Belmont Academy’s Curriculum Intent
Our aspiration is for all children to find success in their learning, relative to their individual starting point, whilst becoming kind, responsible and respectful citizens in our modern society. We want our children to become resilient learners, who are honest and willing to challenge themselves to become the best they can be.
At Belmont, our practice is underpinned by our commitment to the inclusion of all children. All children, including those with specific learning difficulties, those with physical disabilities, the most able and children with English as an additional language, are nurtured through a range of strategies, interventions and support.
We continually try to improve the standard of education by reviewing areas of the curriculum, methods of teaching, assessment procedures and programmes of work.
The academic curriculum, however, is just one element in the education of every child. There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the national curriculum specifications. Our teachers strive to develop the children's academic abilities, whilst ensuring they develop socially, emotionally and morally.
The intended outcome of the curriculum offer at Belmont is to ensure students are ready and prepared for secondary education – both academically and pastorally. This means that our students have the necessary academic skills to achieve in their next stage of education, have the necessary communication and social skills that embrace and represent Belmont’s five values, and have the necessary cultural knowledge and experience to access the world beyond their primary school.
Belmont Academy’s Curriculum Implementation
At Belmont, the implementation of our curriculum is designed to meet the aims and outcomes outlined in our intent.
In order to achieve this, the curriculum at Belmont is taught in line with the expectations that are set out in the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. The National Curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.
Subjects, such as History, Geography, Science, Art & DT, are taught through stimulating thematic topics to ensure there is a common theme each half-term. This is underpinned by our use of knowledge organisers that clearly outline the prior learning that directly links to the new knowledge being learnt; but, also, how the new knowledge and skills learnt will be applied in their future learning. Likewise, these outline key questions, key vocabulary, and key individuals. This ‘key’ knowledge helps to further embed the topic being taught and allows students to access new language, develop their skills of investigation and thought, and have a greater awareness of a wide range of individuals, from a wide range of backgrounds, that have impacted upon our society today.
In English, we follow a ‘core text approach’, which means all English work is often built around a single text. Every endeavour is made to provide some link between the topic being taught and the core text chosen. However, ultimately, the core text must be engaging, exciting and enable students to further develop their written and comprehension skills. The core text offer is diverse, both in protagonists and authors, and ensures greater representation and inclusion of many backgrounds is seen.
Some high-quality and heavily-researched and trialled schemes of learning are used to supplements and support the delivery of quality lessons. This includes in mathemtaics, MFL, Computing, PSHE, PE and RE (in line with Bexley SACRE’s agreed syllabus; parents' have the right to withdraw their child from Religious Education).
In the arts, we have a commitment to developing cultural knowledge, by exposing our students to prolific artists, designers and architects each year. These are represented in each class name, in which students work is produced in a sketchbook that continues with them throughout the school. Due to our close links with Bexley Music Service, specialist music teaching occurs throughout the school each week and around 40% of our students receive 1:1 or small group instrumental lessons, during the school day.
In PE, a specialist sports coach complements the delivery of high-quality physical education that ensures students build their sporting skills gradually and specifically over time, alongside a developed understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
As a UNICEF Rights Respecting School, we ensure our students have a greater appreciation and understanding of the many difficult situations experienced by children worldwide. We are committed to developing students’ cultural knowledge of the world in which they live, and particularly beyond their local community.
Central to the implementation of our curriculum, is our commitment and expectation of quality-first teaching and learning across all areas of education. Teaching staff use each subject’s progression of skills and knowledge to ensure a clear and progressive sequence of learning is seen in each subject. This enables children to build knowledge and skills over time – both building skills and knowledge within the year group curriculum, but also regularly revisiting, and making connections with, prior knowledge so that the learning is linked and progressive.
Belmont Academy’s Curriculum Impact
The intended impact of our curriculum is that:
- Students at Belmont make expected or better progress in all areas of their learning, in line with their starting point, and are academically ready for secondary education.
- Students at Belmont encapsulate and represent our five values. Students at Belmont are resilient, respectful, responsible, kind & honest.
- Students at Belmont have a cultural knowledge and understanding that allows them to and prepares them to access and find success in the wider society, in both secondary education, and beyond.
- Students at Belmont have a good understanding of their own mental health, physical health and their pastoral needs are fully met.
- Students at Belmont have the necessary social, communication and educational skills that prepare them to access secondary education and beyond, having a clear understanding of how to positively impact on their community and wider society.
- Students at Belmont have a deep understanding and respect for the value of inclusion and are tolerant and respectful of all people, regardless of background or need.
A document detailing our curriculum approach is available here.
