‘The aim of education should be to teach us how to think, rather than what to think.’
James Beattie
Our Curriculum Vision
At Manor Farm Academy we strive to provide the best possible education and to ensure happiness and achievement for all. Through high expectations, we strive to instil a sense of pride and confidence within all of our pupils. We aim to develop an environment where respect and honesty are valued, and individuality and difference are celebrated. By harnessing the sense of wonder, curiosity, determination and independence that we see in our youngest pupils, and by encouraging our children to never stop asking why, we hope that a love of learning that extends beyond our academy walls is fostered. It is important to us that every pupil that leaves Manor Farm Academy is the best that they can be, that they are kind, confident and articulate and that they have a strength in their own convictions.
We believe that everyone in the school community, pupils, staff, parents and governors are partners with important contributions to make to the success and daily life of the Academy. At Manor Farm Academy, we value: ambition, curiosity, respect and individuality.
We achieve this by working to instil our values of-
Ambition
We want all of our pupils to aim high in all that they do- we want them to aspire to be the best version of themselves in all that they are.
Our curriculum is designed so that all subjects are driven by sequenced and progressive frameworks. It is flexible enough to be accessible and challenging for all. We believe that, as long as the conditions are correct, all pupils seek challenges. Through the safe and nurturing environment that we have created, we want our pupils to see the value in making mistakes when they are being fully stretched- this is when learning occurs. We believe in supporting our children to all follow the same course of work, through pre-teaching, scaffolding and support.
At Manor Farm Academy, we want our curriculum to aim higher: we want to inspire the artists, engineers, musicians, scientists, linguists, mathematicians, inventors and sportspeople of tomorrow. Our curriculum aims to broaden our children’s horizons, show them what they can achieve in their lives and what opportunities exist for them in the 21st Century.
We provide opportunities for all our children to practise and apply their learning in meaningful ways. The ultimate goal is for all our pupils to gain the knowledge and skills to empower them throughout their lives.
Individuality
At Manor Farm Academy, we celebrate difference and recognise uniqueness. Our pupils are proud of who they are and develop a strength in their own convictions. We want our pupils to develop into individuals who are fluent and confident speakers, listeners, readers, writers and mathematicians. English and mathematics are the foundation of our curriculum. The most important thing to us is that our pupils grow up to be happy, confident individuals. Instilling a love of and confidence with reading in our pupils is central to this. Reading with our children is woven into all aspects of our curriculum.
We want our pupils to be empowered in the future because of the deep knowledge they hold. By creating a knowledge-rich curriculum, we will impart knowledge to children that will help make the next piece of learning possible and we enable children to evaluate, analyse and synthesise using their knowledge. Through building up the content of long-term memory, when pupils are asked to think, they are able to think in more powerful ways. There are a vast range of experiences that enrich the school’s curriculum and further develop the knowledge that our pupils acquire.
As such, we set out the knowledge and vocabulary to be learnt, ensuring progression and coherence through the academy. We believe that the more children know, the more they can learn. For some children, especially the most disadvantaged, school is often the only place where they have the opportunity to gain knowledge of the concepts and vocabulary that will enable them to learn effectively alongside their peers and succeed in the long term.
Throughout all aspects of academy life, we celebrate achievements made by pupils at all levels- both inside and outside the academy. Pupils are proud of one another as well as of themselves.
Respect
We want our pupils to be recognised for the respect that they show towards others. Because of the lack of diversity that we have within our community, we recognise that through a carefully crafted curriculum, our pupils must be taught the importance of tolerance. A robust PSHE curriculum is embedded within the daily life of Manor Farm Academy and all stakeholders hold a full commitment to upholding their part in this. We want our pupils to be compassionate citizens of the world and to do this, we weave all elements of spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning and development into our daily practice.
Pupils’ social development is a real strength at Manor Farm Academy – we want our pupils to be able to use a range of social skills in different contexts and with people from different ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. We want our pupils to recognise and cherish the diversity of people in our locality and across the world. In an area of limited (but increasing) diversity, this is a key objective for us.
We want our curriculum to prepare pupils to live full and active lives as part of their community into adulthood. It is important for us to develop in our pupils this sense of community: the school community, the local community and the global community. Our curriculum aims to show children the impact that we as humans can have on all these communities.
Curiosity
Curiosity is key to learning. When we are curious about a subject, we are much more likely to remember information we learned about that subject. At Manor Farm Academy, we recognise the curiosity children naturally have about the world they live in when they begin school. In the early years, they are frequently put into problem-solving situations.
They are encouraged to find solutions through hands-on play, to ask questions and to think in different ways. We want this to be maintained and nurtured in all the subjects we teach.
Because we want to encourage our pupils’ curiosity, we encourage them to ask—and try to answer—questions. Teachers and pupils of all ages use our question matrix to support in this.
Problem-solving is a vital part of learning and at Manor Farm Academy is given a high priority in our teaching. The skills it develops enables our pupils to become more robust and capable. Problem-solving is a daily feature of classroom life, in every subject and no matter what age pupils are. Through problem-solving, children develop their ability to bounce back, to be resilient and to understand that it is normal to make mistakes. They develop their independence and ability to think for themselves. They develop their self-esteem and ability to persevere.
Problem-solving is an integral life skill, one that once developed will leave them well equipped for the ever-changing world ahead of them. The careers we are preparing pupils for now may not even exist yet. However, with the right skills our pupils will be able to tackle and overcome any problem that they come across.