At Bank End Primary Academy, the curriculum is specifically tailored to meet the needs of all our children. We aim to offer our children the best educational experience possible in order to prepare them fully for the lives they are going to lead. All young people are individuals and our curriculum recognises that; we want our curriculum to be exciting, interesting, innovative and engaging so that children are curious, inspired and enjoy learning.
We believe that the curriculum we offer should fire children’s imaginations and be challenging, yet enable all children to feel success, no matter what their ability or interests. It should promote a self-belief and confidence in children which will enable them to reach their full potential.
Our curriculum extends beyond the formal requirements of the National Curriculum as we recognise that this is only part of what children require. Of paramount importance within our curriculum are the values, skills and abilities we feel our children will require to take their place in the world; these will enable our children to be compassionate and driven leaders of the future.
Our curriculum is designed to provide a rich and varied programme of activities and learning experiences to meet the needs, interests and aspirations of all learners, within and beyond the school day.
It is underpinned by a clear whole school vision within our mission statement and set of curriculum drivers. These characteristics define our curriculum and support the work we do. Our drivers are areas that we value as a school; they give focus to learning opportunities and are embedded throughout teaching and learning, developing the child as a whole.
Bank End Primary Academy curriculum drivers are based on our school’s six core values of:
- Creativity
- Enthusiasm
- Ambition
- Confidence
- Respect
- Determination
The core values are at the heart of all we do and are interwoven into all learning opportunities along with a strong emphasis on teamwork and cooperation.
We believe first in identifying the children’s needs; this is done by careful and thorough gap analysis at the end of each half term using children’s books and assessments. The gaps identified then feed directly into all future planned learning, and become a tool that is used to measure progress and performance.
Once the children’s needs have been established, teachers then create appropriate, imaginative and engaging learning opportunities to meet those needs.
Active learning is encouraged though exploration, enquiry, investigation and structured play using firsthand experiences wherever possible.
We provide children with a range of opportunities to develop, use and refine key knowledge. They will practice and apply their understanding and skills regularly in different contexts. We believe that it is important that children have a strong awareness of their local community, their locality, and where they fit in the world. We believe that successful learning depends on a positive partnership between home school and the wider community. We regularly raise money for local and national charities during the school year which gives children a sense of responsibility and moral purpose.
Each week, children learn about the achievements and life stories of inspirational people from Britain and the wider world. This gives them the opportunity to see what is possible, and learn that with hard work and determination, their dreams can be realised. Our list of celebrities is carefully chosen to represent a variety of roles in life and deliberately includes people from the local area as well.