The Priory Witham Academy Curriculum Ambition

At The Witham Academy we improve our pupils' life chances so that they become true citizens of the world.

The Priory Witham Academy believes in equity of opportunity and provision for all learners.  To address the barriers our learners face we deliver a curriculum that has oracy, literacy, communication and knowledge at its heart.  It is underpinned by our Academy Values which empower our learners to develop their moral purpose, develops aspiration and equips them with the personal knowledge and experience to become informed, confident members of our wider community.

Therefore, the drivers which shape our curriculum to respond to the needs of our particular community are:

• Possibilities  - encourages ambition, provides opportunities and pupils build aspirations for future lives.
• Community - widens reach, pupils become a member of and impact on our Academy, the locality, our country and the world.
• Wellbeing - recognises support, pupils develop self-confidence and self-esteem.

The Witham Academy Intent Framework:

The breadth of our curriculum is underpinned by our Academy values of:

Courage, Curiosity, Generosity, Passion and Wisdom.

 

The Witham Academy Implementation

The Priory Witham Academy improves life chances of our learners through the Priory Trust Maximising Programmes.

Maximising Performance - effective strategic leadership ensures that there is a clear ethos that permeates all aspects of our work.  Leaders are effective in decision making, and work in the best interests of our pupils and staff.  Our culture of high trust, high accountability empowers all staff whilst retaining well—being at its core.

Maximising Effectiveness – through organic alignment, agile partnering, creative innovation and intelligent accountability all staff are supported and empowered to be the best they can be.  Staff access quality development opportunities including personalised CPD, coaching and mentoring and research informed practice. Staff feel valued.

Maximising Learning – all learners benefit from a subject focused approach providing authentic and powerful learning experiences.  Our curriculum ignites imagination and excites pupils to be curious and passionate about learning.  Through effective research, curriculum design and delivery and the development of cognitive ability, all learners secure and retain a coherent body of knowledge and they develop the skills to apply knowledge to new contexts.  The carefully constructed and sequenced curriculum is characterised by opportunities to develop rich language for learning, vocabulary for life and a love of reading.  Timely, valid and proportionate assessment of knowledge, understanding and skills supports curriculum recovery and planning to meet learner needs.

Maximising Values – through the development of the Witham Learner all pupils are empowered to explore and develop their moral purpose which is supported and guided through respectful warmth and a restorative approach.  A rich range of extended and enrichment learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom develops cultural capital and equips learners with the essential knowledge and experiences to be educated citizens and informed members of our community.  We develop pupils’ ability to sustain a network of relationships, understand shared norms, values and beliefs which thus allows them to make a meaningful contribution to society.   We explicitly teach learners the non-cognitive skills and characteristics needed to direct and drive their learning and become successful.  Our curriculum prepares pupils effectively for the challenges and responsibilities of the next step in their journey and enables them to play a meaningful role in their community.

 

The Witham Academy Impact

Maximising Achievement – the well-being, achievement and involvement in a diverse range of opportunities which enables our learners to become true citizens of the world and contribute to an increasingly complex digital and numerate economy.  Learners develop a robust and diverse skill set which equips them to respond to the evolving world they live in.  Pupils develop a sense of accomplishment as personal achievements are celebrated through both academic success and the Witham Values Programme – Believe Together, Achieve Together.  Pupils have high levels of self-worth and are ready to successfully embark on the next stage of their education or employment based journey.