The Praise Curriculum

The Praise Curriculum is delivered weekly during Monday form times and helps students start the week with purpose and positivity. Each session introduces a key theme, such as resilience, integrity or responding to feedback, and encourages students to explore what that value means in practice, how it is demonstrated through behaviours and routines at the Academy, and how they can apply it in their own conduct both inside and outside the classroom.

"Pupils enjoy warm, positive relationships with staff. They appreciate that staff know them well, regularly recognise their achievements and value them as individuals." - Ofsted, 2025

While themes vary, many sessions focus on the Academy’s non-negotiables. These are the everyday habits and routines that build a respectful and high-performing culture. These include entering classrooms calmly and respectfully, using clear and courteous language when answering questions, listening and responding appropriately during turn and talk, participating in choral responses, using mini whiteboards correctly, and focusing during independent practice. Students also explore the habits that support effective homework, such as learning to use ShowMyHomework effectively and developing a focused study routine at home.

During each session, tutors share praise emails to highlight students who’ve demonstrated that week’s value or shown strength in the Academy’s routines. This opens up discussion and reflection, with students setting personal goals for how they’ll apply that value in their own behaviour over the coming week and beyond. The following Monday, the theme continues with the form tutor sharing praise emails received, reinforcing consistency, kindness and personal responsibility across the form group.

The Praise Curriculum follows a mapped sequence of values and behaviours, but remains responsive to student needs. It’s a key part of how the Academy embeds habits and routines that lead to academic success and strength of character.