Our central purpose is to ensure that all students at Unity Academy achieve both the highest standards and have the best possible experiences whilst at the academy. These standards apply to all that students do.  We aim to develop a coherent curriculum that builds on young people's experiences and prior learning in our ‘all-through’ 2-16 model, which enables all young people to become successful learners, confident readers and self-assured, responsible citizens.

Unity Academy will lead our young people and community in an inspirational curriculum. FCAT and therefore Unity Academy defines the curriculum as the totality of a child’s experience of education from 2-16, particularly the quality of teaching and learning, the explicit teaching of subject knowledge and the development of broader skills and personal qualities.

The principals of the curriculum at Unity Academy will be built around ensuring the RIGHT curriculum is in place, the RIGHT curriculum being one which is: -

  • Resilience led – Students will be supported to demonstrate their potential at all times; they will be challenged but supported.  The resilience led curriculum will inspire students academically but also in a wide variety of extra-curricular opportunities – our all through entitlement curriculum.
  • Integrated & all through – The curriculum will be well planned, documenting a student’s journey through the academy from 2 to 16 – considering the experiences we believe they are entitled to and ensuring that we deliver inquisitive and ambitious academic challenges which build on prior learning.
  • Gets the basics right – Our curriculum will ensure students read and write well and have mastered basic arithmetic skills which allows them to thrive in all academic disciplines.
  • Highly ambitious – We will have high expectations throughout the curriculum; students will be challenged to succeed in a range of academic and extra-curricular disciplines thus creating well rounded learners.
  • Timely and appropriate with regard to qualifications – Students will leave Unity having achieved well in a range of qualifications which are delivered and achieved in a timely manner.

We achieve this via a curriculum that is driven by high quality teaching and learning delivered through “The Unity Way”. This incorporates the approaches contained within the “FCAT Way”  ensuring progression by delivering high and age related expectations, increasingly through a Mastery approach, thus developing:

  • deep subject knowledge
  • subject skills for learning and for life
  • enriching opportunities within and beyond the classroom

Unity will be a ‘knowledge-engaged’ academy in which knowledge underpins the application of skills – we will ensure skills are taught alongside the mastery of subject knowledge.  Our approaches to assessment will recognise the acquisition of this knowledge and relevant skills.

In Unity an all-through model recognises the importance of effective transition across Key Stages and of following progressive and developmental phases of learning.  Phase 1 incorporates EYFS to Year 1, Phase 2 covers Year 2 to Year 4, Phase 3 covers Years 5 to 7, Phase 4 covers Years 8 and 9 and Phase 5 covers Years 10 and 11.  The principles of curriculum design identify Years 5 to 8 as a key phase of learning for our all through academy.

                    

As a consequence of this curriculum model our expectations for each of our students are for them to:

  • grow as a person, becoming self-assured, responsible citizens
  • be a positive and an active member of their school community
  • be lifelong and confident readers with a love of reading
  • be successful learners who are able to work well independently and interdependently
  • be employable
  • want to be the best they can be in whatever they choose to do

 

Please click the following links to see our Option Blocks:

          

More information about each Phase can also be found about each by clicking on the appropriate link on our home page.

To find out more information about our curriculum content, click on the appropriate curriculum link.

Should you require further information on Unity’s curriculum, please contact the school.