Curriculum 2024 - 25
Our Curriculum Vision and Statement - September 2024 - July 2025
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
—Aristotle
Curriculum
At St Gerard’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery, we aim to offer all of our children a broad, balanced and stimulating curriculum. Our curriculum is planned to focus on developing the knowledge, skills and vocabulary within our curriculum areas. Our staff, children and parents are partners who work together to ensure that all of our children leave our school with the skills to be confident, knowledgeable learners, aware of their own strengths and talents, and with clear future aspirations to love, hope, dream and achieve.
In Early Years, through the prime and specific areas of learning, children will develop skills and knowledge to further enhance their readiness for learning as they move into Key Stage 1. Throughout Key Stage 1 children will develop the foundations of English and Maths within a broad and balanced curriculum. Here the love of learning is embedded. Children are provided with tailored support to develop the skills and knowledge on their journey to become independent learners. Throughout Key Stage 2 children build on the experiences of Key Stage 1 and have the skills to broaden their knowledge of the world, enhance their creative abilities, learn to become historians, have a love of scientific enquiry to become independent learners in an ever changing digital world.
We use Pathways to Write texts and materials to ensure our children are exposed to a wide variety of genres, cultures and texts across their time in our school. Please see our English and Reading Curriculum pages for more information.
Within our school we teach phonics using Read Write Inc, a DFE validated scheme. Phonics lessons are taught daily from EYFS to Year 2. (KS2 children who need additional phonics also receive Read, Write Inc. lessons) Our phonics teaching aims to build children’s speaking and listening skills as well as preparing them for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. The programme is detailed and systematic with the aim of having children as fluent readers by age 7. Half termly assessments take place which inform our phonics groups in EYFS and KS1.
Parent Guide to Read,Write Inc
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/
For Maths in our school we use White Rose Maths Hub resources, as well as the Power Maths Scheme in KS1. Our children are taught fluency skills daily. We also use TT Rock Stars to enhance their understanding of Multiplication Tables.
Our Curriculum Intent
At St Gerard’s we provide an education that enables each child to reach their full potential. Everything we do is underpinned by the Catholic Gospel values and ethos of our school and local community.
Our aim throughout the curriculum is to enable every pupil to participate fully within our school and wider communities as responsible, confident citizens. We actively promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical qualities of our pupils throughout our teaching and learning each and every day that they are with us. We want all of our pupils to be followers of Christ, skilled readers, enthusiastic writers, mathematicians, inquisitive scientists, historians, geographers, musicians, artists, linguists, athletes, digital leaders, designers and technologists throughout their time with us.
We believe that our curriculum has been carefully designed to allow our children to become confident and fluent with knowledge, skills and enriched vocabulary. Through excellent teaching all our children are given the tools and wider experiences to prepare them for later life.
With the National Curriculum at the core of all we do, our children are challenged to develop their independent skills so that they are able to drive their own learning forward as they progress throughout their school life.
Communication, language and vocabulary are developed throughout our curriculum from an early age. We are consciously aware of gaps in pupils’ vocabulary and strive, through our curriculum, to allow all children to become confident and fluent in using a range of powerful vocabulary, developing their understanding along the way.
Our Curriculum Implementation
Leaders and subject leaders drive the development of their subjects throughout the whole school. This is implemented through highly effective teaching. We support this teaching through CPD for all staff, enabling them to develop their own knowledge and skills, transferring this back into the classroom and onto our children.
Our curriculum is monitored by our subject leads, through a range of means including book scrutinies, learning walks, staff questionnaires and pupil interviews. Evaluations and changes are made when necessary. All evaluations are shared with our SLT and governing body to ensure that all stakeholders have an understanding of our curriculum offer.
The progress of all children, including those with SEND and disadvantaged children is monitored and our curriculum is designed to ensure that any gaps are closed.
Our Curriculum Impact
Our curriculum is monitored by the Senior Leadership Team and Subject Leads to ensure that all learners, including disadvantaged and pupils with SEND have/can do the following:
A depth of coverage of all subjects
Knowledge and skills are ongoing throughout each year group
Careful balance of all subjects
Consistent standards across all subjects
Engaged, creative independent learning
Accurate assessment for learning
Impact on standards and progress for all learners
Feedback moving the learning forward
Can confidently recall key knowledge from current and previous areas of learning
Are confident in using and applying vocabulary across a range of subjects
Are well-rounded individuals who understand the importance of Christian values and British values
Are well prepared for the next stage of education
