Overarching Curriculum Intent

The curriculum at Co-op Academy Delius has been developed to meet the wide ranging needs of all pupils within the school. This bespoke curriculum has been designed by the school team staff working at every level within the academy, and all have been encouraged to contribute within the process. 

Pupils within Co-op Academy are placed within a pathway which best suits their needs. The pathways are:

• Rockets
• Galaxies 
• Meteors 
• Comets 
• Astronauts 

The pathway model which has been implemented has ensured that all pupils access a curriculum which is both ambitious and challenging. At Co-op Academy Delius we believe that every school day counts and we strive to ensure that all of our pupils have irresistible opportunities to engage both in the classroom and also when accessing the wide range of specialist provision around school. 

At Co-op Academy Delius, we use topics to provide exciting and engaging learning opportunities. The topics are selected carefully to take into consideration the locality of both sites. Wherever possible, role models from diverse backgrounds are selected for pupils to learn about. 

Each Key Stage accesses the same topic, regardless of the pathway. However, differentiation and challenge is provided by the Programmes of Learning which have been written to meet the specific needs of the learners within each pathway. As pupils move through the key stages, the topics become more challenging and complex. However, retrieval opportunities are written into the Programmes of Learning which allows for pupils’ learning to be consolidated and for any misconceptions to be addressed. 

At Co-op Academy Delius, our curriculum choices are always strongly influenced by our aim of developing pupils’ communication skills. This is a main priority for all of our pupils so that their safeguarding vulnerabilities are reduced and their development in all learning areas is optimised. By placing such a focus on communication, we give our pupils the best opportunity for future success. 

Books are at the heart of our curriculum and are linked to the themes. The themes provide a main vehicle for all aspects of communication. We have carefully selected themes which lend themselves to support communication for pupils working within each pathway. 

All of our pupils based at the BD3 site, receive a bespoke curriculum offer which is based upon the EYFS areas of learning. The curriculum has been designed to be ambitious for all pupils and subject leads ensure that progression within each area key stage and pathway is planned for. Pupils at the BD7 site access all of the National Curriculum subjects. 

Based on the Co-op value ‘Do what matters most’, much of our curriculum content is selected specifically to prepare pupils for the next stage of education; develop their life skills and their independence. The educational experiences they have at our academy will enable many of our pupils to live independently as adults. We build in frequent opportunities for pupils to practise and consolidate key knowledge.

As well as the emphasis on developing pupils’ communication skills, safeguarding is a strong feature of all areas of our curriculum. We focus upon teaching pupils appropriate behaviours for different situations. We have developed a ‘commitment to communicating consent‘ which is to highlight the importance of developing an understanding of consent for all of our pupils. SMSC is planned within each subject area and this is woven into all of the work that the school does in order to support our pupils as they progress throughout their school life. 

We are keen to inspire in pupils a love of learning and of school. As such, our curriculum content is also chosen to motivate pupils. Our themes are designed with a ‘stunning start’ and a ‘fabulous finish’ . These strategies provide an exciting ‘hook’ into a theme and a purpose for learning. Our curriculum is enhanced through a wide range of coherently planned, first-hand experiences, including educational visits. In this way, we also build our pupils’ cultural capital. 

Our curriculum is designed to give pupils a sense of belonging in the academy and the wider community. We are passionate about pupils building relationships with their peers, as well as having commonality with children in mainstream schools. 

At Co-op Academy Delius we organise pupil class groups according to pupils’ ability and needs. Our classes all belong to one of our 5 pathways. 

All pupils who start at Delius within EYFS will begin their school career in the rockets pathway. An integral part of this pathway is to support all pupils in order to identify the best pawya for them once they leave EYFS. 

With the exception of the Astronauts Pathway who follow a subject specific pathway, we use the EYFS areas of learning to support our curriculum design. To ensure that there is ambition for all, the pupils within each Key Stage access the same topic where themes from the national curriculum will be as an exciting vehicle for learning. For example, KS2 were learning about Neil Armstrong in history. Pupils within the Astronauts Pathway would be learning about Armstrong and his contribution to history, pupils within the Galaxy Pathway were exposed to stimuli linked to the moon landing and walking on the moon. 

The curriculum is designed over a 5 year programme, with the exception of Maths which is covered over a two year programme and literacy which is a one year programme. By developing the curriculum in this way, pupils should not repeat the same topic if they start their journey at Delius at different stages. 

The coverage for subjects for the Astronauts pathway is planned out using the national curriculum and this is then broken down into developmentally appropriate learning objectives for the rest of the pathways. Where appropriate, some subjects have a ‘core offer’ whereby objectives are expected to be covered each time the subject is taught. For example, objectives from ‘working scientifically’ are repeated during each science topic’. The coverage map also indicates ‘retrieval objectives’ to support pupils’ continuing ability to remember what they have previously learnt.

Evidence for Learning is used to track all learning. As well as focusing upon pupils Personalised Learning Goals, Learning Ladders are written for lessons. The idea of this, is to ensure that opportunities are plentiful for children and that at the beginning of a session, there are no preconceptions as to the level that a child is working at. Instead, a selection of possible outcomes are written, linked to the lesson and staff continually challenge the pupils to ‘climb the learning ladder’. 

The evaluation of this new curriculum and its impact is crucial to its success. Whole school CPD time has been allocated half termly to revisit and amend our curriculum policy.