Curriculum Intent

Our vision is to create a welcoming Christian community where every child is viewed as a special person created and loved by God. Every member of our school community is valued for who they are and empowered to be the best they can be. We support every child to develop into lifelong learners who are resilient, socially skilled, and successful in all aspects of their lives.

 

‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.’ (Proverbs 22:6)

 

The Emmanuel curriculum is underpinned by our core values of being respectful, being safe and being courageous; understanding that God is with us

 

‘Encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.’ (Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)

 

Our Curriculum

 

At Emmanuel Junior Academy, the curriculum supports and develops the pupils’ ambitions AND aspirations and their understanding of the community and the wider world in which they live. The curriculum is underpinned by enquiry based practice and is research led. Through our curriculum we aim to provide opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident, successful and life-long learners, with high aspirations and the learning agility to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society now and in the future. Academic performance and the development of self (Spirituality, social, moral, physical and cultural development and mental wellbeing) are given equal importance. Our curriculum is designed with the key aim of developing the ‘whole child’ and thus supporting all children to reach their potential. 

 

Ambition and Aspiration

 

The curriculum is increasingly ambitious, challenging all children to aspire to be the ‘best they can be’. All children learn in a highly inclusive environment which engages them to achieve great outcomes and reach their potential. The curriculum is adapted, designed and developed to ensure all pupils, regardless of their starting points, are supported to expand their knowledge and understanding. Through receiving a fun, purposeful, balanced curriculum which inspires and promotes independence, and fosters individuality by encouraging all talents and abilities, all children will develop skills within and beyond the curriculum. They will have the knowledge, self-confidence and freedom to become life-long learners with an inquisitive, 'have-a go' mentality.

The curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced to enable all children to develop the knowledge, habits, attitudes and skills needed to gain success against identified end points and be ready to thrive in their next stage of education. Our ambitious curriculum is built around the desire to enable children to ‘know and remember more’ by ensuring that knowledge is built upon systematically allowing greater transference of understanding into the long-term memory.

The building blocks of our curriculum ensure that children are well equipped to prepare them for life in modern Britain, overcoming the contextual barriers to social mobility. Our children are provided with the opportunities to develop their communication and language skills and apply these to a variety of situations. Through the embodiment of our core values, the curriculum motivates and enables children to develop as curious and independent learners. They take an active role in leading the curriculum, engage in debate and memorable experiences and explore their further education options and career paths. Pupils are inspired to engage with their learning and be ambitious to achieve academic success.

All pupil’s high level of engagement enables them to be secondary ready when they leave Emmanuel and commence their next stage in their education.

 

Me, my community and the wider world

 

Our curriculum is centred on the Christian ethos and reflects and incorporates the values of the school and wider community. We work closely with Emmanuel Church to ensure all children gain an appreciation of the Church ethos and ensure everything we do is routed in Christian values. All children will learn to love and recognise the goodness in everyone, make a positive contribution and develop their own spiritual understanding. All children will be supported to take responsibility for their actions and show respect and tolerance for each other and the wider community whilst celebrating and promoting diversity.

The children’s sense of responsibility as current and future citizens is at the heart of all our teaching and learning. Our curriculum prepares all children to gain a greater understanding of issues at a local, national and global scale. Our curriculum supports the children to create links between our school, community and the world around us. Children are given opportunities to take part in social action and engage in courageous advocacy. They will have the opportunity to explore and lead different aspects of the school and develop their own and others social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding.

In addition to this, our curriculum ensures that children have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. An understanding of how to stay safe in relationships, the community and online are key elements to prepare the children for their future. The curriculum promotes good emotional wellbeing, self-esteem and resilience. It develops pupils’ understanding of how to look after their physical and mental health and supports children to regulate their emotions. The church, parents and local community are recognised as key partners in their children’s learning, within the curriculum and the wider school experience.

 

Evidence led and enquiry based

 

The curriculum has been designed with the concept of memory in mind. We have incorporated a ‘spiralised’ curriculum where concepts are revisited to facilitate learning being transferred into the long-term memory. Concepts are consistently revisited and regularly reviewed with retrieval practice (both daily and spaced) being central to our curriculum. Content and concepts are revisited and built upon throughout subjects, academic years and year groups. The curriculum has been planned coherently to enable children to become experts in subject disciplines. Our teachers focus on teaching simply, practicing thoroughly, feeding back constructively and embodying excellence. Reading and vocabulary development are key drivers in our curriculum, as we believe these are both vital tools which enable all children to access a broad and balanced curriculum and develop the cultural capital needed to thrive and be successful.

An important element of our curriculum is to support children to develop a strong work ethic and an understanding of the importance of setting goals and reviewing their learning. Children’s understanding of how they learn and the strategies they can use that help them to be effective learners are evident within our curriculum delivery.

Our curriculum enables our children to ‘be the best they can be’ through fostering a strong sense of respect for themselves and others and everything they do. We ensure all children feel safe to be courageous to develop themselves as learners and reach their potential.