Intent

Our Curriculum is developed around Christ being at the Centre. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils and their understanding of the core values of our society are woven through our curriculum.

At St Winefride’s we have developed a broad and balanced curriculum to nurture the whole child. We want our children to be the best they can be and to develop the skills and cultural capital required to be successful in the 21st Century.

Every child and family who joins us at St Winefride’s will have their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture and wider family. This might include: languages, traditions, cultural and family heritage, interests , travel and work.

Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours and skills that a child can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness , knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a pupil will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.

We aim to provide an education rich in the skills and knowledge required by the National Curriculum, but also the curriculum we feel is most appropriate and necessary for the children in our care. We believe that exposure not only to culture but also to situations in which they might not have previous experiences of, is of paramount importance to their ongoing successes. Gradually widening children’s experiences as they progress through school is an important step in providing rich, engaging learning across the curriculum.

These experiences are varied and can be a visitor in school, an external visit, a residential or even a residential overseas. Our drive as a school is to identify, support and challenge pupils at all stages of their learning. We are aspirational for all pupils regardless of their social and economic background, religion, ethnicity or Special Educational Need.

Definition of each part of SMSC:

Spiritual:  Explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

Moral:  Recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

Social: Use a range of social skills; participate in the local community; appreciate diverse viewpoints;participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict, engage with the ‘British Values’ of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance.

Cultural: Appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

Implementation

We teach a broad and balanced curriculum, which incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014. We teach a full range of

subjects including French for yr 5/6 and Spanish for yr 3 /4.

 Our Curriculum has SMSC running through it. Each half term the school curriculum focuses on one strand of SMSC:

Autumn 1 Social

Autumn 2 Spiritual

Spring 1  Moral

Spring 2 Spiritual

Summer 1 Cultural

Summer 2 Moral

 This, together with our PSHE curriculum ensures pupils are well supported in health, well being, resilience and relationships.

Teachers have a good subject knowledge and are supported in their teaching through regular CPD. Science, computing and foundation subjects are organised into thematic topics using the national curriculum where appropriate. Some subjects are taught discretely like RE, although there are links to British values and our PSHE/RSE curriculum. We have a flexible timetable which allows topics to be taught in blocks of time over a week or over several weeks. Our curriculum is well resourced in terms of learning materials, books and technology.

English is taught through carefully chosen quality texts which bathe the pupils in key genres and allow for well- informed written outcomes linking to the overarching topics being studied.

Pupils are still working on the Early Learning Goals of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum as they enter Year 1. There is a period in the Autumn Term where the majority of children progress to the National Curriculum. Throughout this period and beyond all children are still developing their phonic knowledge through the Little Wandle Programme and developing both their fluency in reading and enjoyment of reading.

In all year groups there are small group interventions in order to support pupils in gaining the key skills to become successful readers, writers or mathematicians.

We place a high priority on developing pupils’ physical skills, self-esteem and emotional well-being. We encourage them to recognise the importance of pursuing a healthy lifestyle and keeping themselves and others safe. We promote happy, effective relationships that are based on respect for themselves and for others.

For each of the foundation subjects there is a clear progression of skills culminating in sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning. The more able are challenged further in their learning and pupils who find aspects of their learning more difficult are supported so that they too are able to experience success.

The outdoor environment, the local community and the Parish are considered an opportunity for active learning for all our pupils. The grounds have been developed so that they can enrich different curriculum areas eg PE and Science.

Each subject has its own leader who has ongoing professional development to ensure the curriculum requirements are met. They monitor and evaluate their subject each term, to ensure progression and implementation.

Impact

The Impact of the curriculum is monitored through the triangulation of outcomes: data outcomes, planning, pupil voice, book scrutinies, lesson learning walks and the discussion with teachers during pupil progress meetings. Pupils have opportunities every half term to share their learning with parents and carers and the Parish through topic celebrations, performances and events in school. Developing their independence and motivation as learners and their sense of responsibility as future citizens is at the heart of our teaching and learning.