Curriculum Intent

At Waterloo Primary Academy, we believe that every child has the potential to achieve amazing things and our curriculum is purposefully designed to give every child the best possible start in life.

Situated in South Shore, Blackpool - an area of both growing diversity and significant socio-economic challenge - we are unwavering in our mission: to champion every child, to nurture their dreams and to equip them with the knowledge, skills and self-belief to shape their own future. We believe that all children, regardless of background or circumstance, deserve a curriculum that opens doors, raises aspirations and equips them to thrive.

We have one clear ambition: that when our children leave us, they do so ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers nationally. We want them to move on to the next stage of their education, prepared, inspired and excited to carry on learning. Children should leave our school with a positive outlook, looking forward to their future. They should be confident in their own abilities and full of aspiration, not afraid to fail and learn from failure and driven by a kind attitude. They should know how to make good choices, value the opinions of others and know how to keep themselves healthy and safe. They should be able to handle themselves well in different social situations, own their opinions and not just inherit them and experience visiting places and meeting people from all different walks of life.

Our curriculum offer exists to break down barriers and unlock potential - to challenge the narrative of disadvantage and replace it with a story of possibility, purpose and pride.

Every decision we’ve made in our curriculum design has been intentional, informed by what research tells us works best for children, especially those who may face additional challenges. We’ve embraced evidence-led approaches at every level: from knowledge-rich content and carefully sequenced learning, to lessons shaped by the principles of instruction, including explicit vocabulary teaching, embedded retrieval practice and all of this, underpinned by a sharp understanding of cognitive science. Our curriculum is built on a deep understanding of how children learn best.

This evidence-informed structure isn’t just theory - it’s having a real impact. Our curriculum delivers strong, meaningful outcomes across all subjects. More importantly, it sparks a love of learning. Our children talk confidently about what they know, they make connections across disciplines and engage enthusiastically with lessons. Their thirst for knowledge is tangible and joyful and our children love to learn!

Waterloo is more than just a school - we are a family where every child is known, valued, championed and loved. Inclusion matters deeply to us and that’s why we are proud to have created a supportive and caring environment where children feel safe, respected and encouraged to take risks in their learning. We champion every pupil’s right to learn without limits and we believe that every child, whatever their starting point, deserves the opportunity to thrive.

We have adopted a Mastery approach to teaching, which runs across the curriculum. This ensures that all children have access to high-quality teaching, rich content and a full curriculum offer. Our staff make skilled adaptations, responding flexibly and intelligently to each child, so that wherever possible, all children can access the same ambitious curriculum. We believe that inclusion is not about narrowing experiences, but about tailoring them. For some children, this means a bespoke curriculum with carefully adapted pathways and outcomes, built around their specific strengths and needs.

At Waterloo, we celebrate success in all its forms, across every area of the curriculum, because we know that achievement looks different for every child. Everything we do is rooted in what we know will enable each child to achieve, thrive and feel proud of their success.

We are immensely proud of how hard-working our children are, and prouder still of who they become: curious, confident and ambitious learners, full of potential and promise.

Our curriculum empowers them to dream big, believe in themselves and understand the vital role they can play in the world.

At Waterloo, we don’t just teach a curriculum, we champion a belief in what’s possible and we do it because our children deserve nohing less.