Our curriculum LEAVES us knowing and remembering more

At Alderman Pounder, our school vision is 'Making a difference as we grow together'. This is embodied with our curriculum which has been carefully designed to prepare our children to be compassionate citizens of our world, valuing the local context and community.

We define curriculum as the totality of a child’s experience at Alderman Pounder including not only what, but also how, each child learns. Our broad and balanced curriculum has been developed to inspire our children through enquiry, addressing the identified barriers to learning, to deliver the skills, cultural knowledge and understanding to achieve every day of their lives. It encompasses our school values of aspiration, confidence, creativity, enjoyment, perseverance, pride and responsibility.

Alderman Pounder staff supported the development of our curriculum principles which are informed by our context and needs of our local community. We communicate our vision through the acronym, ‘LEAVES’.

Language rich – to expose children to high quality texts, developing a love of reading, and to improve speech and vocabulary.
Experiential – to challenge children to overcome personal barriers through culturally rich, memorable experiences both in and out of the classroom which expand their knowledge (including of our wider society).
Aspirational – to support children in achieving the best possible outcomes to allow them to give them direction and purpose, helping to shape their life chances and choices.
Valuable – to give meaning and purpose to learning, preparing our children for their next step in education.
Engaging – to develop children’s passions and interests, maintaining focus to support retention of learning whilst developing a life-long love of learning.
Sequential – to build on prior knowledge revealing links between areas of learning to developing a rich schema of knowledge.

The Flying High Curriculum

Our FHP curriculum, underpinned by current research and the National Curriculum, ensures our children will be well-rounded individuals who are prepared for the next stage of their journey. It will promote the demonstration of compassion, mutual understanding, integrity and a pursuit of excellence in order for our children to reach their potential and make a positive contribution to the wider world. Our enquiry-based approach takes children on a journey of memorable learning through rich and purposeful experiences, culminating in authentic outcomes which leave a legacy. 

Fluency in the core subjects, with reading at the heart, enables access to the full curriculum and is therefore integral to our approach. The curriculum is carefully designed through enquiry drivers (for example: History, Geography and Arts), enhancers and discrete subjects, ensuring coverage, progression and retention of knowledge and skills.  Our knowledge-rich curriculum is underpinned by key concepts. Children explore concepts throughout the curriculum, revisiting them in a wide range of contexts and through the lens of different subjects.  This promotes a deep understanding of the concepts and enables the transfer of knowledge to the long-term memory.  It aims to provide inclusive and aspirational environments where learners thrive and build the cultural-capital they need to make aspirational choices about their own future, overcoming any barriers. In order to achieve this our curriculum is underpinned by the following principles:

• Relevant and current 

• Empowers children 

• Promotes character and heart 

• Memorable learning 

• Provides opportunities 

Our trust mission is to create the best schools in the universe and as part of this we celebrate the unique nature of each school. Our ethos of adopt, adapt and fly recognises the importance of a curriculum to meet the needs of each community.  The implementation of the FHP core elements and principles provides all children with the knowledge and skills they are entitled to learn. We aim to make every day count!

Our model

Want to know more?

If you would like to find out more about our curriculum and what is taught in each year group, please look at our year group pages, contact your child’s class teacher or the school office and we will be pleased to share more information with you.