Intent

The curriculum in TPA schools is designed to inspire and motivate children.  Our aim is for every child to experience ‘an extraordinary school day’ every day.  We place children at the heart of the learning process through a bespoke ‘TPA Teaching Model.’ The Model, which is rooted firmly in research and analysis of effective learning and teaching, translates the Trust’s Expectations into classroom practice and has been developed and embedded to provide consistency and continuity for all children. 

The Curriculum for Unity School’s Partnership (CUSP) is used for Reading, Writing, Spelling, Science, History, Geography, Music, Art and DT. This is an ambitious, evidence-based curriculum with a focus on vocabulary. It is a coherent subject-specific, knowledge-based curriculum that has been developed with carefully planned sequences of learning that reflect the National Curriculum. End points are identified and carefully planned for, building on previous knowledge. Long-term plans comprehensively map out what is taught across the school in all subjects. Subjects are taught individually in planned units, but links are made across different subjects where appropriate.

The Pioneer Academy is committed to the highest quality teaching across the whole curriculum and promotes the use of specialist teachers to facilitate this.  We currently have specialist teachers across our schools, including in the following subjects: PE, Art, Music, Computing and MfL (see individual schools’ information for further details).

Implementation

The White Rose Mathematics scheme, supplemented by additional resources, is used for teaching and learning in Mathematics.  This was selected for its accessibility and strong approach to mastery.

CUSP (Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership) is the curriculum used for reading, writing and spelling (KS2 only). It is also used for Science, History, Geography, Art and DT, and Music.

For Phonics and Early Reading, schools use either Little Wandle Phonics or Read Write Inc, both selected for the level of structure and resourcing available.

In EYFS, the TPA EYFS curriculum is used and this has been developed to lay the foundations for the curriculum, knowledge and skills taught in Year 1 and beyond.

Our TPA Teaching Model is designed and implemented in such a way that it builds on prior knowledge and skills and lays the foundation for future learning. Lessons are designed to be engaging and challenging with learners actively involved.

Long-term plans have been created so that subject coverage is planned sequentially and with a clear rationale for making connections with prior learning. Therefore, learning is blended and refined. Our curriculum planning is supplemented by a wide range of opportunities and enrichment activities which allow for cross-curricular learning. This enables learners to see the ‘Big Picture’ of their learning and to make connections both through and across different subjects.

Impact

We review the impact of our curriculum continuously in a variety of different ways. We monitor how effectively our curriculum and enrichment provision provides opportunities for each unique pupil to reach their full potential.

We look at the quality and breadth of work seen in learners’ books, and online where applicable, as well as in the learning environment, pupil voice discussions, outcomes of assessments and the quality of teaching and learning seen in monitoring activities. All of these tools help us assess the consistency, impact and relevance of our curriculum.

Monitoring and Evaluation

School leaders and Governors, supported by Regional Directors and Trust central team members, monitor whether the school is complying with TPA teaching and learning expectations and remains on track to meet challenging targets which match or exceed national expectations.  This is achieved through:

• Learning Walks
• Meetings with subject leaders to support and challenge them
• Evaluation meetings such as Governing Board and Trustee meetings; senior leader meetings; monitoring schedules; stakeholder visits and teaching and learning reviews

Senior Leaders and Subject Leaders monitor the way the curriculum is taught throughout the school in the following ways:

• Book looks (Coverage/Breadth/Progression)
• Work scrutiny (Quality of work)
• Learning environment walks
• Pupil voice surveys and interviews
• Learning walks and lesson observations followed by developmental coaching
• Analysing teacher assessment across the school

Pupil Outcomes

At TPA, learning is at the heart of all we do and so assessment is used to shape learning. It is not excessive or onerous and predominantly forms part of the day-to-day working practices of the classroom. Teachers ensure that pupils embed concepts into their long-term memory. Key skills and objectives for curriculum areas are revisited throughout the year and applied in different contexts. Children take part in quizzes to support the recall of facts and information. A wide range of strategies, such as questioning, talk partner discussions, using mini whiteboards and a range of other teaching strategies are also used to assess knowledge.

We also use summative assessments, including end-of-unit tests and practice papers to support the teacher's overall assessment in these subjects and plan adjustments to the curriculum and next steps.

All assessments are carefully tracked at school level to ensure all children make as much progress as they can.  Support is planned at regular pupil performance review (PPR) meetings and the impact of these is closely monitored. 

Assessments across all schools in The Pioneer Academy Trust are closely monitored to ensure consistency and to support the planning of deployment of additional resources where this may be needed.

Curriculum – Schemes of Work

CUSP (Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership)	Other Schemes used
Reading and Writing Spelling Science History Geography Art DT Music (Sing Up Curriculum)	Phonics – Little Wandle or Read Write Inc
	Maths – White Rose Maths
	PE - PE Pro
	RE - Locally Agreed Syllabus
	PSHE - School specific scheme
	Computing - School specific scheme
	MfL - School specific scheme