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Curriculum

Executive Summary of Acer's Curriculum Policy

Acer’s Curriculum Aims:

  • Provide an ambitious academic curriculum so that students can access a wide range of qualifications that can support and impact on their further education and their employability.
  • To address pupils widest gaps in education by developing basic skills in literacy and numeracy across the curriculum in order to prepare our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
  • To ensure that we have a broad and balanced offer for our students to build upon students strengths and interests to inspire them to hold high aspirations for their future
  • To develop our students wider skills and qualities that prepare our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. These include:
    • Equipping pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to remove barriers to learning and support their future aspirations
    • Support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
    • Awareness of British values to become well informed and responsible citizens

The curriculum at Acer Academy is designed with a clear commitment to celebrating the unique identity and potential of each and every student. We have established a set of guiding principles that shape the heart of our educational approach:

Celebrating Diversity:

At Acer Academy, we firmly believe that every student should see themselves celebrated through the curriculum. To achieve this, we highlight and honor role models who reflect the rich tapestry of our school community. Our curriculum embraces and celebrates the diversity of our students, ensuring that everyone feels valued and represented.

Tailored for Student Success:

Our curriculum content is carefully selected to meet the specific needs and interests of our students. We base our choices on rigorous assessments of each student's starting point across all areas of the curriculum, taking into account the unique context of our school community. This individualized approach ensures that learning is engaging, meaningful, and relevant to every student.

Local Connection and Cultural Capital:

We believe that learning should have a connection to our students' lives and surroundings. Our curriculum content includes a focus on teaching students about their locality and influential figures with links to our local area. This enriches their cultural capital, deepening their understanding of their community and its history.

Evidence-Informed Excellence:

The foundation of our curriculum is built on the best practices and the science of learning. We continuously seek out evidence-based strategies to inform our teaching methods, ensuring that our students benefit from the latest advancements in education. Our commitment to excellence is unwavering.

Sequenced Learning and Cross-Curricular Connections:

To foster a comprehensive understanding of the world, we carefully sequence our curriculum, developing key concepts that link learning across subjects. This integrated approach allows our students to make meaningful connections between different areas of knowledge. We also provide numerous opportunities for out-of-class learning to enrich their educational experience.

At Acer Academy, our curriculum is not just a set of lessons; it's a reflection of our core values and our dedication to nurturing well-rounded, empowered, and informed individuals. 

Parents/carers or other members of the public can find out more about the curriculum by clicking on the Curriculum Policy link at the bottom of this page and the subject policies below. 

If you would like any more information about the curriculum at Acer Academy please contact enquiries@kingsacademytrust.co.uk

 

Acer Academy Logo

Art

The purpose of creative arts at Acer is:

  • To inspire and enthuse pupils imagination and appreciate ‘creative arts’.
  • To develop a broad and balanced creative arts curriculum which enables all pupils to succeed and achieve.
  • Provide high quality inclusive creative arts experiences and resources for our pupils.
  • In order to support further training on their next phase of education and spark creativity in later life.

Computing

Links & Downloads

The purpose of Computing at Acer is to ensure that all students are competent users and innovators of digital technology. They will be safe when exploring the digital world and are able to recognise dangers and respond appropriately. We aim to foster an ongoing interest and exploration of the ever changing digital world.

This will lead to students becoming responsible citizens within a digital society, promote future study and offer more employability opportunities.

English

Links & Downloads

Our vision for English is:

  • To foster an enduring love of language and literature through high quality stimulus.
  • To support pupils to become active readers, writers and communicators.
  • To foster practical and functional skills for life.
  • To foster in pupils the confidence, desire and ability to express their views and opinions both orally and in writing.
  • To value and celebrate diversity in culture and language. 
Our Approach to Phonics 


At our school, we are committed to ensuring that every student becomes a confident and fluent reader as quickly as possible. Upon entry to Key Stage 3, all students are screened to identify any gaps in their phonics knowledge. Those who are identified through this initial screening receive targeted daily phonics instruction delivered by a dedicated member of staff.

We use the Fresh Start programme to support these learners, providing structured and engaging lessons that build essential reading skills. Progress is monitored closely through half-termly assessments, allowing us to track development and adapt support where needed.

Our aspiration is for all students to access the full curriculum with confidence, and we believe that strong reading skills are the foundation for success across all subjects.

Maths

Links & Downloads

At our school, we believe that every pupil can succeed in maths. Our curriculum is designed to build confidence, encourage curiosity, and develop problem-solving skills that prepare pupils for life beyond school. Lessons are carefully sequenced to help pupils make connections between topics and apply their understanding to real-life contexts.

 Teaching is adapted to ensure that all pupils can access learning at the right level, with appropriate scaffolding and support to promote independence over time. Practical resources, visual models and structured routines help pupils to build strong foundations in number, reasoning and fluency.

Our aim is for every pupil to see themselves as a mathematician – able to think logically, tackle challenges with resilience, and take pride in their progress.

Music

Links & Downloads

The purpose of creative arts at Acer is:

  • To inspire and enthuse pupils imagination and appreciate ‘creative arts’.
  • To develop a broad and balanced creative arts curriculum which enables all pupils to succeed and achieve.
  • Provide high quality inclusive creative arts experiences and resources for our pupils.
  • In order to support further training on their next phase of education and spark creativity in later life. 

PE

Links & Downloads

The vision of the PE curriculum is to provide opportunities for all pupils to develop their physical confidence and competence in a way that supports their physical and mental health. We also aim to develop key life skills and build character to embed lifelong participation in sport and physical activity.

Personal Development Including Relationships & Sex Education

Links & Downloads

The purpose of Personal Development is to:

  • To foster independence and life skills for the future.
  • To provide further opportunities for young people which contribute towards developing well rounded, responsible young citizens.
  • To develop understanding of one’s own unique development (both strengths and areas for improvement).

Technology

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

The purpose of Design and Technology is to stimulate challenge that will engage the pupils and encourage their enquiring minds. To create opportunities for pupils to develop a wide range of practical knowledge and skills that support problem solving to design and make products that will lead to encouraging future interests which aims to spark a love for learning, exploration later in life and can lead to further opportunities in adulthood.

The purpose of Design and Technology is to stimulate challenge that will engage the pupils and encourage their enquiring minds. To create opportunities for pupils to develop a wide range of practical knowledge and skills that support problem solving to design and make products that will lead to encouraging future interests which aims to spark a love for learning, exploration later in life and can lead to further opportunities in adulthood.

Speech & Language

Links & Downloads

Speech and language sessions are discretely taught to identified classes as part of a targeted approach to communication development. The pitch and content of these sessions may vary depending on the baseline abilities and needs of each group. Below is an example of what the Speech and Language curriculum may include:

  • Learning and practicing the nuances of communication.
  • Engaging in appropriate conversations tailored to different scenarios.
  • Developing listening skills to identify key information.
  • Using causal language to explain reasoning and outcomes.
  • Applying inference and reasoning to uncover hidden meanings in daily interactions.
  • Interpreting subtle messages within conversations.
  • Recognising sarcasm and understanding the tone in which it is used.
  • Identifying situations where sarcasm may be appropriate.
  • Learning a range of idioms and their implied meanings.
  • Using familiar idioms in everyday speech.
  • Maintaining conversations and understanding the role of ‘small talk.’
  • Reading body language and recognising cues that signal the end of a conversation.

Science

Links & Downloads

Acer’s Science Policy Vision

  • To develop pupils’ curiosity and excitement about the world around them.
  • To develop pupil’s ability to work scientifically.
  • To provide opportunities to understand how science has developed by studying real life scientists (cultural capital).

Phonics

Links & Downloads

"As a school, we teach synthetic phonics as the most important approach to the teaching of reading. We endeavour that our pupils will work toward closing the gap between their reading age and chronological age. We want all pupils to continue their journey to read with confidence, develop a love of reading and apply their skills competently across the curriculum."

Our Vision for Phonics

  • To support pupils to become active readers.
  • To foster practical and functional skills for life.
  • To foster in pupils the confidence, desire and ability to read for pleasure.
  • To provide our students with the best opportunity for accessing all areas of curriculum content through accessed through reading.

Useful Documents

On this page you will find some downloadable documents to help parents be familiar with the taught sounds and our approach to delivering phonics at Acer Academy. 

Enhancement Tracker

Explore Beyond the Classroom at Acer Academy

At Acer Academy, we believe that learning extends far beyond the confines of the classroom. That's why we're dedicated to providing our students with enriching out-of-class experiences that inspire, engage, and broaden their horizons.

Why It Matters to Us:

At the heart of our educational philosophy is the understanding that real-world experiences are essential for holistic development. These experiences enhance academic learning and foster life skills, creativity, and a deep appreciation for the world around us.

Our Enhancement Planning:

We take our commitment to out-of-class experiences seriously. To ensure a well-rounded education, each subject at Acer Academy has an Enhancement Section in its policy. This dedicated approach allows us to carefully plan and execute a comprehensive enhancement cycle throughout a pupil's time with us.