St Mary's Catholic Primary School

The Curriculum

Our Policy

Curriculum Policy

Our Mission Statement

In our Catholic School we provide a:

Safe, loving and enriching environment

Trust, and patience

Motivation to reach individual’s full potential

Acceptance and celebration of uniqueness

Respect for all

Young people nurtured in the Spirit of God.

School full of awe and wonder

St. Mary’s School is a Rights Respecting School and as such the needs and well-being of our children are at the heart of all policies in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Article 28

You have the right to a good quality education. You should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level you can.

Intent

At St. Mary’s, we aim to provide an inspiring and engaging curriculum, which captures pupils’ imaginations and helps them to discover their own interests, strengths and successes. The purpose of our curriculum is to open children’s eyes to a world of possibilities, while building on their skills and knowledge for their current learning and for their futures.

Overview of Curriculum

At St. Mary’s, the National Curriculum is used as a base to plan our topics, as well as our short and long term planning. From both the National Curriculum and from the expertise of our coordinators, St. Mary’s has developed a curriculum which focuses on building knowledge, progressing skills and deepening understanding.

This policy operates in conjunction with: Assessment Policy, Foundation Stage Policy, Homework Policy, Marking and feedback Policy, SEND policy, as well as all inclusion and subject policies.

Roles and Responsibilities

The governing body is responsible for:

• Approving and monitoring the content of this policy.
• Liaising with the headteacher, the curriculum lead, subject leaders and teachers with regards to pupil progress and attainment.
• Formulating a Pupils and Standards Committee who assists the school with the creation and implementation of the curriculum.
• Ensuring the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all.

The Curriculum Lead is responsible for:

• Devising long-term plans for the curriculum in collaboration with teachers and other members of the SLT.
• Ensuring the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all.
• Assisting teachers with the planning and implementation of the curriculum, ensuring their workload is manageable.
• Ensuring the curriculum is implemented consistently throughout the school and ensuring any difficulties are addressed and mitigated as soon as possible.
• Making any necessary adjustments to the curriculum where required.
• Keeping up-to-date with any relevant statutory updates through CPD and taking action where required.
• Ensuring the curriculum is created in accordance with this policy.
• Updating and maintaining this policy.

Subject coordinators are responsible for:

• Providing strategic leadership and direction in their subject.
• Supporting and offering advice to colleagues on issues relating to the subject or curriculum area.
• Monitoring pupil progress within their subject area.
• Providing efficient resource management for their subject.
• Ensuring the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all.

Subjects

The school will ensure every pupil has access to the following core subjects:

• English
• Maths
• STEM
• RE

The school will ensure pupils also have access to the following foundation subjects:

• Art and design
• ICT
• Geography
• History
• Music
• PE
• PSHE
• French (MFL)

Subject Coordinators

Planning and Assessment

St. Mary’s has a topic-driven curriculum. Each class has three termly topics throughout the school year. These topics have been designed to ensure all National Curriculum standards and expectations have been fully covered. Topics have also been strategically chosen to ensure optimal experiences, trips, outcomes and practical skills are provided for our children. Respective topics serve as inspiration for all lessons where appropriate and beneficial.

Both core and foundation learning are planned around ‘I can’ statements. These statements have been provided by the coordinator of each subject, in conjunction with the Curriculum Lead (CL), to ensure coverage, progression, breadth and depth in each year group and throughout school. Each foundation subject coordinator is responsible for a ‘curriculum coverage’ document which outlines the progression of skills and build-up of knowledge in each subject. This document outlines ‘key areas’ in their subject as well as ‘I can’ statements.

The ‘key areas’ which have been identified by coordinators and the CL are assessment criteria which run throughout school. They can be seen in each year group (age and stage appropriate), they show progress and they inform the ‘I can’ statements for teaching, learning and assessment.

Coordinators each maintain a file with guidance and data. This is organised and use as the coordinator sees fit. Coordinators are expected to understand how children are achieving in their subject, how the subject is being taught and action points for their subject.