Curriculum Overview

Our philosophy is to create and deliver a challenging curriculum which ensures all students acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in qualifications and to become responsible and respectful individuals, leading to happy and successful lives.

Our curriculum will also uphold the caring, collaborative and excellent vision and principals outlined in The Athelstan Trust Curriculum Statement.

Intent

The Dean Academy mission statement, Preparing you Today for a Successful Tomorrow, is at the core of the intent of our curriculum model.

We are an inclusive, comprehensive school and want our curriculum to be academically rigorous, broad and balanced so that it enables all learners to thrive, regardless of their starting point or background.

Our commitment is to offer a curriculum model that is able to:

  • Offer flexibility at Key Stages 3 and 4, by allowing for the needs of the individual to be met, as far as is reasonably possible, in terms of courses on offer and number of subjects
  • Develop a foundational knowledge base and focus on knowledge retention, to build on the knowledge students learn independently
  • Ensure that skills and concepts are taught thoroughly and mastered at each stage of the curriculum to enable progress between and through Key Stages
  • Offer a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for students to develop cultural capital and become active members of the local and wider community
  • Provide students with the guidance and support to develop an understanding of British values, what it takes to be a reflective and well-rounded member of our community but also how to be an empathetic global citizen
  • Provide for the personal, social, health and citizenship education of students including the preparation of students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life
  • Encourage students to be inquisitive and curious about careers open to them, while providing rigorous and wide-ranging careers advice and experience through all areas of school life, not just as a “bolt-on” Careers Education
  • Embed restorative practices by ensuring all students value and understand the impact positive relationships have on their lives and how to rebuild them when they are damaged.

Implementation

In order to achieve our Curriculum Intent, we are committed to the implementation of the following:

  • Ensuring that all schemes of learning are structured around the evidence-informed TDA lesson template; this ensures that content is appropriately planned and sequenced to allow students to make progress.

  • Ensuring all learners receive quality first teaching across all subjects, supported and enhanced through Continued Professional Development and monitored through our Quality Assurance framework.
  • Understanding pupils' needs in relation to supporting them to deepen their knowledge and understanding and adapt activities that can support mastery over time for all pupils.
  • Using both formative, summative assessment and feedback to ensure that students are aware of how to improve and take ownership of their own progress.
  • Embedding strong numeracy and literacy (reading, writing, oracy) knowledge across curriculum disciplines.
  • Regularly reviewing and adapting our Personal Development curriculum provision and being agile in terms of responding to identified need.
  • Having high expectations of the standard of student behaviour, conduct and attitude in lessons and around the school community, promoting and rewarding learners who exemplify the schools' values.
  • Supporting students to make informed decisions about maintaining a broad and balanced curriculum through Year 9 options choices.
  • Introducing students to a range of careers information and guidance, including visits to further education establishments in order to promote high aspirations for their next stage of education, training or employment.
  • Providing a wide range of enrichment and extra-curricular activities to increase students' cultural capital.
  • Offering a strong pastoral support system with tutors being the first point of contact for students and parents alike throughout a student's time at the school.