St Mary's CofE Foundation Primary School

Curriculum Guide

At St Mary's CofE (Foundation) Primary School we aim to teach our curriculum in an engaging, interesting and inspiring fashion. With the introduction of the new National Curriculum in September 2014 we have been able to review our provision to meet the new statutory requirements. The document links at the bottom of this page show the relevant objectives across year groups or key stages in all subject areas. They will show the progression across year groups for the core subjects of reading, writing (including punctuation and grammar), maths and science, and, in addition to this, the key stage objectives for the foundation subjects (those which are non-core).

We also use the Essex curriculum for religious education and our own PSHE (personal, social and health education) curriculum.

It would, of course, be impossible to set out everything your child will learn in the next six years of primary education, so these objectives act as an outline of typical content.

As a school we use these objectives to plan a thematic approach to learning and many of the topics change regularly to excite and stimulate our pupils. 

In addition to these objectives we have considered the key elements that need to filter throughout our entire curriculum. These key principles should be at the forefront of all curriculum planning, alongside the school vision statement of 'Learning to Love - Loving to Learn'- Inspired to reach our true potential in a fun, nurturing environment, confidently learning for life. When planning units of work the following will always be taken into consideration-

• Fun, enjoyment, awe and wonder
• Independent, active and open ended learning
• Learning with a focus on the real world (local and world based, including current affairs)
• An emphasis on skills and being able to use and apply what is learnt
• The importance of health and well-being, especially through PSHE and Physical Education
• Fun, enjoyment, awe and wonder
• A fully inclusive approach where all children are engaged
• Assessment to inform learning, so that all pupils are making the most possible progress
• Different styles and approaches for varying intelligences
• Learning beyond the classroom (forest schools and other outdoor activities, class trips etc.)
• An overarching desire to create pupils who are literate, numerate and demonstrate good speaking and listening skills
• Pace and challenge for all pupils
• The use of a wide range of technology
• A flexible and broad overview which has cross curricular learning where appropriate
• The development of the 'whole child'
• An involvement of parents and the wider community especially through extra-curricular activities and homework