Our Curriculum Intent

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

‘Walking with Jesus as one family’

At St. Joseph’s, we have designed our curriculum with pupils’ learning at the centre, with the aim of ensuring that all pupils make progress. We recognise that a curriculum has to be broad, balanced, and offer pupils opportunities to grow as individuals, as well as learners.

By embedding a virtuous curriculum, we are encouraging all our children to be the best version of themselves and we are committed to ensuring that every child at St. Joseph’s is respectful, resilient, articulate, aspirational, and knows how to be happy and safe.

It is our intention that pupils leave St. Joseph’s with a sense of belonging to a community where they have the confidence and skills to make decisions, self-evaluate, make connections, and become life-long learners.

Aims of our Curriculum

For all pupils to:

  • Become fluent and confident readers, and to develop an appreciation and love of reading, whilst gaining knowledge across the curriculum
  • Use excellent basic skills across the curriculum including reading, writing, and mathematics
  • Develop a sense of morality, respect, and community
  • Be excited by the curriculum, and want to learn
  • Retain key knowledge in all curriculum areas
  • Become independent, resilient and divergent learners, so they are ready for secondary school (and beyond)
  • Be challenged and make progress across all areas of the curriculum (including disadvantaged pupils and those with a special need and/or disability)
  • Have a broad and lasting knowledge of subject specific vocabulary
  • Have a wide range of life experiences that enhance their learning (including trips and extra-curricular activities)

Implementation

We recognise the importance of reading across the whole curriculum and its impact on the future success of pupils. Our children are taught to read confidently, fluently, and with a good understanding. Pupils are encouraged to develop a habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information through daily practice and whole school activities.

As a Catholic school, we have designed a curriculum that teaches pupils morality, respect and a sense of community. Through the explicit teaching of the Catholic Virtues, we aim to develop the Character Education of each and every pupil, which is not only delivered through our religious education and PSHE teaching, but underpins our whole school curriculum.

Our pupils have told us (through pupil interviews) that they learn best when they enjoy learning. We have planned our curriculum to include a range of exciting and pupil-motivated activities.

Our curriculum provides a mastery of key knowledge and aims to provide a shift in memory and retention of skills. Our maths curriculum, for example, provides opportunities for pupils to practise and consolidate their learning, master learning objectives by developing a deeper understanding and to apply their knowledge in greater depth.

In designing our curriculum, specifically the knowledge which we want children to know, we have used the following drivers in our themes:

  • Leadership – our children have the potential to be future leaders. We aim to inspire them through stories of great leaders, biblical and non-biblical, past and present, and develop their potential to become outstanding leaders within their own families and communities.
  • The Environment – our children are the future and we want them to be aware of how our actions affect the world in which we live in and what we can do to protect, value, and future proof our planet.
  • Aspirations – we want our children to recognise that they can be anything they want to be, realise their true potential and see the direct link between effort and success.
  • Diversity – our children will know the importance of respecting and valuing diversity. We want them to recognise that we are all God’s children and everyone is unique and special, but together we are stronger.
  • Resilience – our children will be taught that they are safe to make mistakes as these are a vital part of the learning process. We will encourage our children to keep trying until a solution is reached. Through our work on developing metacognition, we will equip them with tools and strategies to become resilient and determined learners.
  • Service – our children will know the impact that an individual can have through public service and chaplaincy to their local community and to be aware that a successful community needs all members to charitably contribute to its success.

Impact

We want pupils to become independent, resilient and divergent learners so they are ready for secondary school (and beyond). Our staff think creatively to ensure a broad and balanced coverage of all curriculum areas throughout the year. We know that all individuals are unique, made in the image of God and that Jesus is the model teacher. This curriculum is underpinned by regular opportunities for high quality personal and spiritual development in which pupils will grow in faith and come to know and live out the Christian Virtues. Themes and topics have been sequenced, ensuring that they are delivered at appropriate times during the school year. Well planned educational visits, assemblies, visiting speakers and bespoke days are just some examples of the ways in which pupils will be provided with the opportunity for rich learning experiences.

The National Curriculum

The National Curriculum outlines the programmes of study in maintained/state primary and secondary schools in  England.  It sets out what children should learn in Key Stages 1 and 2.

The content within the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum identifies what to teach but not how to teach.  In primary schools, it consists of eleven subject areas and Religious Education.  English, Maths and Science are the three core subject areas, with detailed programmes of study. As a Catholic school, we consider the teaching of RE to be a core subject area too.

National Curriculum 2014

From September 2014, it was compulsory for children in Years 1, 3, 4 & 5 to follow the ‘new National Curriculum’.  As of September 2015, all year groups, Years 1 – 6, will follow the new National Curriculum, as will the government testing, which will be modified against the new expectations.