Teaching & Learning

Our Approach

We believe that the Trust’s role is to create the climate for possibility, investing in a broad and balanced curriculum, assessment framework and associated professional development that will bring about the best teaching and facilitate the greatest learning.

The key to learning is an exciting, broad and relevant curriculum that acknowledges that all children are different and need access to a range of experiences where skilled teaching is about; provoking curiosity, engaging interest, encouraging creativity and stimulating learning not just delivery of content. The responsibility for getting this important job done will be devolved to individual academies.

Our Curriculum Framework

Our framework includes the following important components:

Educating the whole child, ensuring access to a high quality broad and balanced curriculum including opportunities to pursue special interests and develop specialist talents.
A focus on fostering an enjoyment of learning.
An emphasis on developing the skills required to be successful in an increasingly technical global environment.
Equipping pupils with a strong command of the basics of English and mathematics.
Acquisition of effective skills, knowledge and understanding in all subjects, including the humanities, science, technology, social, physical and artistic learning.
A strong PSHE curriculum that promotes the fundamental British values so that all pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
Creating opportunities to build confidence, ambition and team-work skills to succeed in later life.
Promoting equality of opportunity and diminishing the difference for disadvantaged pupils.
Investing in ensuring access to ‘any time anywhere learning opportunities’.
Facilitating and promoting exciting, stretching and creative opportunities for all children and staff, including opportunities for families to be included.
Involving parents and families in their own and their child’s learning.
Opportunities to develop entrepreneurial thinking with integrity.
Embracing the foundations for good mental and physical health which are pre-requisites to successful learning, careers and lives.

MAT wide collaboration

Opportunities to enhance teaching and learning through collaboration include:

Higher level stretching learning for most able and especially most able disadvantaged children e.g. advanced maths classes across the MAT schools.
MAT and cluster wide team events; quizzes, sports, Olympics.
MAT summer camps.
MAT wide opportunities that will benefit disadvantaged pupils and maximise use of PPG funding.
MAT wide clubs and classes.
MAT wide learning opportunities for parents.
Strategic deployment of staff across our academies, for example to support and teach at key transition points to ensure movement to learning at the next key phase is seamless for pupils.
Sharing expertise across academies of different types within the MAT, e.g. drawing upon special school expertise in addressing approaches for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.