Curriculum Intent

At St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, 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 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, to provide an excellent Catholic education for every child in our care.

We want our children to develop a love of learning by being aspirational, become resilient individuals, show compassion for others and have an awareness of the world they live in.

Therefore, equipping them with the skills to live positive, productive and fulfilling lives. These drivers are threaded through all aspects of our school Curriculum.

To enable our children to be successful they require a strong grasp of the basic skills and therefore we place great emphasis on: spoken language, reading and number skills.

The knowledge of our children and the context 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.

To empower excellence in children, we believe that we need to work in partnership with parents and the community to achieve this. We also engage local and wider community members as ‘experts’ to support thematic learning experiences.

Implementation:

Awareness and Compassion:

• The Gospel Values underpin all aspects of school life

• The Prayer life of the school is central to our being and compassion for others is acknowledged through our good deeds, prayers and charity works.
• Our curriculum promotes stewardship enabling our children to develop an awareness 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

Aspirational:

• Our curriculum has an uncompromising focus on the development and application of phonics and reading, writing and mathematics skills
• A focus on Early Language acquisition with Welcomm and NELI programmes being delivered in the Nursery and Reception Classes
• Key vocabulary and the use of the correct terminology is actively promoted thus giving the children the words they need to articulate their learning and understanding.
• The school uses a consistent application of its language for learning:

“We are Learning….”  “Stars to success…”  “Challenge…” and “Key Vocabulary”

• The daily reading of a class novel by the teacher after break is a non-negotiable and a key feature of our school, giving the children access to hearing a range of good quality texts
• 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 Prefects; Schools Council; Sports Leaders; Librarians and through responsibilities given in their class.

Resilience:

• Our positive rewards policy provides many opportunities for children to be recognised for exceptional effort
• Pupils are encouraged to be pupil leaders and are given opportunities to develop leadership skills: Play leaders, librarians, Science Ambassadors, Eco Team etc…
• The PHSE Curriculum supports pupil resilience.

The curriculum is delivered through a variety of teaching and learning styles to ensure that the learning experience is motivating and challenging.  In this way each child has the experience of working independently and co-operatively­ in a variety of situations and is given the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.

WOW days and educational visits support themes.

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.

The document below outlines the key skills your child will be taught each year at school.  If you have any questions please contact your child's teacher in the first instance.

For more information click on the appropriate key stage link to access further information regarding the work your child will be doing this term.