At St Margaret Clitherow, we work as a team with Priory Catholic Primary school. Our curriculum is designed to educate and form, with a mission to transform all children, for the transformation of society. As they journey through the school, it is our vision that our children will become advocates for social justice, fighters for sustainability, seekers of equality and leaders seeking to become “builders of a new humanity” (Pope Francis).
We currently plan on a 2 year rolling programme to ensure that all subjects are progressive in both skills and content within our mixed age classes.
We currently plan on a 2 year rolling programme to ensure that all subjects are progressive in both skills and content within our mixed age classes.
Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum is underpinned by a Catholic education based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, in which the values of the Gospel underpin all aspects of school life. We insist on the highest standards of academic achievement so that our young people leave us as ‘agents of change’ – educated and caring people who have the qualifications, knowledge and skills they need to flourish as human beings and make the world a better place. We are committed to our mission and to raising standards in order to provide an excellent Catholic education for every child in our care. We work together as one Trust, one family of schools, a community inspired by a vision for excellence.
At St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School we offer a curriculum which is broad and balanced and promotes a positive attitude to life-long learning. It builds on the knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills of all children, whatever their starting points, as they progress through each Key Stage in readiness for their next stage of education.
The knowledge of our children and the coastal community in which they live have shaped what we believe is an exciting, innovative and creative curriculum, providing equality of opportunities to counter relative disadvantage/different starting points and meeting the needs of all our learners. Our curriculum has high expectations to combine transferable skills, demonstrate a breadth of vocabulary and develop strong cross curricular links. Inviting classroom environments stimulate and engage quality thinking and reasoning.
We offer a range of lunchtime and after school clubs, plus a range of additional curriculum events which further extend our children’s learning opportunities.
We believe our children possess unique talents, skills and qualities. As such, they have the right to succeed, the right to recognise their own greatness and the right to develop who they are in a respectful and nurturing environment. Our school ethos is firmly rooted in our values with a love of learning being the foundation of everything we do.
Our Curriculum:
- Promotes our Core Gospel Values which underpin all aspects of school life
- Promotes stewardship enabling our children to develop an understanding of the wider world and their role as global citizens
- Provides opportunities for our children to be agents of change and to make a positive difference to the world in which they live
- Balances academic success with wider attributes & provides for learners’ broader development enabling them to develop and discover their interests and talents
- Promotes our Learning Values – resilience, responsibility, independence, creativity & collaboration
- Supports our children to develop their character and help them to keep physically and mentally healthy
- Has an uncompromising focus on the development and application of reading, writing and mathematics skills
- Plays a major role in developing our children’s love and passion for learning using Hooks and Celebrations as motivational tools
- Celebrates equity and diversity supporting the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
- Develops children as leaders by valuing children’s voices and individual contributions and offering a range of opportunities to develop their leadership skills e.g. roles of Head Boy & Head Girl; Prefects; Schools Council; the Eco Committee; Playground Leaders; Sports Leaders; Librarians; Digital Leaders and through responsibilities given in their class.
In order to empower excellence in children, we believe that we need to work in partnership with parents and the community to achieve this. Parents, stakeholders and community members are invited regularly into our school to celebrate the children’s work. We also engage local and wider community members as ‘experts’ to support thematic learning experiences; this provides the children with a meaningful audience and also celebrates with the wider school family the excellence that has been achieved.
Curriculum Implementation
Our carefully crafted curriculum balances the national expectations and an all- encompassing range of experiences allowing our children to flourish. It is designed to complement the class structure we operate from Reception to Year 6, reviewed annually to ensure coverage. Our whole school curriculum map ensures that the curriculum has sufficient depth and coverage of knowledge in all subjects and ensures pupils’ progression in knowledge and skills.
Curriculum content includes the areas specified in the National Curriculum, providing a base for an education that ensures quality and progression and assessment is used to shape future learning. Using the National Curriculum as our starting point, we plan Learning Experiences for our children which are engaging, often set in a real-life context, giving them the opportunity to work with a range of ‘experts’ and to participate in a range of visits.
Curriculum Impact
Our whole school team strengthen our ethos and vision as we work together to reflect upon our curriculum and share outcomes driving forward next steps.
It is the class teachers and TAs’ responsibility to ensure that classroom practice and subject delivery matches our strategic intentions. Senior leaders rigorously check implementation& review the curriculum using triangulated monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design.
Subject Leaders monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupil voice, providing individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating positives and highlighting areas of development.
Senior Leaders rigorously check implementation and review the curriculum using triangulated monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of our curriculum model
Subject Leaders and Senior Leaders will collectively carry out performance analysis, which is linked to this triangulated monitoring, measuring performance against individual and school targets which are reviewed regularly.
Governors, as part of their overall school scrutiny, monitor curriculum progress and impact via Headteacher Reports, SIP Progress Reviews and their link Portfolio Visits.
Our monitoring of impact approaches are rooted in ensuring that our 10 key curriculum intentions are at the forefront of our planning, delivery and children’s experience of their learning journey with St Margaret Clitherow.
Our whole school team strengthen our ethos and vision as we work together to reflect upon our curriculum and share outcomes driving forward next steps.
It is the class teachers and TAs’ responsibility to ensure that classroom practice and subject delivery matches our strategic intentions. Senior leaders rigorously check implementation& review the curriculum using triangulated monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of the curriculum design.
Subject Leaders monitor individual subjects: reviewing learning, evaluating pupil voice, providing individual feedback to move practice forward, celebrating positives and highlighting areas of development.
Senior Leaders rigorously check implementation and review the curriculum using triangulated monitoring throughout the year to gauge the impact of our curriculum model
Subject Leaders and Senior Leaders will collectively carry out performance analysis, which is linked to this triangulated monitoring, measuring performance against individual and school targets which are reviewed regularly.
Governors, as part of their overall school scrutiny, monitor curriculum progress and impact via Headteacher Reports, SIP Progress Reviews and their link Portfolio Visits.
Our monitoring of impact approaches are rooted in ensuring that our 10 key curriculum intentions are at the forefront of our planning, delivery and children’s experience of their learning journey with St Margaret Clitherow.