Our students experience a fun, challenging and knowledge-rich curriculum that teaches them to be industrious and respectful, enabling them to thrive. Our curriculum is built upon reading, writing, oracy and mathematics and delivers excellence based on our principles of endeavour, practice and discipline.
We aim to build on the foundations of the KS2 curriculum so that our students’ education smoothly transitions between primary and secondary school. Our robust and challenging KS3 aligns with the National Curriculum, providing breadth and balance across a range of subjects. Our curriculum is the knowledge that after careful thought, we deem to be important and of value to us and our community.
Our students transition to Key Stage 4 at the end of year 9, where English Language, English Literature, mathematics, science and PE form our core curriculum, and students choose four additional subjects to continue studying. We guide our students to make subject choices that will support their future plans and gain them excellent examination results.
The intent of our curriculum in sixth form is to recognise the prior learning and attainment of our students and enable them to build on this, whilst consistently meeting the high expectations instilled in them as role models within the Academy. Students are encouraged to choose subjects with a career goal in mind; where students haven’t yet made this decision study across the pathways is possible. Our sixth form curriculum maps are designed to develop the in-depth subject knowledge, conceptual understanding and key transferable skills that will allow our young people to make the eventual progression to higher education or quality employment. The curriculum is not just confined to the classroom; together with enrichment provision and personalised careers guidance we prepare our sixth formers for their next steps.
Each half term the core knowledge each student will be taught is clearly and concisely set out in our curriculum maps, so that students, teachers and parents know what to expect from the coming weeks. Knowledge is sequenced and mapped coherently and deliberately. This focus on key knowledge concepts allows all students to make progress against a clear set of criteria. At Ormiston NEW Academy, knowledge is taught to be understood and remembered. Subjects have planned deliberate opportunities for extended writing, oracy, wider reading and cross-curricular links, regardless of the key stage. We are committed to ensuring that our students become excellent readers, writers and speakers. Our ‘Freedom to Read’ project ensures that all of our students will have read eight classic texts by the time they complete year 11.
Our approach to teaching and learning is based on all of our teachers being experts within their subject area. All lessons follow a four-part model which is a well-established part of our academy culture. Part one of each lesson involves low-stakes quizzing that aims to improve knowledge recall. Following an ordered and structured start to the lesson, teachers share their knowledge with the class during part two. Students know that their teacher is the expert and that during this part of the lesson they should be silent and paying attention.
We don’t believe that our curriculum work is ever finished, and our offer constantly evolves to meet the needs of our students in our community.