School Curriculum Statement

INTENT

As a Catholic school, Christ is at the centre of everything we do. We believe that every child is unique, made in the image and likeness of God; our aim is to develop each child’s full potential. Our school values of love, respect, hope, justice, honesty, hope and forgiveness underpin the curriculum.

When planning our curriculum, St Bede's has had to recognise the very wide social and economic backgrounds of our families. The school is in the Raffles estate which is one of the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. We recognise that there are barriers to our children learning and that they need  both a sense of valuing themselves, and developing aspirations for their future and for their community.

We have worked hard to provide a curriculum designed to overcome those barriers. A curriculum that is still developing but one in which we are proud of and one we have designed to suit the needs of the children and community that we cater for. We aim to enable all children to excel in Reading, Writing, Maths and Science, as well as develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in all other aspects of the curriculum.

We also plan opportunities for the children to know about keeping safe, linked to the most up to date KCSie document.

By planning and promoting British values ,(Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs) we are ensuring that our children are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Our curriculum also supports the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as it is designed to develop our children’s emotional resilience and good mental health through building in time for ‘Relax Kids’, 'Mindfulness' etc. and through activities in our R.E. and PSHE curriculum. Through everything they do in school, our children develop a strong sense of moral purpose in addition to a respect and understanding of people who have different characteristics to themselves including age, disability, gender, race or sexuality. All children are taught RE through the Come and See and our HRSE programme. 

Emotional and mental well-being is also greatly enhanced by sport and music and in our school.Both areas remain central to both our curriculum and extra-curriculum provision. The well-being of our children and families is at the heart of St Bede's curriculum.

Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum (2014); which we enhance through the experiences we plan for each class throughout the year. When planning teachers take into account the needs of individual children and classes and plan experiences that are specific to their interests and needs. Subject leaders are currently working on curriculum coverage and foundation subjects, e.g. Geography and History. The curriculum is designed to ensure: deep learning, with focus made on extending those who are working at a greater depth within the curriculum areas; engagement with their learning and initiating the direction of the units of study, particularly in the foundation subjects along with breadth and balance. Not only do staff review the curriculum regularly, but also the principles for learning and teaching. This Autumn, our Science leader is working with STEM on projects for enriching science within the primary curriculum as we recognise the importance of science, both as a 21st century subject and an area of awe and wonder of God's creation.

The school also has strong relationship with the wider community, including the local Secondary Schools that our children feed into. Links between home, school and our parish community, are important to us and central in our Mission to serve the Church.

Our School prayer reflects everything that our school is about:

Dear God

Please help us to make our school just like a family,

Where everyone is welcomed,

Where everyone is loved, respected, and cared for,

Where everyone is helped to do their very best,

And where You are at the heart of everything we do.

Amen

IMPLEMENTATION

We believe that our children should work as hard as the staff. The curriculum is carefully timetabled to optimise learning time. We structure our days to help our children achieve to the best of their abilities and to enable us to provide directed and valuable support where needed without children missing out on vital curriculum input.

The school is currently organised into 6 classes and a Foundation unit. In KS1,  25 hours is spent each week on teaching the curriculum and in KS2, 26.25 hours.

The school curriculum overview for each year group follows:

Annual overview of the EYFS curriculum 2021-22

Annual overview of the Y1 curriculum 2021-22

Annual overview of the Y2 curriculum 2021-22

Annual overview of the Y3 curriculum 2021-22

Annual overview of the Y4 curriculum 2021-22

Annual overview of the Y5 curriculum 2021-22

Annual overview of the Y6 curriculum 2021-22

To find out more about our curriculum, please follow the links to our subject pages, contact the school for our subject policies or follow us on facebook to see up to date information about the types of activities our children experience.

IMPACT

 The curriculum at St Bede's is well planned and thought through to enable a wide range of engagement, not only within the class but in providing out of class opportunities to enable children to develop themselves as learners and encourage each child to be as independent as they can be. Recent interviews with children throughout the school provided evidence that they enjoy what they are learning and could recount many facts about the subjects they have covered. Encouragingly, many of them spoke very enthusiastically about 'Talk for writing' which we have just introduced throughout the school. The younger children also commented on the new RWI (Read, Write,Inc) phonics programme and the things they enjoyed about it.

Other new initiatives, like the 6 week 'Mindfulness and Yoga programme'  have had a very positive response from the children, teachers and parents. As have the visits to the Forest School by each class. Regular exposure to 'Relax Kids' has also given our children strategies to help them manage their anxieties and feelings. Increasing opportunities for children to experience visits and activities which expand their knowledge and aspirations outside of the school community have given our children opportunities to talk confidently and develop their understanding of the wider world.

At St Bede's we ensure that the children are regularly assessed against the relevant frameworks across the breadth of the curriculum. In our assessment policy, it highlights the various ways in which we assess the children, both formatively (on a daily basis) and summatively ( end of a unit study or test) and even the children self and / or peer assessing.

We are extremely proud of the achievements of the children in our school. Academic data our attainment and progress, which is a culmination of hard work, determination and high expectations from all at St Bede's has led to increasing success over the last four years. There is a termly cycle of monitoring and assessment which provides data; this is collected, analysed and utilized for providing interventions, support and reviewing of planning. In addition to this, the teachers meet with the headteacher each term to discuss each pupil's progress to find out the reasons behind their current attainment.

Subject Leaders:

RE - Mrs McMillian

English - Mrs Galister & Mrs Wilson

Maths - Mr Oliver

Science - Mrs Jackson

PE - Mrs Francis

History and Geography - Ms Weir

PSHE - Mrs Noble

Computing - Mrs Gibson

Art and Design Technology - Mrs Routledge

Early Years Foundation Stage - Mrs Winter