Curriculum
Intent - Our Vision for our Curriculum
We celebrate being a diverse school and have utilised this when developing our curriculum. We want all of our pupils to have big ambitions and high expectations of themselves. We are an outward looking school with a strong sense of community, and we aim to create a curriculum that truly meets the needs of our children. It is our children’s voices that we want to drive and shape that curriculum; a rich, exciting and balanced curriculum that enables each individual child to develop academically, emotionally, creatively, socially and physically. Our curriculum will enable the children to share ideas, express their opinions, and apply knowledge and skills learned in a wide range of meaningful contexts. It will offer opportunities for all children to investigate, question, debate and challenge. It will enable all children to flourish and to be the very best they can be.
To support the implementation of our vision we will create:
- A curiosity-approach, stimulating environment for developing inquisitive, independent and resilient lifelong learners who work hard and strive for excellence;
- A culture of working independently and collaboratively, where we see getting something wrong as part of learning how to get it right;
- An ethos where all children are encouraged and supported, and challenge is fully embraced;
- Exciting and challenging opportunities to promote our children’s personal development and understanding of their own emotional and physical wellbeing.
It is important that our pupils are equipped with the necessary skills for the fast-changing world in which we live. This means that they need to be adaptable, able to apply their learning in a wide range of contexts and develop strategies for what to do when they’re unsure. We want our pupils to be active learners, questioning, investigating, challenging themselves and sharing responsibility for driving their own learning. Above all, we want our children to give their very best and to be proud of their achievements. Our School Values of Courage, Forgiveness, Friendship, Honesty, Positivity and Respect underpin these qualities needed for successful learning.
Implementation - How do we achieve this?
At the heart of our curriculum are the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Religious Education.
We also truly value our wider curriculum, covering all other National Curriculum subjects. There is a whole-school theme for each term, driven by an area of the curriculum – History, Geography and The Arts. These themes lead to blocks of linked work in order to retain interest and ensure pace. Each half-term is linked to one of our core values: these values act as a gateway to the learning as we explore how the value is linked to the theme. Much of our work is ‘cross-curricular’ learning, where meaningful links can be made with other subjects that help secure prior learning or develop learning further.
All ‘units’ of learning will have an entry-based ‘hook’ to excite and engage the children, and a ‘purpose’ for study so that learning is meaningful and relevant for them.
We recognise the need for kinaesthetic learning in our school, and we encourage role-play and collaborative learning in each class. Where possible, learning is supported and enriched by field study, visits, workshops, artefact boxes, and practical resources.
Progression of knowledge, skills and understanding is carefully planned, reviewed and adapted yearly to ensure that children’s learning builds effectively over time, to ensure children are ready to meet the expectations of secondary school.
Our teaching practice will be rooted in evidence- based research. Teachers will be self-reflective and will enhance their teaching skills and strategies to help raise standards across the full breadth of the curriculum.
Children are involved in the planning stages of each theme, sharing what they already know about the focus area and creating research-style questions to be included through the blocks of learning.
We teach phonics lessons using FFT Success for A|l, based on DfE Letters and Sounds and follow Power Maths to sequence our Maths learning.
Impact for Our Children
From their different starting points, all children will make good progress academically, emotionally, creatively, socially and physically. Knowledge, understanding, and skills will be secured and embedded so that children attain highly and are fully prepared for the next phase in their learning; and ultimately for secondary school and the wider world.
They will have strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and will listen respectfully and with tolerance to the views of others.
They will take pride in all that they do, always striving to do their best.
They will demonstrate emotional resilience and the ability to persevere when they encounter challenge.
They will develop a sense of self-awareness and become confident in their own abilities.
They will be kind, respectful and honest, demonstrate inclusive attitudes, and have a sense of their role in our wider society.
Learning Themes
| AUTUMN | SPRING | SUMMER | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
WHOLE SCHOOL THEME |
Discover |
Explore |
Create |
|
LEAD SUBJECTS |
History |
Geography |
The Arts |
RSE
The Department for Education has announced changes to relationships and sex education (RSE).
The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019, made under sections 34 and 35 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, make Relationships Education compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for all pupils receiving secondary education. They also make Health Education compulsory in all schools except independent schools. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) continues to be compulsory in independent schools.
This means that all children will be required to receive Relationships Education in Primary and Secondary School. For all schools, Sex Education as part of the science curriculum remains the same. Sex Education as part of RSE for primary is not compulsory, however schools may choose to deliver this as part of a timetabled PSHE programme.
These changes have begun to come into effect from September 2020 and all schools will be required to comply with the updated requirements.
Much of this already underpins everything we do as a school. Relationships is a key element of our school ethos and is built into our entire curriculum.
Throughout lockdown you all joined in many parts of our RSE curriculum through Gospel Liturgies, RE lessons and weekly Statements to Live by sessions.
In light of these changes to requirements for relationships and sex education (RSE), we are now consulting with parents, governors and staff on how we can make sure that our updated RSE curriculum that has been in place this year meets the new requirements as well as the needs of our pupils.
We have worked carefully to make sure that this reflects:
- Our pupils’ age and maturity levels
- The values of our schools
- Every pupil’s learning needs
- What pupils need to know to be healthy and safe in school, in their personal relationships and in the wider world
RSE Doccuments
All of our RSE documents are available on our website and are available in paper format from the school office. The following document may also be of use to you: Our Relationship & Sex Education Policy
We propose to continue to use “A Journey in Love” which is a recommended scheme we have been successfully using and is approved by the diocese. It has been written as a progressive scheme of work that supports our schemes of work for RE, PSHE and Science. “A Journey of Love” focuses on friendship, family, community, relationships and spirituality and will support the children’s development as young Catholics in the 21st century. The content of the scheme of work is age appropriate and will be taught with sensitivity taking into account the children’s level of maturity in regard to the delivery of lessons. “A Journey in Love” guide for parents can be found on the website. Teaching materials are also available upon request.
Comments from parents on our RSE curriculum are welcome. Please submit your comments via the form on the website. Click on the link below to access this form.
