Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment

New Policy 2018-2019

Recent developments in education and our changing school population have led to some significant changes in the way we approach learning at Alfreton Park. These changes are all set out and explained in our new Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Policy.

Our Approach

This policy brings together three central aspects of learning for pupils at our school; curriculum, teaching and assessment. We believe that education is most effective when a strong coherence exists between learning content, teaching methods, and assessment mechanisms, and we therefore aim to establish common themes and consistency in our approach to each of these areas at Alfreton Park. We subscribe to a pupil-centred philosophy of education, which can be briefly summarised as follows.

Curriculum – ‘what we learn’

Our starting point is to consider the specific needs and capabilities of the pupils at our school, and the future that may lie ahead for each of them. We use a multidisciplinary approach to identify learning priorities, so that each pupil follows their own unique journey towards fulfilling their potential. We consult with families to set meaningful targets and outcomes, and this process is informed by the insights we gain from reviewing prior learning.

Teaching – ‘how we learn’

We use our knowledge of the needs of our pupils to present learning opportunities in ways that are accessible and engaging. We use a wide range of specialist strategies to deliver personalised provision, tailoring our approach to suit the strengths and interests of our pupils. We place particular importance on the development and exercise of independence not just as a goal, but as a method, and feel that our pupils learn best when they are empowered to think, say and do things for themselves wherever possible.

Assessment – ‘how we review learning’

We systematically evaluate progress on short-term and long-term timescales, by returning to earlier targets and plans to see what has become of them. Where we find a winning formula, we aim to repeat our successes, and where we encounter challenge, we aim to learn and improve. We celebrate the efforts and achievements of our pupils, and immediately consider their next steps of learning.

This model summarises our approach to education at Alfreton Park, and a full explanation of how it works can be found in the policy document above.

Supporting Documents

Much of the detail for how our new policy will work in practice can be found in the following supporting documents. Teachers at our school have collaborated to write these resources, and the versions listed here are all first editions that will be further developed this year.