“Whoever treads a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise.” (Bukhari)
At Rochdale Islamic Academy our curriculum has been developed to provide a broad and balanced learning experience for all of our students. We follow the principle that all children are equal and have an equal entitlement to knowledge; therefore the planning of the curriculum is designed to be accessible and equip staff with the necessary tools to enable progress of our students, in both academic and social skills, irrespective of their learning needs and level of functioning.
The curriculum at RIA will enable our girls to foster a love of learning independently of exams and to encourage inquisitive, motivated and creative thinkers. We want to nurture resilience and robustness; students who are willing to take risks in the classroom and who are not afraid of failure. Intertwined with the academic, the students at RIA are inspired to deepen their moral awareness and tolerance of others around them, and encouraged to be the best they can in every situation.
We are advantaged to have girls from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds; we value this diversity and want them to achieve fulfilment in their life at RIA as part of a supportive community. We endeavour to create an environment in which they build lasting friendships, so students equally enjoy their time out of school having the opportunity to lead a balanced life.
In the planning and delivery of the curriculum we aim to meet the needs of all our students so they achieve to their highest potential. To maximise achievement for all we will:
- Emphasise the duty of a Muslim to seek and gain knowledge
- Ensure high quality teaching and learning
- Emphasise the key skills of communication, numeracy and information technology
- Use information technology to enhance teaching and learning
- Extend learning into the community and the world of business and employment
- Routinely monitor student performance and set targets for improvement
- Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning, to identify strengths and weaknesses, and improve performance to meet individual targets
- Support students through mentoring, additional study and homework
At Key Stage 3 students will be taught National Curriculum programmes of study in the following subjects:
- English, including drama
- Maths
- Science
- Art
- Computing
- Modern Languages – Arabic and Urdu
- History
- Geography
- Citizenship
- Physical Education
- RE
Students will have the opportunity to study the following subjects at Key Stage 4 (GCSE):
- English Language
- English literature
- Maths
- Science double award/triple award
- History/Geography
- Art
- Urdu
- RE
- Business
Most pupils will leave with a minimum of 9 GCSEs and a maximum of 11 (those pupils who have the aptitude will be provided the opportunity to study both History and Geography at GCSE level).
The school is currently reviewing the curriculum and exploring the possibility of offering HEF and PE as a GCSE subject.