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Achieving Academic Excellence
The EXED Curriculum
Our curriculum is not just a series of subjects and lessons; it's a transformative journey guided by our core values. We aspire for our curriculum to embody the essence of who we are and what we stand for. Rooted in our values, our curriculum aims to achieve ambitious outcomes, carve brave pathways, nurture curious questions, and foster determined character.
It's about providing extraordinary experiences that empower individuals to reach their fullest potential while upholding principles of integrity, inclusivity, and excellence.
Our curriculum is designed to be fast-paced, embracing the digital age and equipping learners with the skills and agility needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. But it's not just about speed; it's about doing things well, ethically, and responsibly. Our commitment to ethical practices is woven into every aspect of our curriculum, ensuring that learners not only excel academically but also develop into compassionate, principled and good global citizens.
In essence, our curriculum is the embodiment of our values in action, inspiring learners to dare greatly, question boldly, and make a positive impact on the world around them.
Through our EDEX curriculum, every Laidlaw child achieves ambitious outcomes through access to, brave pathways that empower them to be curious questioners and develop determined characters.
They thrive on extraordinary experiences, embrace a fast pace of learning and demonstrate good behaviours in the wider world.
Primary Curriculum
All our primary academies follow the National Curriculum, ensuring there is breadth and balance at all stages and for all pupils. Our primary academies serve very different communities and the curriculum design reflects this individuality.
Each academy’s curriculum is ambitious in all subjects. Curriculum plans are designed with their community in mind and ensure coherence, progression and a clear focus on the essential subject knowledge and skills children learn. Plans are purposeful in their intent, implementation and monitoring of their impact.
In all our primary academies, the curriculum ensures that learning goes beyond the academic and that it is planned, structured and purposeful. It prioritises the personal development of all children, incorporates the principles encapsulated in fundamental British values, and guarantees that all pupils have access to enriched opportunities which prepare them well for the next steps in their school journey.
Bespoke Teaching
The primary curriculum is delivered through a bespoke teaching and learning model which draws on the best and most current evidence on how children learn. The Principles of Learning model (PL@) is adopted across all primary academies and its principles and pedagogies underpin all our classroom practice. This ensures that our curriculum is delivered in the most effective way, and that learning is successful.
Phonics and Early Reading is taught through a systematic, synthetic programme that is delivered daily by teachers and support staff. Pupils learn to decode and read books appropriate to their stage of development. In all our academies, the active teaching of reading is further developed into Key Stage 2. This allows pupils to continue to learn how to read effectively and to use their reading skills to access all curriculum areas. Love and enjoyment of reading are promoted across each academy for all pupils. Pupils have access to a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar ambitious texts. These texts entertain children but also strengthen their understanding of, and engagement with, the world in which they live.
Our Maths curriculum, and the programmes through which it is delivered, is based on secure research into learning pedagogies. All our academies implement the Concrete Pictorial Abstract CPA model in all year groups to ensure children secure good conceptual understanding and can demonstrate their knowledge in different ways.
All primary academies seek to promote memory and recall of basic skills and key facts as well as teaching a breadth of mathematical topics. Curriculum plans are sequential and build over time so that pupils can apply previously learned knowledge to new learning.
The foundation subjects incorporate Geography, History, Art & Design, D&T, Science, and Computing. These subjects provide pupils with an understanding of the world in which they live, and teach our pupils how events past and present have an impact upon their lives as well as introducing them to a world beyond their experience.
Physical Education plays an important part in the development of our pupils, helping them to learn about the positive effects of exercise on their bodies and mental health. Access to a fully enriched curriculum as well as lessons is important to us and our pupils participate in sporting festivals, work with coaches and have the opportunity to access outdoor education through residential visits.
Bespoke personal development programmes of work, incorporating relationships and sex education, support our pupils’ understanding of their well-being and personal awareness. All our primary academies provide a wide-ranging and enhanced age-appropriate PSE curriculum which includes all statutory content as well as a focus upon the wider range of skills that pupils need to function in an ever-changing world.
Secondary Curriculum
KS4 Pathways
Our ‘Pathways’ structure means that all students will continue to study a broad range of subjects throughout their time at with LST and fulfil the National Curriculum expectations. Our aims are:
•To build upon strong foundations secured in a three-year Key Stage 3.
•To ensure ambition, opportunity and inclusion for all.
•To ensure LST students achieve critical qualifications in English and Maths that enable successful onward progression in further education, training or employment.
•To align curriculum pathways with the evolving North-East job market with a focus on the technology sector.
