Curriculum Statement of Intent

• At The Brunts Academy we are committed to providing a purposeful and empowering curriculum that fully prepares our students for the next steps in their educational journey, as well as the challenges of the wider world. A curriculum in which core skills are at the heart of all we do and in which our young people are engaged and excited to learn. 
• The curriculum is designed to recognise student’s prior learning, provide first hand learning experiences, allow students to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become creative, critical thinkers.
• Our curriculum embraces the community in which it is situated, recognising local history, heritage, geographical and business links and most importantly, the high aspirations of all our students. We place strong emphasis on the cultural development of all our students and we have identified a clear set of values that underpin everything we do.
• Every student is recognised as a unique individual. We celebrate and welcome differences within our school community.
• The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values.
• We constantly provide an array of enrichment opportunities to engage learning and believe that childhood should be a happy, investigative and enquiring time in our lives where there are no limits to curiosity and there is a thirst for new experiences and knowledge.

Curriculum Design Principles

1. Research on cognitive and schema development theory underpins our design with regular opportunities for knowledge revisits and retrieval;
2. Knowledge and the capacity it provides to apply skills is a priority;
3. Progression of content and concepts is clearly thought out, with clearly defined expectations for the end of each Milestone;
4. Reading is a priority as it is the key to unlocking the rest of the curriculum;
5. It has breadth because narrowing the curriculum damages the life chances of all students, but particularly the most disadvantaged.

Vision For The Curriculum - The Four Key Principles

Our curriculum principles underpin our core values. The Brunts Academy is committed to providing a purposeful and empowering curriculum that fully prepares learners for the next steps in their school career, as well as the challenges of the wider world. We have four guiding principles for our curriculum: