Curriculum Intent

At Nunthorpe Academy, our curriculum ensures every student can thrive together through a challenging, ambitious, and knowledge-rich education. It introduces students to the best that has been thought, said, written, created, and performed, developing subject knowledge, literacy, and critical thinking.
 
The curriculum promotes intellectual curiosity, creativity, and resilience by enabling students to engage deeply with diverse content and develop the skills needed to think critically and solve problems. It is coherently planned and sequenced, with clearly defined end points that guide curriculum design and enable continuous progression in knowledge and skills.
 
We are committed to ensuring that the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all learners, including those with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Teachers are expected to plan for accessibility and equity, ensuring that all students are supported and challenged appropriately to meet the same high expectations.
 
We regularly review and adapt our curriculum to ensure it remains relevant, engaging, and responsive to the needs of our students and the wider world, while also building their cultural capital and preparing them to thrive beyond Nunthorpe Academy.

Curriculum Organisation & Objectives

The Academy firmly believes in equality of access to academic and vocational experiences and is committed to tailoring the curriculum, through a differentiated approach, to the needs of each individual student including those with Special Education Needs/Disabilities as well as the most able.

· Regular safeguarding updates are shared with students through pastoral systems and through a comprehensive pastoral curriculum. The work of the LIFE department is fully compliant with the following statutory and non-statutory frameworks: Citizenship, Sex and Relationship Education (RSE) and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).

· These frameworks include the following (but not limited to): Spiritual, Social, Moral and Cultural (SMSC), Fundamental British Values (FBV), Diversity and Mental Health. The curriculum is enhanced through a range of extra-curricular opportunities, enabling all students to access some form of extra-curricular activity.

· Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) is a statutory and an important thread which runs throughout the curriculum. The Academy follows the latest guidance on CEIAG and has embedded the Gatsby Benchmarks and Baker clause to ensure that best practice is in place.

· The Academy aims to be flexible in order to respond to the national and local education agenda but more importantly to respond to needs of the individual and groups of students. As a result, the curriculum offer is reviewed annually.

Legislation and Guidance

This policy reflects the requirements for academies to provide a broad and balanced curriculum as per the Academies Act 2010, and the National Curriculum programmes of study which we have chosen to follow. It also reflects requirements for inclusion and equality as set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2014 and Equality Act 2010, and refers to curriculum-related expectations of governing boards set out in the Department for Education’s Governance Handbook.

This policy complies with our funding agreement and articles of association.

We would like to mention that parents and carers retain the right to withdraw their child from all or part of Religious Education (RE).