Our Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact
The Curriculum at St Charles
Intent
At St Charles, we believe that all our pupils share the right to a broad, balanced and inspirational curriculum which promotes their academic, spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development as well as preparing them for the opportunities and responsibilities they will experience in later life. Our curriculum is underpinned by the values of our Catholic faith which permeate everything we do as well as by the importance of community and equality of opportunity.
Our curriculum encourages every child, at every stage of their learning, to believe in and develop their particular talents and potential across all the different curriculum areas. We provide pupils with the best possible opportunities to succeed academically, socially and culturally. They allow our children to become confident, curious and open-minded learners and citizens.
We follow the national curriculum which provides pupils with the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens. It provides an outline of core knowledge around which we build exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of the pupil’s knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.
At St Charles, our children are taught all the subjects of the National Curriculum, including PHSE and RSE. We also teach Religious Education and share in a daily act of worship. Further details of each subject can be found below. Our curriculum is carefully developed with clear progression to ensure good outcomes for all.
Implementation
St Charles is an inclusive school. We ensure that all pupils can access our curriculum through well-planned, sequential lessons that build on previous learning and skills so that knowledge becomes embedded in long-term memory. We support learning through the use of Knowledge Organisers and carefully planned activities which support pupils whilst delivering challenge. Pupils are given many opportunities to learn outside the classroom and to develop their cultural capital.
Our reading curriculum is carefully planned and delivered to ensure all pupils gain the skills they need to be confident readers. High quality children’s literature is used to stimulate writing and to develop a love of reading.
At St Charles we encourage creativity of thinking and problem-solving giving pupils the opportunity to apply the skills they have learn and to explore ideas. We promote independence of learning and resilience.
Teachers thoroughly and regularly check pupils’ learning and understanding through quizzes, effective questioning and discussion. Feedback is given orally and through marking to help children develop and improve their own learning. Feedback and assessment are used to inform future teaching. We have a thorough system for monitoring and improving teaching and learning.
We believe in investing in teachers’ professional development to provide them with the in depth subject and pedagogically knowledge they need to deliver the curriculum to the highest possible standard.
Our RE curriculum follows the curriculum set out by the Bishops of England and Wales. It allows our children to explore the Scriptures and teachings of the Church and understand how these impact on our lives.
Impact
Our children leave St Charles with the knowledge and skills they need to embark confidently on the next stage of their education. They achieve well academically. Just as importantly, they are articulate and self-resilient, read confidently and have love of the world around them and the arts.
The RE curriculum instils in our children a sense of moral and social justice. This can be seen in the way they live out our School motto, Love God, Love your Neighbour, through their actions and relationships to each other, those in the community and those they do not know.
We measure our impact in a number of ways:
We follow a clear and coherent schedule for monitoring teaching and learning to identify strengths and areas of development.
Our responsive training programme addresses any areas for development and ensures our staff have the skills and knowledge they need to deliver our curriculum effectively.
We draw on research to inform out approaches so that our actions are based on the latest evidence.
We use assessment data to inform planning and strategy. Daily use of formative assessment keeps learning targeted, stretching and addresses any gaps or misconceptions. Assessment and teacher knowledge feeds into our intervention programme which is reviewed termly to address gaps.
Pupil voice reflects what our children think about our curriculum and learning. These views are considered by the Senior Leadership Team.
Governors hold school leaders to account by inviting subject leaders to report on the curriculum to the board.
We monitor the range of opportunities offered to pupils.
We monitor behaviour and relationships through pupil and parent questionnaire and CPOMS data.
National Curriculum
The national curriculum primary programme of study and attainment targets for Key Stages 1 and 2 can be found here.