Curriculum

We enjoy an exciting, fast paced curriculum which is inspired and built on the children's changing interests. We have embraced the use of the outdoors and are exceptionally lucky to have the support of many local landowners, businesses and the RAF who add an exciting dimension to our learning.

We are very mindful that, although we have the freedom to choose our own curriculum, the greater majority of our children will move on to other schools and possibly not academies. With this in mind we have built our new curriculum so that it meets all the requirements of the National Curriculum 2014. We firmly believe that children must be able to understand the reasons why we teach the curriculum we do and how it will impact on their future. With this in mind we ensure that we provide plenty of opportunities for children to apply their learning to real life situations. We find that in this way we are able to assess how the children use their learning and can demonstrate their understanding.

As we know that some of our children will move during the term we always ensure that their records are up to date and ready for their next school. We prepare their latest assessments for families to take with them thereby minimising any educational disruption caused by a move.

Our learning takes us outside into our fabulous grounds and beyond. Each Friday we spend the majority of the day outside taking our learning with us and applying everything we have learnt in a practical way. Our time outside also teaches us about our responsibilities to our school environment. Each week a class is responsible for an area of the school it could be the pond area, the allotments, bushcraft kitchen or playground. The children have a class responsibility to ensure that the area is well maintained and tidy so that others too may enjoy our grounds.

We enjoy lots of school visits both locally and nationally. We have found that children at Cherry Tree Academy often experience a range of activities, clubs and visits including a residential visit for each year group. Residential visits build up from two nights in Year Three to four nights in Year Six. We firmly believe that the wide and varied range of experiences we offer help to support our children who often see many changes in friendship groups and environments. We feel by encouraging children to be open to new experiences, build on their independence and learn important life skills such as communication and team building will help them wherever they go to next.

We offer a range of free after school clubs. We try and change the clubs each term and offer enough places for children who would like to participate. Some of the clubs we have offered recently include, Science Club, Dance Club, ICT Club, Magazine Club, Playground Rhymes and Games, Singing, Skipping, Spanish and Gardening to name but a few. The clubs offered by academy staff are free of charge.