The curriculum at TALA is everything we plan that students should learn, do and experience throughout their time with us. We believe this is important because we believe that Learning Changes Lives. That’s why we exist!

We design our curriculum to support students to gain knowledge that helps students to become educated, have cultural and social capital and to understand the world and people around them. We believe that subject specific knowledge is very important and we define and test the knowledge that we believe students should have in each subject, mainly through the means of starter activities and strategic questioning in the classroom. We aim to expand pupils’ vocabulary to enable pupils to express themselves confidently and academically. We use homework to encourage independent learning and factual recall.

As well as supporting the acquisition of subject knowledge, the Academy intends to promote the skills of analysis and problem-solving, where appropriate, across the curriculum. Creative skills and practical skills are promoted in relevant subjects.

The curriculum also supports emotional awareness, resilience, intelligence and happiness, through our PSHCE program, our enrichment program, our tutoring, mentoring and pastoral care programs and through how we live out our LANFRANC values (Learning, Achievement, Nurture, Fellowship, Resilience, Active, Nobility, Community). Our sporting and residential activities also help students develop their character.

We intend our pupils to value being part of a community. Through PSHCE students learn about the global, national and local communities of which we are a part and we celebrate our diversity through Academy events and the design of our curriculum. Through the prefect and Academy Council systems and our sports leadership programme we aim to help students to learn and value community and each other.

We focus on effort by reporting on Attitude to Learning in subjects. This is used to reward students showing the most positive attitudes and to spot where we need to intervene to support students.

Developing a love of reading and encouraging regular and rigorous reading is also a key aspect of our curriculum model– this is why all students in Year 7- 9 are part of the Accelerated Reader Scheme.

Similarly, communicating clearly in extended pieces of writing is also viewed as a core skill. Each subject will set appropriate extended writing tasks to support the development of this skill.

The Academy runs on a one-week timetable made up of 30 x 50-minute periods (in addition to five x 25 minutes Tutor Time and one compulsory Enrichment period a week)