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St Edmund's Catholic Primary School and Nursery

St Edmund's Catholic Primary School and Nursery

Parish, Family, School

Curriculum

At St Edmund's we provide a broad and balanced curriculum in order that our children are given opportunity to fulfil the long- vision we have for each  individual. We want all children who leave St Edmund's to be:

  • effective communicators (who can express themselves in a range of subject areas)
  • active contributors (who show empathy to others with a strong sense of justice) 
  • aspirational independent learners (who are confident in their abilities and want to achieve)
  • healthy in mind and body (who understand their worth and display a strong moral compass)

In order to achieve this, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage and teach the National Curriculum.   This is to ensure children have the knowledge and skills needed year-on-year to ensure good progress throughout their primary school education.  We have designed our curriculum with additional experiences and enrichment activities to help children learn more and remember more. 

We are developing children's thinking skills through the use of 'thinking maps' and 'habits of mind' - dispositions which are research based and proven to support children's learning.  This is based on the Thinking Skills Curriculum which we use to help children recollect and recall more to prepare them for each next phase of education.   We have also introduced the Zones of Regulation Curriculum to support our children in identifying and managing their emotions to ensure they are ready to learn.

To further support and enrich the curriculum at St Edmund's we seek to address any experiences that children may not have had for a host of reasons to give a level playing field to support the achievements and progress of all our children.  The biggest way to do this is through reading and the development of a rich and varied vocabulary - we work with parents to establish good reading habits early on. 

RE is a core subject at St. Edmund’s and is based on the Curriculum Directory (guidance from the Bishops of England and Wales) detailing what should be taught in each phase throughout the school.   RE permeates all aspects of school life.

We have specialist provision for PE, Music and French which the children thoroughly enjoy and often comment upon in their end of year reports.  These subjects alongside the provision of a range of clubs allow children opportunities to develop skills and knowledge beyond the curriculum and progress further in areas of personal interest.

Leaders have put a well-thought-out, ambitious curriculum in place. They make sure that learning is carefully ordered. It builds on what pupils already know and can do

Teachers use assessments to check pupils’ understanding, identify gaps and address them at the earliest possibility. Leaders support teachers in making adaptations to cater fully for the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, pupils, including those with SEND, are learning the curriculum well.

Pupils behave well both in and out of lessons. They are confident when expressing their ideas. They contribute actively to discussions. 

                                                                                                                                                                                Ofsted February 2022