Curriculum design

Purpose of the Curriculum
The late Nelson Mandela argued that, education is "the great engine of personal development” and "the most powerful weapon” which can be used to “change the world”. Here at Ark Blake Academy, these are the aims of our curriculum. Every child deserves equity of challenge, opportunity and access; our knowledge-rich curriculum provides an excellent academic experience which enables all pupils to take personal responsibility and seize their inherent greatness.

Four Facets
Ark Blake Academy’s Curriculum focuses on "Four Facets" of learning and development – knowledge, domain-centric skills, character and health – so that our pupils leave us knowledgable and skilled, as well as values-driven, content and healthy.
 

1. Powerful knowledge – This enables pupils to think understand ideas and content beyond their own experience, widening their horizons, and equipping them to engage with intellectual conversation and contribute meaningfully to society.
2. Domain-centric skills – We focus on teaching skills within specific subject disciplines, such that our pupils can become proficient as mathematicians, scientists, writers, linguists, historians, geographers, athletes, artists, musicians and philosophers. Alongside this we explicitly teach transferrable skills such as listening, note-taking, debating, conducting research, giving presentations and managing extended projects, as all these set pupils up for future professional success.
3. Character – Our pupils need to leave school as fully contributing citizens who seek social justice, make wise choices and thrive alongside others. Our Blake Values are woven through the curriculum so as to strengthen all our pupils' characters at every opportunity.
4. Health – Alongside any academic teaching, educating pupils about physical, emotional and mental health is paramount to pupils achieving their potential and thriving in society.

Our curriculum design is led by the following principles:

Powerful knowledge – We draw on the most important, advanced and influential knowledge in each subject discipline, resulting in a curriculum which holds its own alongside the best schools in the country, and prepares for entrance to the best universities.

Domain-centric skills – We explicitly teach specific skills in each subject discipline, so that pupils can apply their knowledge to processes and tasks with increasing automaticity and expertise.

Learning for mastery – Pupils will improve with each and every lesson, irrespective of their starting point, learning the value of practice, hard work and resilience in achieving success, so that they can apply this approach to anything in life.

Disciplinary literacy – The ability to read, write, listen and speak with precision and confidence is crucial for deepening mastery of content. Disciplinary literacy sits at the heart of our curriculum, encouraging our pupils to communicate with excellence.

Sequential & coherent planning – Our curriculum is informed by university study and expertise, with an incremental, orderly and progressive approach to learning which ideally prepares our pupils for later life. 

Depth and breadth – We support our pupils to incrementally build deep expertise in identified core knowledge, skills and concepts, which in turn enables them to thrive across the full set of curriculum topics. 

Rigour – Our curriculum is ambitious, challenging, and designed to push each pupil to their capacity. We hold the highest expectations of all our learners and encourage them to relentlessly quest for more in their learning and achievement.

We regularly carry out both formative and summative assessments to check the progress of our pupils, so that we can respond to their needs and offer an education that is flexible and responsive. Through regular assessment, teachers can differentiate their approach for each pupil, providing scaffolding, support and stretching accordingly.