Curriculum at EWA

Curriculum Intent Statement

At Edgar Wood Academy, our curriculum is the foundation through which we empower young people to lead happy, fulfilling lives and make meaningful contributions to their communities and society.

We are proud to be part of Altus Education Partnership, which underpins a shared Vision and Mission:

Vision:

To create an inclusive and cohesive system of education that improves the lives of everyone in the borough.

Mission:

To advance education in the borough of Rochdale and its surrounds so that young people lead happy and fulfilling lives and make positive differences to their communities and society.

Our curriculum is designed to be ambitious, inclusive, and knowledge-rich, ensuring that every student - regardless of background or starting point - has the opportunity to succeed and thrive. It is carefully sequenced and rigorously planned, not only to develop intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity, but also to promote a life-long love of learning.

Crucially, our curriculum is informed by the Science of Learning. We draw on evidence from cognitive science to understand how students learn best, including the importance of:

• Retrieval practice that links new learning to prior knowledge, to consolidate learning over time. 
• Spaced repetition to support long-term retention of knowledge.
• Thinking hard about new content to embed learning in long term memory.
• Cognitive load theory to ensure new learning is introduced in manageable steps.

These principles are embedded into our curriculum design and classroom practice to help students know more, remember more, and do more over time. We continually review our pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching) and curriculum in light of emerging research to ensure our approach remains effective, inclusive, and adaptive.

We place our school values at the heart of the curriculum:

Resilience

Encouraging students to embrace challenges, persevere through difficulty, and develop the confidence to overcome setbacks.

Responsibility

Promoting a culture where students take ownership of their actions, learning, and role within the school and wider-community.

Empathy

Building understanding and compassion, enabling students to value diverse perspectives and care for others.

Respect

Ensuring all members of our school community are treated with dignity and kindness, creating a safe and inclusive learning environment.

Through high-quality teaching, strong pastoral support, and rich enrichment opportunities, we aim to develop well-rounded individuals who are academically successful, morally grounded, and socially responsible. Our curriculum not only prepares students for further education and employment, but also equips them with the values, knowledge, and skills needed to positively shape their communities and the wider-world.

For more informaton regarding the curriculum or individual subjects please email: info@edgarwood.org.

To see our curriculum intents for each subject see our 'Subjects at Edgar Wood Academy' page.