Share This Page

Curriculum Overview

This is a Catholic School which seeks to live out the value of Jesus Christ.

We promote these values by our words and deeds, and Catholic doctrine and practise therefore permeates every aspect of the school’s activity. We provide a Catholic curriculum, which is broad and balanced, recognising that every pupil is unique and is created in the image of God. Our curriculum is designed to enable every pupil to discern their vocation and to be well equipped to follow it as active citizens in service to the world.

Catholic Religious Education is the “core of the core curriculum” (Pope St Paul II*) and the foundation of the entire educational process. We also provide a wide range of extra -curricular activities and strong pastoral support. We incorporate democratic principles, value the rule of law, support individual liberty and foster a community in which different faiths and beliefs are respected.

*in his Holiness address to the bishops of Great Britain 26th of March 1992.

Throughout the school the children are taught in mixed ability classes in the care of their own class teacher with the support of the teaching assistants. The school has a seven class structure. The structure of each class will be reviewed at the end of each year to ensure that the best possible support for pupils is given in line with the National Curriculum.

Should you wish to find out more about our curriculum, please visit our curriculum frameworks page (linked below) or arrange to speak with the class teacher in the first instance. You might also like to view the DfE national curriculum website linked below.

Curriculum Framework & Subjects

CURRICULUM MAPS

Curriculum Map Year One Curriculum Map Year Two

Curriculum Map Year Three Curriculum Map Year Four Curriculum Map Year Five

Curriculum Map Year Six

The National Curriculum

Reception Safeguarding Curriculum

Year 1 Safeguarding Curriculum

Year 2 Safeguarding Curriculum

Year 3 Safeguarding Curriculum

Year 4 Safeguarding Curriculum

Year 5 Safeguarding Curriculum

Year 6 Safeguarding Curriculum

St Mary’s Curriculum Intent

Our curriculum is at the heartbeat of our school and is carefully designed to support the learning journey of the whole child and enable them to achieve success. It is a narrative for each child which is made meaningful and relevant by harnessing the culturally rich opportunities our locality offers. We recognise that all children deserve the same life chances, particularly those who are disadvantaged and our curriculum is designed with a responsibility to build the cultural and intellectual capital of our children with a particular emphasis on language and vocabulary acquisition for all our children.

We are passionate about the importance of providing children with plentiful opportunities to enrich their learning. Our curriculum therefore includes a ‘Pupil Offer’ – which we call our:

Curriculum Intent (Catholic) Jan 2022-23

St Mary’s Experience

The St Mary’s Experience includes 12 fundamental areas of curriculum enrichment which we ‘guarantee’ pupils will have the opportunity to experience as they move through our school, and which we feel will help develop them into more rounded individuals ready to make their mark in the 21^st century. These areas are as follows:

1. Spiritual and Catholic Life Development

Opportunities to serve/pray/help others/faith development/celebrate their Patrons' day/to be involved in stay and pray sessions with parents/to receive full sacramental training and preparation/regular opportunities to attend Masses and involvement in other important church festivals/to be involved in Christmas and Easter productions, retreats.

2. Charities and Social Action

To be involved in activities to help others and become involved in activities to promote social justice around the world - Mini Vinnies/Poppy (BL) days, Father Hudson Homes, CAFOD, Fairtrade, Cross of Nails, Save the Children.

3. The Outdoor Learning Experience

To take their learning into the outdoors and beyond the confines of the school - Termly visits to Heart of England Forest & Forest school, trips to the local farm.

4. Wider Sporting and Wellbeing Opportunities

To be involved in Interschool competitions, to participate in a wide range of after school sporting activities - to be involved in a fitness program - Fit 4 St Marys; to experience minority sports e.g. bowls, orienteering, indoor athletics, to experience our Well ‘Beeing’ @ St Mary’s program

5. Residential Experiences and Trips

To have the opportunity to visit and stay at places further away from home - Parliament, PGL, Alton Castle retreat.

6. Practical 'Skills for Life'

To experience and be taught a wide variety of practice ‘skills for life’ - working in the School Bank, Cooking, sewing, gardening, baking, cycling, 3D printing, First Aid, Fire protection

7. Cultural experiences and celebration of own British Culture

To experience a wide range of activities which develop pupils’ cultural capital - trips to the theatre/art gallery/every year a different place of worship/a wide variety of historical place of interest

8. Creative Experiences

Pupils will have the opportunity to take part in dance, drama and performance, to work with artist in residence, a specialist D&T teacher, to present their creative learning in school assemblies.

9. Musical Experiences

Opportunities to join choir and sing with adult choir, to take peripatetic music lessons, to work with professional musicians, musicians from around the world - Caliche, playing and sing at Mass, musical performances and productions at Christmas and Easter, to sing and play in community events and festivals.

10. Interschool working opportunities

To experience working with pupils from other schools - SPLC sports events/general knowledge quizzes, G&T readers, prayer services, maths challenges

11. Environmental and Ecological Opportunities

Children will have the opportunity to undertake and learn about green and sustainability issues - join the Eco group, Green flag team, gardening in school, Forest schools, Heart of England visits.

12. Home & school learning opportunities

Pupils will have the opportunity to take their learning home and share and work on projects with their parents for example - Learning Logs

Through the delivery of both the ‘planned curriculum’ and the St Mary’s Experience and we want children to be curious and excited by the awe and wonder of the world.

We support all learners to realise their potential and strive to ensure that our curriculum will ignite their love of learning that will last them for life. We hope that children will have had the opportunity to discover and follow individual passions, which they will continue to build on in their future.

We promise that by the time children leave us at the end of KS1, they will have started to acquire strategies which equip them to take ownership of their own learning. Our children will be confident individuals who are actively and enthusiastically engaged on the journey to understanding how to contribute positively to their community and the wider society.

We encourage children to be hopeful and to think positively. We believe that everything is possible and we are relentless in our optimism, ambition, energy and passion.

We understand the importance of powerful, durable knowledge and developing language and vocabulary being key to advancing the cultural capital of our learners. We explicitly define the subject specific knowledge content in a way which makes connections within and across subjects and year groups. This enables skills such as creativity and problem solving to cumulate as outcomes of a rich knowledge curriculum experience.

We are proactive in engaging in research around cognitive science to ensure our curriculum is borne out of proven memory for learning strategies and these are woven into subjects over time.