St Bridget's Catholic Primary School

ST BRIDGET’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM

RATIONALE

At St. Bridget’s, we aim to deliver:

• a curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils
• a curriculum that is coherently planned and sequenced
• a curriculum that is successfully adapted, designed and developed for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• a curriculum that is broad and balanced for all pupils

The ethos of St.Bridget’s Catholic Primary school is a crucial element in the delivery of the Curriculum. At St. Bridget’s, Catholic faith and Christian values are at the heart of our ethos. The Catholic school is essentially a community of faith, working in partnership with home and parish.

If you wish to find out more about our curriculum, please contact the school.

MISSION STATEMENT

With Christ at the centre, and children at the heart, we learn to love and love to learn.

 The staff and governors of St.Bridget’s work together to ensure that  the curriculum is carefully and creatively designed to meet the needs of all of our pupils. The curriculum reflects the school context by identifying and addressing gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. It considers what pupils need in order to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in the next stage of their education and in later life.

The curriculum is planned to ensure it is at least as ambitious as the standards set out in the National Curriculum. It is clear what end points the curriculum is building towards and what pupils need to know and be able to do to reach those end points. It is planned and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before and towards its clearly defined end points. Opportunities for pupils to develop their reading and mathematical skills are planned for across the curriculum subjects.

Reading is given the highest priority. Opportunities for pupils to develop their reading skills and foster a genuine love of reading is given the highest priority at St .Bridget’s.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. 

The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”   Dr Seuss

The curriculum is designed and resources and staff are deployed to meet individual needs and allow all pupils (disadvantaged pupils, SEN/D pupils, pupils whose parents lack ambition for them, most able pupils) to access the content of the curriculum and make progress through the curriculum.  

The design of the curriculum has harnessed opportunities for learning within the school’s unique historical, geographical and cultural context. Our curriculum is strongly influenced by the area that we live in. All year groups study significant aspects of Warrington, the surrounding local area and capitalise on the vast, outdoor learning spaces available.

Through the PHSE, RSE scheme of work, ‘Journey in Love’, the RE scheme of work, ‘Come and See’ and through our daily ethos and values we promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils. We develop pupils’ ability to reflect on their own and others’ beliefs. We teach pupils to recognise the difference between right and wrong and forgiveness. We develop social skills and teach pupils about the fundamental British values of democracy, tolerance and mutual respect. Pupils are taught about positive relationships and how these are linked to promoting good mental health and well being.        

Cultural capital is explicitly built into the curriculum design. We aim to give pupils, ‘the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens, by introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping them to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement’. We do this through careful planning for a range of meaningful and relevant learning experiences so that pupils can enjoy a full spectrum of activities that will enrich their lives and give them the confidence and skills for a fulfilled and happy life

In a community of prayer and values in action, we celebrate achievements and ensure that all pupils achieve and feel proud. We aim to:

• develop in our children an awareness of their own personal strengths and encourage them to assume more responsibility for their progress.
• To develop the key personal qualities of resilience, perseverance and a positive attitude to learning
• To provide real contexts for learning and link learning to support children’s understanding of the world around them
• To encourage lifelong learners