular balance amongst the competing and sometimes conflicting aims of
• Recognises the crucial role which parents play in their children’s education and make every effort to encourage parental involvement in the educational

PUPILS WILL:

• Learn to be adaptable, how to solve problems in a variety of situations, how to work independently and as members of a
• Be developing the ability to make reasoned judgments and choices, based on interpretation and evaluation of relevant information from a variety of
• Be happy, cheerful and well
• Be enthusiastic and eager to put their best into all
• Begin acquiring a set of moral values, g. honesty, sincerity, personal responsibility; on which to base their own behaviour.
• Be expected to behave in a dignified and acceptable way and learn to become responsible for their
• Care for and take pride in their
• Develop tolerance, respect and appreciation of the feelings and capabilities of others in an unbiased
• Adopt a non-sexist and non-racist

• Acquire new knowledge or skills in their work, develop ideas and increase their understanding
• Be able to explain what they have learnt, can apply their learning and understand how learning relates to previous
• Ask questions and show a desire to
• Produce work of a good
• Understand how well they are doing and what they can do to improve through effective feedback, assessment and

MEETING THE CURRICULUM NEEDS OF ALL PUPILS CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES (SEND)

At Read Academy, we are proud to be an inclusive school and have designed our curriculum carefully to provide all our children with an equal opportunity to develop and learn.

All pupils follow the National Curriculum at a level and pace that is appropriate to their abilities, receiving

support and intervention to ‘keep-up and catch-up’ as needed.

When appropriate, adaptations to the curriculum may be implemented to ensure that all pupils have the same opportunity. However, for most pupils, the following inclusion strategies ensure that they can access the curriculum and make progress in their learning:

• Lessons are coherently planned so that new knowledge is built on prior
• Lessons are structured into appropriate chunks of learning so that pupils are not
• Assessment is used effectively to identity knowledge and gaps so that pupils can be supported
• Strategies to support reading/vocabulary understanding/maths are in place for pupils that need it, at a targeted level and within the class
• Collaboration is used as an effective tool to
• Adult support is provided for those pupils that need it; in class or through ‘extra’ (Pathway

system)

Developing each pupil’s individual character is an integral part of our curriculum. We are a reflective school, continually striving to improve our teaching and learning to meet the needs of all of our pupils

Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are taught alongside other pupils but lessons are designed so that all pupils in the class learn and make progress. We do this by planning ‘differentiated’ lessons. This means that all pupils in the class are working on the same topic but the activities and questions teachers ask are different, so that they suit the attainment level of the pupil. Teachers aim to make lessons lively and interesting. Pupils are given time to think and ask questions. They plan work which is manageable but challenging so that the pupil makes progress.

While pupils usually work in the classroom, there are times when they may be withdrawn for 1:1 (intervention) or group work, to focus on learning a particular skill. Teachers adapt their talk, the classroom and the equipment used by the pupils so that every pupil is able to learn.

Additional support is provided to identified pupils so all children can access and fulfil their potential. Support may be given to support pupils with special educational needs and to pupils who speak English as an additional language.

HIGH POTENTIAL/GIFTED AND TALENTED LEARNERS:

We acknowledge the talents and strengths in all of our pupils and in order to challenge them, we use our individual education plans (IEP) to ensure the curriculum is tailor made for our most able pupils. We aim to challenge those pupils with activities that broaden and embed skills.

DISSEMINATION OF THE POLICY

The policy will be given to all members of staff and copies will be available for parents.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The head teacher, members of the senior management team and members of the curriculum leadership team, will monitor this policy annually or sooner if necessary.