Atam Academy
Posted - Oct 2020
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Curriculum
ATAM ACADEMY CURRICULUM
Our Curriculum Philosophy
‘A broad and balanced curriculum that provides our students with the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to develop into well-rounded, informed individuals.'
We aspire to develop:
- successful learners who enjoy learning, who aspire and achieve
- individuals who are confident, resilient and live safe, healthy and fulfilled lives
- young adults who make a positive contribution to our society
Curriculum Intent
At Atam Academy, we believe all students should be exposed to a rich curriculum, one that allows them to explore a variety of writers and thinkers from all the ages. Our curriculum ensures that students are knowledgeable enough about the world around them so that they can play a part in its transformation in the future.
We offer a curriculum which is both academically and creatively rigorous.
We believe that learning is a gift and through our curriculum, as knowledge and skills are gained, students will appreciate and understand the world around them and will be able to contribute and shape our world for future generations to follow.
At the heart of our curriculum is excellent behaviour, safety and care through the promotion of British Values of tolerance of other faiths, democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect.
Our curriculum has been carefully thought out and designed to:
- create an aspirational culture;
- recognise our student’s prior learning;
- provide creative and joyous learning experiences;
- allow the students to develop knowledge and skills;
- build our students’ resilience;
- develop students’ interpersonal skills;
- enhance our coherent British Sikh values based learning culture;
- ensure students become critical thinkers;
- allow everyone to experience success;
- raise standards of attainment
Every student is recognised as a unique individual. We celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values. We constantly provide opportunities to engage learning and believe that school should be a happy, investigative and enquiring time in our student’s lives where there are no limits to curiosity and there is a thirst for new experiences and knowledge. We promote positive attitudes to learning which reflect the values and skills needed to guarantee one’s responsibility for learning and one’s future success.
Community involvement is an essential part of our curriculum as we celebrate local and national traditions, learning new skills to enable the pupils to take an active role in local, national and global events throughout the year.
Students continue their learning journey to our Secondary phase, with a sense of belonging to a tightly knit community where they have the confidence and skills to make decisions, to self-reflect, to evaluate, to make connections and to understand that learning is a gift for life.
Our 6 Curriculum Principles
These are the values we believe will give both our students and community the best chance of succeeding, giving all our students the best possible chance of becoming well-rounded, happy individuals who are prepared for the next steps of their lives.
Life-long learning
We believe that success should not only be measured through academic outcomes. Life-long learning embraces the subject-based knowledge and skills that we develop through a broad and balanced curriculum as well as the development of life skills, such as independence and intradependence, oracy and communication, numeracy, character education, wellbeing, positive social behaviour and resilience. These values are integral to success in the 21st Century. At Atam Academy we give opportunities for all students to experience additional learning and social activities designed to engage, challenge, build their confidence, experience the community and contribute positively to it.
Quality First Teaching
Our approach ensures engagement. This is underpinned by effective planning; we support colleagues in thinking about ways in which they: use curriculum and assessment information to plan for all students; develop a motivation for learning; present new learning; dedicate adequate time to practising and embedding knowledge and skills securely; review learning; challenge and extend thinking; provide engaging opportunities which sequence and scaffold learning, building on each component to develop a secure composite of learning in the longer term. We promote the most effective mechanisms for feedback which are based on what really makes a difference to learning. We expect and enable all students to be active participants, engaged in their learning.
A positive climate for learning
Recognition of effort, achievement, resilience and the promotion of aspirant determination within clearly established classroom routines and procedures enable learning to be maximised. Our classrooms and learning spaces are well organised and are fully conducive to supporting high quality learning.
Personalisation
High quality, personalised support which enables depth of learning. We use a broad spectrum of information about our students to nurture strong and positive professional relationships; this information helps us to plan our lessons, provide bespoke learning opportunities, extension, support and intervene. We are inclusive in all that we do and seek out solutions where we identify barriers to learning. We recognise talent and provide opportunities to allow students to flourish.
Improvement never stops
We can always improve. High quality training and staff development is integral to the way that we work and feedback is a key part of our drive for improvement. We incorporate feedback from all stakeholders – staff, students, parents, academy councillors, to help us with this. We use reflection and research to help us to identify and inform the most effective practice for best value investment to help us to secure value for money in all that we do. Collaboration is built into all that we do; we believe that we are stronger by working together, as one.
Atam Academic Curriculum Overview
Any further information about the Secondary Curriculum, please contact Mr Singh, Head of Year 7