Our Curriculum
"My daughter is in reception but since joining Alexandra park has made so much progress already! I am extremely happy with the amount of care she gets and how fantastic her teachers are! It’s such a lovely environment and I would definitely recommend the school to other parents." - Parent comment
"The school inspires pupils to be the very best that they can be. Its motto of ‘care, aspire, achieve’ is embodied in the exceptionally high expectations for pupils’ academic and personal success. Pupils work hard during lessons and their behaviour is exemplary. They are enthused by ‘star’ and ‘Viking’ awards that they receive in recognition of their superb attitudes to school life. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities (SEND), achieve exceptionally well"- Ofsted, July 2024
School Vision
We are committed to delivering a holistic curriculum which enables all our children to become confident, ambitious, lifelong learners. We aim to develop our children’s skills, knowledge and learning behaviours, as well as encouraging curiosity, aspiration and a love of learning that will continue into adulthood. We are continually developing a more innovative and personalised approach to the curriculum with a focus on our children caring, aspiring and achieving. We are committed to achieving this vision by:
Working as a high-performing team, being reflective practitioners and taking on feedback to enhance practice
Using a positive mind-set to engage proactively and enthusiastically with change
Ensuring all decisions made work towards our shared vision and mission statement
Personalising learning for the children and teaching transferrable skills
Supporting and developing staff through high-quality professional development
Engaging with the wider world more meaningfully and taking a ‘wider’, more holistic approach to curriculum provision
Listening to the views of all stakeholders and ensuring quality communication between all stakeholders
Curriculum overview
At Alexandra Park, children are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that every child deserves the strongest possible foundations for learning, enabling them to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to flourish, achieve their potential and become lifelong learners. We are committed to developing every child’s independence, self-esteem and self-confidence, alongside the positive learning behaviours that enable them to thrive. We want our children to be well prepared for the next stage of their education, their future careers and life in modern society.
Our curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that all children develop the foundational knowledge, skills and learning behaviours they need to access learning successfully across the curriculum. We place a strong emphasis on early language, communication, reading, writing and mathematics, recognising that secure foundations are essential for future success. Alongside these academic foundations, we explicitly develop six key learning behaviours that help children become confident, motivated and successful learners: independence, pride, curiosity, creativity, collaboration and determination. We provide opportunities for children to practise and strengthen these behaviours every day, helping them develop positive attitudes towards learning and the resilience to overcome challenges.
Our curriculum is underpinned by our three core values:
Care – Our curriculum develops every child’s ability to care for, respect and understand themselves, others and the world around them. We want every child to feel safe, valued and supported, with a strong sense of belonging to our school community. Through positive relationships, we encourage children to work collaboratively, respect different perspectives and take pride in themselves and their contributions.
Aspire – We provide an ambitious, inclusive curriculum that broadens children’s experiences, raises aspirations and helps them recognise what they can achieve, both now and in the future. We encourage curiosity, creativity and a love of learning, supporting children to ask questions, explore new ideas, embrace challenges and develop the confidence to think independently.
Achieve – We ensure that children develop the essential knowledge, skills and learning behaviours they need to succeed. By building learning progressively on secure foundations, we enable children to deepen their understanding, make meaningful connections and apply what they know with increasing confidence and independence. We encourage children to take pride in their learning, persevere when faced with difficulties and demonstrate determination in working towards their goals.
Oracy is the lifeblood of our curriculum, and so all lessons are planned to include regular opportunities for children to collaborate through discussion in varied groupings including talk partners and trios, as well as working independently. These discussions are based around a range of Springboards for Talk, such as concept cartoons, ‘Would you rather...?’, controversial statements, and many more. Classes regularly discuss the Oracy Framework, which supports children in understanding what constitutes high-quality speaking and listening; this allows them to independently select the skills they need within these activities. Effective questioning is a crucial component of all our lessons: key questions are planned to encourage children to think about their learning, to reflect upon previous learning, and to make connections between new and existing learning. We also encourage them to actively engage with their peers’ learning, using Talk Tactics to build, challenge, probe, clarify and summarise. Adults model the use of carefully selected subject-specific vocabulary, embedding regular use of these words through lessons to enable children to use them in both conversation and writing. Our teachers are experts in their areas and direct instruction is encouraged to model good practice.
Our curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious, reflecting the breadth and expectations of the National Curriculum in England. It is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills build progressively from one year to the next. We recognise the importance of securing essential foundational skills while providing rich opportunities for children to explore, question, create and develop their understanding across a wide range of subjects. Learning is adapted to meet individual needs, ensuring that all pupils can access the curriculum while maintaining high expectations for every child. Alongside academic achievement, we place a strong emphasis on developing our six learning behaviours: independence, pride, curiosity, creativity, collaboration and determination. These behaviours are woven throughout our curriculum and daily school life. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning, take pride in their efforts and achievements, ask questions, think creatively, learn with and from others, and persevere when learning is challenging. By explicitly nurturing these behaviours, we help children become increasingly reflective, resilient and self-reliant learners who understand that success comes through effort, practice and a willingness to learn.
We continually review and develop our curriculum to ensure that it meets the needs of our children and provides them with the best possible opportunities for success. Our approach combines the explicit teaching of essential knowledge and skills with meaningful opportunities to apply learning in different contexts. We recognise that academic achievement and positive learning behaviours go hand in hand: children need secure foundations, a strong body of knowledge and the attitudes and behaviours to use them effectively. Through this approach, we aim to develop confident, curious and motivated learners who are well prepared for secondary school and the opportunities and challenges of the wider world.
Our full Curriculum Design can be found at the bottom of this page. Further information about the teaching and progression of mathematics, reading, writing, PSHE and other subjects can be found on the relevant subject pages.