At St Patrick’s, we hope to excite our children about learning and to give them an appreciation that learning is a life-long process that can make a difference to their lives as children and in the future. We aim to provide opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident, successful learners with high aspirations, who understand how they can apply personal values to situations and give Christian witness in their community and the wider world. We endeavour to provide a broad, balanced, rich and vivid curriculum which promotes a love of learning and high standards, especially in reading, writing and mathematics.
Central to our curriculum is an understanding that to be successful children need to learn skills such as; cooperation, friendship, integrity, caring, courage, curiosity, perseverance, flexibility, effort, risk taking problem solving and organisation. We try to ensure that every moment is used and encouraged as a learning opportunity whether it is learning a new aspect of mathematics, learning how to perform in front of others, learning how to resolve a friendship difficulty or learning to contribute to a whole school project. Underpinning the curriculum is a strong focus on children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding so that our children are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
We seek to equip children with the necessary knowledge and understanding to prepare them for the future by focusing on the development of thinking skills such as reflection, reasoning, resilience, responsibility and resourcefulness. For that reason, our curriculum starts with the children and is designed to allow their individual talents and skills to shine. We follow ‘The Learning Challenge Curriculum’ (Focus Education) which presents learning to the children through a series of key questions designed to stimulate deep thinking and independent learning. Children are presented with a BIG QUESTION and from that a series of subsidiary questions develops. All new learning in school begins with pre-learning tasks to assess children’s prior knowledge. This ensures that any gaps in learning can be addressed and progression is built upon from the previous year’s learning. Vocabulary and oracy skills are at the heart of our curriculum and opportunities for talk are built into every lesson. The curriculum is enriched by visits and visitors in order to provide children with memorable experiences and diverse opportunities. Our school is proud of its location and the strong community and local heritage of the town. We try as much as possible to incorporate aspects of local history and geography into our curriculum and make the most of opportunities and resources available within the locality. We are keen to promote and nurture a love of reading in our children and for that reason, woven into each theme are a number of quality texts so that by the time our children leave primary school they will have experienced a wide range of literature.
St Patrick’s is committed to meeting the requirements of the primary National Curriculum. Our schemes of work reflect the content and challenge of the curriculum. It is designed to ensure that learning is meaningful and benefits from a specific focus on the core requirements of English and mathematics. We place a strong emphasis on the basic skills of reading, writing, oracy, mathematics and technology; the building blocks for success. These basic skills are outlined in our ‘non-negotiables’ and are closely linked to the National Curriculum.
Teachers planning ensures that basic skills are a strong feature of learning opportunities. As a result, teachers may take a cross curricular approach which covers a number of areas of the curriculum at the same time and provides multiple opportunities to practice and embed basic skills along with developing successful learning habits.
Expectations for each subject
English
Speaking and Listening
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
Religious Education Curriculum
Computing (formerly Information and Communication Technology)
History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology and Music
PE and Games
Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship
Modern Foreign Languages Relationships and Sex Education
Science
Early Years Foundation Stage
Home Learning
If you would like to know more about the curriculum that your child will be following, please speak to your child’s class teacher.
To see our curriculum in action please view the Our Classes section of our website.
Keeping parents up to date
The following documents and links may be helpful for parents who are keen to know more about how and what we teach in school and ways that they can support learning at home.
Oxford Owl is packed with expert advice, top tips and activity ideas so you can help your child with reading and maths: https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
Phonics – lots of helpful information and ideas to support your child with early reading: https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/advice-for-parents/reading-at-home/phonics-made-easy/
Impact
The outcomes of our curriculum are measured through the attainment and progress of our children. Teachers continually assess how much the children know, understand and remember through their written and spoken responses. Subject and phase leaders play an important role in monitoring the effectiveness of the curriculum. This is done through regular work and planning scrutinies, learning walks, lesson observations and discussions with children. These all measure the impact of teaching and learning and help to shape the curriculum.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
At St Patrick’s, we believe that inclusive education means providing all pupils with appropriate education and support alongside their peers. The Curriculum is all the planned activities that the school organises in order to promote learning, personal growth and development. Further information can be found in the SEN Information Report.
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
When a pupil has been identified with special needs their work will be differentiated by the class teacher to enable them to access the curriculum more easily. Teaching Assistants (TAs) may be allocated to work with the pupil in a 1-1 or small focus group to target more specific needs. If a child has been identified as having a special need, a graduated approach, as detailed in the SEN Code of Practice will be followed. They will be given individual targets which will be set according to their area of need. These will be monitored by the class teacher weekly and by the SENCo three times per year. Targets and progress will be discussed at Parents’ Evenings. Where appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to the pupil e.g. writing slopes, concentration cushions, pen/pencils grips or easy to use scissors.
If you would like to discuss your SEND requirements in detail please contact the school to arrange an appointment.
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