Curriculum design

Our curriculum is designed to be ambitious for all. It empowers children to become confident and creative, appreciating that an excellent education both enriches lives, and provides our pupils with future life choices.

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to succeed at university or in a career of their choice.

At Ark Blacklands, we have developed our own comprehensive Blacklands Curriculum, which has a process of learning with specific learning goals for every National Curriculum subject. It sets out clear progression and application of skills across all areas.

Across our curriculum, we pride ourselves on:

Quality teaching every day: Learning and equality of opportunity for all is fundamental. We promote a collaborative learning model: through regular dialogue and exploration, children teach and learn from each other. By prioritising this, all our pupils develop a deeper understanding of the curriculum and make significant progress. Teachers also know their children extremely well and when any pupil falls behind, extra help and support is given quickly. (One of our mantras is – Keep up, not Catch up.)

Reading at the heart of the curriculum: Ark Blacklands is a school that is passionate about reading. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum because we know that the child who excels in reading, will excel across the whole curriculum. Reading is the cornerstone of education. We strive to nurture life-long readers who take pleasure in reading famous high-quality literature, yet also delve into exciting new fiction and non-fiction books which inspire them to explore and discover further.

Strong curriculum design: We provide a culturally rich and vibrant programme of learning. Cross-curricular links are harnessed to establish cohesion within units of work and each subject contains carefully chosen skills, knowledge and vocabulary to expand thinking. (Outlined in our curriculum overviews and progression maps.) The curriculum is delivered through well taught and appropriately sequenced lessons; learning is scaffolded and deepened to meet the needs of all learners and ensure success.

Enrichment and Outdoor Learning: We believe in the philosophy of Confucius:

"I hear, and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand"

As such, our curriculum is carefully supplemented and broadened by frequent local visits, workshops and visitors. These culturally rich experiences enhance children’s learning and develop their oral and writing ability in all areas of the curriculum. We also take the learning outside as often as we can, taking advantage of our extensive grounds to positively impact on the children’s learning and well-being.

Our Cultural Values: Threaded throughout our school and revisited continuously are our ‘Habits of Success’. Through their promotion throughout the school day, teachers ensure our children delight in challenge, strengthen their imagination and become risk takers who do not fear failure.

Our curriculum ensures that pupils leave Ark Blacklands Primary Academy with the skills they need for success at secondary school and beyond.

Please see our performance data here for the impact of our curriculum.