What is our Curriculum vision?
At St Francis we celebrate pupils’ uniqueness and strive to help them to ‘gain, attain and grow’ into their very best selves.
Our mission, ethos and values enable the whole school community to be challenged in our learning through a strong Christian ethos, supported by timely pastoral care and developed through consistently excellent teaching and learning. This aids and strengthens the development of our curriculum.
‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’ Hebrews 12:1&2
What does our curriculum provide?
Deep, diverse and challenging experiences
Learning that captures and enhances imaginative curiosity which aids development of resilience
Reflection of Christian beliefs and values
Promotion of British Values
Opportunities for all pupils to develop their pathways irrespective of their social, cultural, economic backgrounds
Opportunities to develop skills and knowledge enabling pupils to flourish
A love of learning
Skills and knowledge to ensure pupils are equipped for their continuing life journey.
A secure understanding of metacognition
Learning adapted to meet pupils’ needs.
How do we teach and learn our curriculum?
Interactive learning and lessons
Adaptive teaching methods in response to subjects and needs of the pupils
Revisiting prior learning to consolidate and extend pupils’ understanding
Specific learning intentions and success criteria provided for pupils
Teaching through high quality texts to develop pupils’ language and extend vocabulary
High quality probing questioning
High standard of personal development and nurturing support for all pupils
Use of resources to enhance pupils’ understanding of concepts and teach through concrete, pictorial and abstract
Quality teaching of application of knowledge and skills to enable pupils to solve problems and articulate reasons for methods and applications
Encouragement of pupils responding to feedback to improve their work
Use of assessment throughout learning and pupils self-assessment
Use of interactive learning walls to ensure pupils’ understanding and work is celebrated as well as providing learning aid for pupils
Development and encouragement of creativity
Provide opportunities for taking risks and pushing boundaries
Quality modelling of concepts and Enquiry- based learning activities
Block teaching for some aspects of learning which deepens and broadens pupils’ understanding.
Inclusive and bespoke curriculum for pupils with additional needs and specific teaching sessions
Quality immersion into learning through specific activity days (Encounter days) and themed weeks to engage the pupils as well as first hand experiences outside of school
Challenging activities for all pupils
Opportunities provided for pupils to develop their spirituality and reflection of the Christian values promoted by the school.
Our aim is that the pupils at St Francis CE Primary School leave for their next stage of their education with the following outcomes, skills and attributes:
What do we teach?
Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum 2014. The subject areas in the National Curriculum are:
English, Mathematics, Science, Computing (new name for ICT), Art, Design Technology (DT), Geography, History, Music, Modern Foreign Language (French), PE, RE. We teach Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) even though this is now not a requirement of primary school. The EYFS curriculum for Nursery and Reception pupils is organised differently to that of the rest of the school and covers 17 areas of learning. We use the nationally required curriculum statements as a framework for organising learning and assessing how pupils’ progress.
We arrange learning so that pupils build on their skills and knowledge in different subjects sequentially as they move through the school. Where learning is supported well by linking aspects together, learning is grouped into topics as can be seen on the overviews below. Time is taken to revisit prior learning before furthering pupils’ skills and knowledge with introducing new concepts.
We ensure that pupils have a wide, broad and balanced curriculum with a varied diet of learning. It focuses carefully on developing pupils’ knowledge as well as developing their skills and characteristics which will stand them in good stead for their future lives at secondary school and beyond.
In addition to the National Curriculum, we have identified that in order for our pupils to become even better learners, understanding themselves as learners will enhance this capability. This year teaching metacognition discreetly and through our curriculum time, we are embedding the language, philosophy and skills pupils need to become even more effective learner. We are supporting this by encouraging our pupils to recognise where they are in their learning journey, what barriers there are for them and how to overcome these barriers. We are teaching our pupils to have a more robustly positive mindset so that mistakes are seen as learning opportunities. Furthermore pupils will have increased resilience and reflections to know where learning is leading them next.
How do we know how well pupils are doing?
Teachers check pupils’ learning frequently and in a range of different ways. Teachers use this knowledge to help them plan future learning. Teachers feedback to pupils in a range of different ways. Time is taken to ensure pupils learn from their mistakes which we celebrate as opportunities for new learning. At the end of Reception, KS1 and KS2 we assess the pupils as required by the government. More detail about this aspect of teaching and learning is found in the policies: Planning, Assessment, Recording and Reporting Policy as well as the Marking and Feedback policy.