Preface: defining ‘the curriculum’
The curriculum is the single best opportunity that a school has to improve the life chances of its students. According to Christine Counsell and Michael Fordham, “the curriculum is the progression model”. By designing a challenging curriculum, with what Michael Young calls ‘powerful knowledge’ at its core, students can be challenged to learn the best of what has been thought and said. The goal is for students to progress through their curriculum, knowing, remembering and applying deep, powerful knowledge.
Character Curriculum Intent
At Bluecoat Primary Academy, our character curriculum works alongside academic knowledge and skills. We define this as everything a pupil needs to be successful in life, beyond the academic. It signposts the competencies and skills needed to thrive in the modern world. It supports our passion for academic excellence and empowers pupils to access academic knowledge and skills with greater confidence.
Education for character is integral to the work of our schools. Hence our curriculum pre-face, where we combine our rigorous and stretching academic knowledge curriculum with an outstanding wider personal development extended and character curriculum in order to develop the whole child. These aspects work together to contribute and form a well-educated and rounded young adults, who is then ready to take their place in the world.
The Character Curriculum – inVest in yourself
At Bluecoat Primary Academy, we are committed to developing the whole child, preparing them to be responsible and engaged citizens. To achieve this, we have identified seven key characteristics that we aim to instil in our children before they leave our school. By focusing on these seven characteristics, we ensure our children are not only academically proficient but also equipped with the moral and ethical foundation needed to navigate and contribute positively to society. Our holistic approach fosters well-rounded individuals who are ready to embrace their roles as active, conscientious citizens. Hence, it is through our character curriculum that our children will develop key characteristics that will allow them to value themselves, enabling enable each and every one of our pupils to STRIVE for life in all its fullness. These seven-character traits are represented by the V on our STRIVE hand, ‘inVest’.
At Bluecoat Primary Academy, we invest in ourselves by developing the following characteristics:
For more information about our approach to Character Curriculum, please click on the image below to be taken to our ‘The BPA Way to Quality of Education’ page. Here, you will find our The BPA Way: Whole School Approach to Character and Extended Curriculum Framework. This contains further information on our Character Curriculum and how the the seven character traits are developed, taught and interwoven within the following areas of school:
- Student Leadership
- Outdoor Education
- SMSC
- British Values
- All Curriculum Subjects
