The syllabus at Victoria Park Academy is based on the National Curriculum. It is appropriately broad, rich and balanced so that all pupils can discover and make the best of their strengths, talents and abilities. Whether your child is a future scientist, engineer, mathematician, artist, musician, writer or historian we aim to inspire them.

Learning to read with fluency and understanding is given a high priority in our school as we know this is key to unlocking the curriculum and essential for future academic success.

The NICER Curriculum – termly challenge packs, working towards a clear project outcome that shares the children’s learning

Since 2012 Victoria Park has developed and evolved its own, NICER curriculum. It’s starting point was a desire to be challenge-based with a clear focus on the skills and knowledge that every pupil needed to learn over a period of time. It aimed to: be based upon real-world problems; capture children’s interests; require them to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills; and above all, result in a problem being solved. Creating something new and sharing the new learning as part of a public product was at the heart of our NICER Curriculum.

An updated version of this approach continues today, a Challenge Outcome could take the form of a public performance, a short play, a digital app, a pop-up museum, or a short movie. To enable them to do this we’ve created 21challenge packs (or topics) that form part of a child’s learning journey throughout school. From September 2021 our challenge outcomes were revised so that all include opportunities for Oracy development and public speaking, a subtle shift away from the initial entrepreneurial intent. 

Challenge Packs  are centrally sequenced and planned to ensure all elements of the National Curriculum are included and revisited throughout their school career, allowing children to make wider links and build upon prior understanding.

All of the knowledge (and skills) directed from the National Curriculum are organised within these 21 Challenge Packs. An accompanying Knowledge Organiser sits alongside to track the information taught, signpost where children would have accessed similar learning previously in their school life, and the technical vocabulary expected to be demonstrated. 

Often this results in cross-curricular learning, where language and information can be applied and revisited to strengthen the children’s understanding of ‘big concepts’ or specific periods of time. However, children are taught to recognise the distinct subject areas as they refer to being Historians or Scientists or Musicians…

Though the information and coverage is centrally organised to ensure a broad depth of curriculum, teachers and Subject Leaders enjoy the autonomy of adapting the subjects, lessons and teaching to best reflect the children in their classes. 

All Challenge Packs and Knowledge Organisers for 2022-23 can be found on the Children’s Zone Year Group pages of this website. For any further information, please feel free to contact Mr Reed or Mr Blakey-Harris.