We believe that all children are entitled to an education rich in wonder and full of memorable experiences; one that allows their creativity and curiosity to flourish, alongside the purposeful acquisition of knowledge and skills.
Our goal is for our children to flourish and grow to become ambitious, capable citizens with a life-long love of learning and strong self-belief, giving them the tools to become global citizens in an ever-changing world.
We want our children to learn and remember and have designed the curriculum to be cumulative, constructing firm foundations to build conceptual understandings and skills over time and fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum,
We understand the importance of being globally aware, reflecting on our actions and how they impact the world around us. The UN Sustainable Development Goals are incorporated across the curriculum, helping drive and shape our curriculum themes and activities and prepare the children to be effective global citizens.
Knowledge
Know more, remember more and be able to do more for the benefit of humanity and the planet.
Equality
Know that everyone’s human rights should be protected and respected.
Innovation
Look at things in different ways and find solutions when faced with a challenge
Legacy
Learn from the past in order to protect our planet now and in the future
Partnership
Know that greater change can happen when we work together.
Sustainability
Promote the careful use of resources so that they are protected for the future.
Through careful planning and assessment, we identify what we want children to learn, our teaching pathways and how we will know the children have the knowledge and skills needed for their next steps in learning. Using the EYFS Statutory Framework and the National Curriculum we have identified the “Big Ideas” and framed these with an enquiry question. To ensure that learning is sequenced appropriately, progression documents for the acquisition of knowledge and skills have been created. Global awareness is a golden thread through our curriculum with children being encouraged to consider how we can create a fair and sustainable world. Topics are carefully designed to foster curiosity and interest and are delivered on an annual basis or as a rolling programme for Years 4-6. Our lesson planning is informed by Rosenshine’s Principles; a set of research-based
principles which have been shown to underpin the most effective approach to lesson instruction. A typical sequence of teaching and learning will include the following steps:
Throughout our curriculum, reading and vocabulary is prioritised and children are given access to a range of age-appropriate texts. There is a key focus on phonics for younger children and a programme of support is in place for children who may need additional help, including those with SEND and children who speak English as an additional language. Fullen’s ‘Deep Learning Competencies’ are woven through our learning activities. Children are encouraged to develop social skills, collaborate, to think hard about their learning, ask questions, learn from their mistakes and strive to be the best they can be. In addition to diverse and rich opportunities, our curriculum aims to provide children with memorable experiences. Teachers seek to broaden learning by: using the local environment, providing opportunities for outdoor learning, educational visits, visitors into school and shared experiences with the wider international school community. Please see the tabs on the right for subject visions and the curriculum overview. Medium Term Plans can be found on class pages.
We measure the impact of our curriculum through: assessment results, pupil voice, parent questionnaires, observations of teaching and learning and curriculum reviews.
Children are able to work independently and collaboratively with their peers and have a thirst for learning. They talk about what they are learning and where this fits into a bigger picture. Parents provide positive feedback about their child’s attitude towards school and share examples with teachers about learning experiences their child has enjoyed.
Children are expected to make good or better progress which is tracked and reported to parents at Parents’ Evenings and within Annual Reports. Support and interventions are put in place to accelerate the progress of any children who are identified as ‘at risk’ learners. When children leave AFNORTH to new schools in different countries, as well as being ready for the transition they have a wealth of transferrable skills. For information about our academic performance click here