Aurora Academies Trust

OUR APPROACH OUR APPROACH: MAKING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Aurora academies are part of Pansophic Learning’s international family of schools. Globally, Pansophic Learning’s schools provide an outstanding foundation in basic skills and utilise the acclaimed Paragon® curriculum. Ours are world-class schools that foster a love of learning and inspire pupil success. The key pillars that form the foundation of an Aurora education will ensure quality education for pupils and educators alike at AAT Academies. They create an environment that offers challenges and opportunities that inspire pupils and the educators who lead them. Pupil Achievement. Every choice is focused on pupil achievement – and designed to prepare children for greater success in school and in life. Secure Environment. Our academies help pupils to feel safe to learn, grow and thrive – and help to fill pupils with a sense of belonging, importance and a love of learning. Professional Development. Aurora’s educators are life-long learners. We support teachers and other staff in our academies with mentoring, coaching and a guaranteed minimum of 10 days of professional development each year. Community Support. Aurora academies partner with community members, cultural centres, universities, and local businesses to provide world-class education that reaches beyond the classroom. Integrated Technology. Access to computers and use of high-tech learning tools enable pupils to gain the technology, communications and problem-solving skills essential to success in the 21st century workplace. Parent Involvement. Because every child needs stability, continuity and a champion who believes in his or her potential, our academies partner with parents to ensure pupil success. The Paragon® Curriculum. AAT has a licence from Pansophic Learning to offer an integrated humanities curriculum exploring the literary, artistic, mathematical, scientific, social, political and philosophical ideas that shape our world. Propelled by Paragon© Paragon© Curriculum combines the rigour of classical education with the relevance required by contemporary society. Pupils learn about character, ethics, empathy and self-esteem implicitly by studying the world’s great heroes, both canonical and unsung, and by stepping into the shoes of great historical figures, both real and imaginary. Paragon looks to the past to prepare children to become the architects of tomorrow. It is interdisciplinary in nature and seamlessly weaves in from across all subjects, reflecting the integration of skill sets necessary in today’s multi-tasking world. The Paragon® Curriculum “spirals”, meaning that children are first introduced to concepts and cultures in early years, and then revisit those same topics in greater depth later on, having a context and a foundation for deeper study. Paragon is divided into six units of approximately 6 weeks’ duration. Each unit immerses children in a academy-wide study of the same historical time period, with each year group focused on a unique essential question, geographic location and area of study. The units begin with questions of self, family and home in the Foundation Stage and then spiral in difficulty (like concentric rings emanating outwards) until children are studying the ten elements of culture in Year 4 and the defining characteristics of civilisations in Year 6. At the end of each unit, parents and carers are invited into school to celebrate their child’s learning in a Paragon Celebration Event which can be held before, during or after the school day. Once a year in July all AAT’s academies get together to produce the Paragon Spectacular a huge performance usually held at The Winter Gardens in Eastbourne. These events have been truly magnificent with a cast of our 400 children and an audience of over 1000!! DAILY SCHEDULE The daily schedule at each academy varies but each day consists of discrete English and Maths lessons plus the Paragon programme. All National Curriculum subjects, and RE, are taught either within Paragon, or as discrete entities depending on the nature of the topic being studied at any particular time. TECHNOLOGY FOR 21ST CENTURY All over the world, technology is changing the way people communicate and how business is done. Technology is an integral part of everyday life—and a fundamental component in today’s education. AAT academies therefore infuse all of its teaching with technology, using it for research, calculation, communication, presentation, in virtually every aspect of learning. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS Each academy strives to meet the needs of all its pupils. Each academy identifies those who are Gifted or Talented and those who, for whatever reason, find learning difficult. Through close liaison with parents and the utilisation of intervention strategies, each child is provided with the best opportunity to close the gap and achieve his/her potential. At each academy, the SENDCo (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Coordinator) works with Academy staff to train on the process of assessing pupils in order to identify those with needs and determine the best path forward. Academy programmes adhere to best practices for pupils with special educational needs. These include supportive services, and tailoring the curriculum to the learning needs of individual children. Engaging the multiple intelligences through a variety of hands-on learning methods helps all pupils succeed and discover meaningful learning paths. In addition, the academies provide Personalised Student Achievement Plans (PSAPs) for all children, which help them set goals—academic, personal, and/or social—to make their education immediately relevant and tailored. This helps to ensure that pupils are challenged, and at the same time, provided with ample opportunities to experience learning success.