Our curriculum approach

Our curriculum and intent

Our curriculum is broad, ambitious and encourages students to recognise their personal learning journey and take pride in the beautiful work they produce. At Olive AP Academy – Thurrock we have designed a curriculum that empowers our young people through the delivery of the knowledge and skills that they will need to succeed in their next destination and beyond.

The fundamental principles of our curriculum are:

• give students real-world learning experiences
• deliver outstanding teaching that provides the core knowledge, skills, attributes and aspirations necessary to instill a love of lifelong learning
• offer rigorous and high-quality critique and feedback of students' work
• develop dynamic leadership - including staff and student leadership
• create a culture of respect to ensure our students become adults that go on to make a real difference
• Build the strength and depth of character that combines a strong moral purpose with excellent social skills.

At Olive AP Academy – Thurrock, every student will have the foundations laid for rebuilding faith in education, through a fully inclusive and personalised curriculum, taught by outstanding and highly qualified teachers. By providing a safe and engaging environment, we endeavour to remove barriers and promote the opportunity for students to excel.

We encourage our students to take responsibility for their own learning, teaching them to be resilient, show determination, be reflective and show conviction in overcoming set-backs to achieve their goals.

Our curriculum is led by our core Olive values, which are incorporated into our daily teaching.

Our curriculum is led by our core Olive values, which are incorporated in our daily teaching:

Conviction:

All schemes of learning across all pathways will provide students with the opportunity to develop their literacy and numeracy skills. Our schemes of learning are sequenced to ensure that knowledge and skill can be built upon every lesson. A range of enrichment opportunities will be provided for all students, in the form of school trips, in-school events and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

Determination:

Students will have taken opportunities to fully immerse themselves in the wider life of the academy, engaging in a range of enriching activities that both help build positive relationships and take students out of their comfort zone.

Reflection:

Our Personal Social Health and Relationship Education (PSHRE) curriculum will ensure our students thrive as healthy individuals, who understand how to keep themselves safe both in the real world and online. This will be delivered in dedicated PSHRE lessons as well as during coaching time sessions and weekly assemblies.

Opportunities will be provided to develop students’ resilience in a supportive setting: a dedicated pastoral team, in-school counsellors and coaches will provide bespoke support to students as and when needed.

Ambition:

All Olive students will be well-informed and prepared to take the next steps in their education, employment or training. Our students will gain the cultural capital to ensure they are well-rounded, well-informed individuals who have been provided with the same cultural opportunities as their peers from a wide range of educational backgrounds.

Students at Olive will be equipped with the vital life skills required to flourish and thrive in adult life.

Implementation

In order to deliver on our curriculum intent, we work collaboratively to ensure a progressive curriculum that is always keeping our core values of Conviction, Determination, Reflection and Ambition in mind.

All students will be offered a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum. At Key Stage Four, students will have the opportunity to study options subjects as well as a range of creative and vocational qualifications. At Key Stage Three, students will be provided with a curriculum offer which aligns with the National Curriculum.

Working closely with our local primary and secondary schools allows for our curriculum to be built on the knowledge students gain at Key Stage Two and will prepare students appropriately for post-16 study or training.

Regular learning walks ensure the quality of teaching provided to students remains at an excellent standard, with a robust programme of continuous professional development for our teachers so they can constantly improve their practice.

We will ensure our curriculum is appropriately planned and sequenced, allowing for students to transfer knowledge into their long-term memory over time by regularly returning to, but constantly building upon, their prior knowledge.

Ongoing and regular assessment, both formative and summative, ensures teachers closely track students’ progress, are aware of any gaps in understanding and adapt their teaching appropriately. Our assessment and feedback policy will look to maximise student progress without unnecessary workload for teachers.

Impact

A well-designed and well-sequenced curriculum will ensure that Olive AP Academy – Thurrock students are well supported to go on to future success. Some of the ways that we will measure this impact include:

• External GCSE and other Level 2 qualifications results
• Vocational qualifications results
• Post-16 destinations, ensuring that no Olive Thurrock student becomes NEET (Not in Education, Employment or training) after Year 11
• Future careers destinations, including universities and employers
• Key Stage Three will gain qualifications that support their learning

We will also measure the impact of our curriculum on the quality of our students as they finish their time with us at Olive. We want to ensure that all students have received high-quality knowledge and the skills they require to achieve.

All our Year 11 students are provided with support to secure places in further education, colleges or apprenticeships. Find out more about the careers advice and support we offer young people here.