St Catherine Of Siena Catholic Primary School

Statement of intent

At St Catherine of Siena, we value pupils’ education and aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that is accessible to all. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and our curriculum celebrates the diverse nature of our society, enabling pupils to embrace the world around them – encouraging adherence with the fundamental British values. It also promotes the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at our school and of society.

This policy outlines our dedication to establishing a well-rounded and robust curriculum, as well as the provisions surrounding its creation.

1. Curriculum Intent

Pupils’ learning and development is at the heart of our school’s curriculum; it is broad and balanced and equips pupils with the skills necessary to succeed in life after school. The values and virtues outlined in the Jesuit pupil profile underpin all learning that takes place at St Catherine of Siena School and permeates throughout several aspects of the curriculum; our school feels that these fourteen values will support the development of well-rounded individuals who will develop into valued members of society in their further education and beyond.

This curriculum intent statement outlines how the school has created the curriculum and the benefits it will bring to pupils’ learning and self-improvement.

Curriculum Intent

At St Catherine of Siena, we have designed our curriculum with pupils’ learning at the centre. We recognise that a curriculum has to be broad, balanced and offer pupils opportunities to grow as individuals as well as learners. Our school values the feedback from pupils about the curriculum they experience. This allows us to review and revise the curriculum to ensure it is meeting the needs of our pupils. Our school recognises and celebrates the diverse background of our pupils, who help to shape the multi-cultural demographic our school is located in; this is reflected in the planning and delivery of our curriculum, placing a focus on Black History, Multi-Cultural Faith and other topics outlined in Section 6. All learning that takes place at St Catherine of Siena is deeply rooted in Catholicism and the teachings of the church and, in line with diocesan advice, Religious Education has a core focus within our setting.  

We aim to ensure pupils develop a passion for learning and feel prepared for life after school. We also intend to offer all pupils new and exciting experiences that are designed to build resilience, confidence, self-worth and self-esteem. Our curriculum will be delivered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, through a variety of methods, including those outlined below.

Classroom-based learning: Accessing different learning resources and equipment to broaden pupils’ knowledge, and making cross-curricular links where possible within lesson plans, so that pupils can draw upon knowledge from different subjects and understand how each topic plays a part in everyday life. Classroom teaching also includes one-to-one and small group tuition for pupils who require additional support.

A full list of the subjects available to our pupils can be found in section 6 of this policy.

Extra-curricular activities: We provide a variety of extra-curricular activities for pupils that enhance their learning experience, form personal connections with their peers, and teach skills essential for life after school.

2. School Ethos and Aims

At St Catherine of Siena, our curriculum is designed with the following outcomes in mind:

• Our school aims to ensure that all pupils are happy, confident learners who feel safe and secure
• Have a Catholic ethos which allows all children to live, learn and grow in love, with tolerance, confidence and respect, using the Jesuit values as their example Values and Virtues
• Promote high expectations of behaviour and respect for themselves and others; being able to live and work cooperatively
• Celebrate and embrace people from various cultural backgrounds in the context of our diverse community, showing tolerance and respect at all times
• Deliver a broad, balanced curriculum, rooted in statutory National Curriculum guidance
• Foster a love of learning and allow pupils to develop their own personal interests and enjoy coming to school
• We aim to provide all pupils with a solid foundation that will allow them to thrive in their later life and develop a passion for learning
• Ensure all pupils are given equal opportunities to access an ambitious curriculum and achieve the best possible outcomes
• Instil high expectations, and resilience, of our pupils in every aspect of their life
• Encourage children to be ambitious and to embrace challenge within all areas of the curriculum
• Promote positive emotional well-being, with a focus on self-esteem and self-worth
• Educate our pupils about the importance of forming healthy relationships with their friends, family and peers
• Provide our pupils with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe and make good decisions, within our school’s local context
• Enable pupils to be healthy, active individuals and appreciate the importance of a healthy lifestyle
• Prepare pupils for the next stage in their education and ultimately to make the most out of their life opportunities
• Children are exposed to, and being taught about, different elements of culture in order to be rounded, successful adults

Through the aims outlined below, pupils will benefit by:

• Developing a strong faith which guides their actions in all parts of their lives
• Learning how to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
• Developing into enthusiastic and resilient learners, understanding that failure is part of the road to success
• Being rewarded for, and celebrating, academic successes and other successes, such as in sport
• Being supported with their next stages in education and feeling prepared for life after school
• Becoming responsible individuals who contribute to community living and the environment
• Achieving to the best of their ability
• Acquiring a wealth of knowledge and experience
• Becoming critical thinkers
• Finding a sense of belonging to the school and its community
• Learning how to cooperate with their peers and respect one another inside and outside the classroom

3. Legal Framework

This policy has due regard to all relevant legislation and statutory guidance including, but not limited to, the following:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021
• The Education Act 2002
• The Children Act 2004
• The Equality Act 2010
• DfE (2017) ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years’
• DfE (2013) ‘The National Curriculum in England’
• DfE (2017) ‘Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’
• DfE (2019) ‘School attendance’

This policy operates in conjunction with the following school policies:

• Assessment Policy
• Equal Opportunity Policy
• PSHE Policy
• Relationships and Health Education Policy
• More Academically Gifted and Talented Policy
• SEND Policy
• Individual Curriculum Policies

4. Roles and Responsibilities

The Governing Body is responsible for:

• Approving and monitoring the content of this policy
• Liaising with the head teacher, subject leaders and teachers with regards to pupil progress and attainment
• Formulating a Standards Committee who assists the school with the review and implementation of the curriculum
• Ensuring the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all

The head teacher is responsible for:

• Devising long- and medium-term plans for the curriculum in collaboration with teachers and other members of the SLT
• Communicating the agreed curriculum to the governing board on an annual basis
• Ensuring the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all
• Assisting teachers with the planning and implementation of the curriculum, ensuring their workload is manageable
• Ensuring the curriculum is implemented consistently throughout the school and ensuring any difficulties are addressed and mitigated as soon as possible
• Receiving reports on the progress and attainment of pupils and reporting these results to the Governing Body
• Making any necessary adjustments to the curriculum where required
• Keeping up-to-date with any relevant statutory updates and taking action where required
• Creating and maintaining an up-to-date ‘Curriculum Intent’ statement
• Ensuring the curriculum is created in accordance with this policy
• Updating and maintaining this policy

Teachers are responsible for:

• Implementing this policy consistently throughout their practices
• Ensuring lesson plans are reflective of the school’s curriculum
• Implementing the curriculum in creative ways, appealing to different learning types and keeping pupils engaged in content
• Creating short-term plans for the curriculum and sharing these with the school SLT when required
• Creating weekly planning overviews and sharing these with the SLT where required
• Collaborating with the head teacher and the SENCO to ensure that the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all
• Working closely with the SENCO and TAs to ensure those in need receive additional support in lessons
• Ensuring academically more able pupils are given additional, more challenging work to celebrate their talents
• Celebrating all pupils’ academic achievements
• Reporting progress of pupils with SEND to the SENCO and ensuring any difficulties identified are discussed and resolved
• Monitoring the progress of all pupils and reporting on this to the head teacher
• Working to close the attainment gap between academically more and less able pupils

The Curriculum Team is responsible for:

• Making strategic decisions about the curriculum, liaising with SLT where appropriate
• Leading subject areas that are currently without a subject leader
• Ongoing curriculum review, including auditing and reviewing knowledge and skills taught in each year group
• Conducting regular moderation of highlighted subject areas
• Working closely with other subject leaders to ensure a consistent approach

Subject leaders are responsible for:

• Regularly reviewing the skills being delivered in their curriculum areas and discussing these with class teachers
• Providing strategic leadership and direction to colleagues and leading staff meetings where appropriate
• Liaising with the Curriculum Team to ensure consistency of approach in their subject area
• Supporting and offering advice to colleagues on issues relating to the subject or curriculum area
• Monitoring pupil progress within the school and reporting on this to the head teacher
• Providing appropriate resources for their subject area
• Ensuring the curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all
• Ensuring there are specialist resources and equipment available for pupils in need so that everyone can have full access to the curriculum

The SENCO is responsible for:

• Collaborating with the head teacher and teachers to ensure the curriculum is accessible to all
• Ensuring teaching materials do not discriminate against anyone in line with the Equality Act 2010
• Carrying out SEND assessments where necessary and ensuring pupils receive the additional help they need
• Conducting regular learning walks and book scrutiny of SEND pupils
• Liaising with members of SMT and the staff body to share good practice and updates about SEND pupils
• Liaising with external agencies where necessary to ensure pupils who require additional support receive it
• Working alongside class teachers to develop Individual Target Plans for pupils with SEND needs

5. Organisation and Planning

The school’s curriculum will be delivered over 190 days and will be delivered equally throughout the school week.

Each school day will be split into two sessions and pupils will receive at least one break (lunch).

In general, lessons will be separated into three core stages:

• Introduction to the topic and thinking time – this is the time where lesson objectives will be set and teachers will plan opportunities for children to recall on previous learning, drawing upon their long-term memory, e.g. low-stakes topic quizzes or through effective questioning
• A main teaching event – this will vary day-to-day based on the teacher’s plan
• Mini-plenaries (small group or whole-class) to address specific learning points and misconceptions
• Plenary – this will summarise what pupils have learnt in the lesson and will address what will be covered in the next lesson

Lessons will use a range of teaching techniques to appeal to different learning types, e.g. visual, audio and kinaesthetic.

The different learning techniques include:

• Using different kinds of questions to engage pupils and prompt them to apply their knowledge to different examples, e.g. using why and how questions
• Opening discussions around topics so pupils can learn from their peers and learn how to hold conversations with others
• Holding structured debates to expose pupils to different points of view and teach them how to negotiate situations where there is a potential conflict of interest, whilst still respecting others’ beliefs
• Using assessments to test pupils’ knowledge and consolidate learning; these can be through both informal and formal assessments
• Regular opportunities for children to recall previous learning, drawing upon their long-term memory
• Role playing and acting to develop pupils’ empathy and give them the opportunity to explore topics in a more interactive way
• Labelling, ordering and identifying key themes within texts, dialogues and films to help pupils’ coordinate series of events
• Written and spoken tasks to encourage different methods of expressing ideas, as well as identifying key differences between writing and speaking conventions
• Planned opportunities for children to develop their own vocabulary, including subject-specific terms, through the use of high-quality texts and vocabulary rich learning environments
• Placing a significant importance on reading, ensuring that children are accessing high-quality texts as a core aspect of most taught sessions

Teachers will plan lessons which are challenging for all pupils and ensure that there are provisions in place for more academically able pupils, e.g. completing additional work that is above the academic level of their peers.

Teachers will plan lessons to accommodate for pupils of mixed ability, making cross-curricular links where possible. A full list of subjects covered in school can be found in section 6 of this policy.

Teachers will have due consideration for pupils who require additional help within their planning and organisation of lessons, using their half-termly SEND audits to support the planning process.

Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND and EAL will receive additional support where appropriate– this will include dedicated time with TAs and access to specialist resources and equipment where required.

TAs and other supporting adults will be deployed within lessons strategically so that they can assist with pupils who require additional help, but are also able to minimise disruptions where necessary.

Pupils with EAL will be given the opportunity to develop their English ability throughout lessons where necessary.

Planning will be used to identify any possible difficulties within the curriculum and will break down barriers to learning. Class teachers will consider their own assessments and book scrutiny feedback to inform future planning

Classrooms will be organised so that pupils have full access to resources and equipment – they will be provided with a rich and varied learning environment that will enable them to develop their skills and abilities

6. Subjects covered

The school will have due regard to the national curriculum at all times throughout the academic year.

The school will have due regard for the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’.

The school will ensure that every pupil has access to the following subjects:

7. PSHE

Part of the national curriculum includes PSHE lessons where everyday topics, e.g. raising awareness of different cultures or anti-bullying, can be addressed. Each class has weekly PSHE sessions that are timetabled and curriculum overviews that cover a broad range of topics.

The school holds a PSHE week each year alongside planned workshops from outside agencies. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• Antibullying
• Celebrating different cultures
• Environmental issues
• Crime and punishment
• British values
• Health education
• Drugs and alcohol
• Gang and weapon awareness
• Road safety
• Fire safety
• School nurse workshops
• Health and hygiene
• Puberty
• Refugees
• Emergency services
• Emotional well being
• Mental health
• Positive self-worth and self-esteem

All provisions made regarding PSHE lessons will be made in line with the school’s PSHE Policy.

8. Reporting and assessment

Homework will be planned to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding of concepts covered within lessons.

Homework will be set on a weekly basis in accordance with the school’s Homework Policy.

Both formal and informal assessments will be carried out termly to measure pupil progress. The results of the assessments will be used to inform future planning and target setting.

Results of assessments will be recorded and reported back to the head teacher, assessment lead and pupils.

Pupils will also complete national assessments. The results of these assessments will be reported back to the head teacher, pupils and their parents.

Assessment of pupils with EAL will take into account the pupils age, length of time in UK, previous education and ability in other languages.

Special measures will be given to pupils who require them, e.g. pupils with SEND, pupils who are ill, or pupils who suffer from conditions that inhibit their academic performance.

All reporting and assessments will be conducted in line with the school’s Assessment Policy.

9. Equal opportunities

There are nine protected characteristics outlined within the Equality Act 2010, these are:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

The school does not tolerate any form of bullying or discrimination against people with one or more of these characteristics. Any pupil or teacher found to be discriminating against any of these characteristics will be disciplined in line with the relevant school policies.

The school’s curriculum will celebrate diversity and the SLT has a responsibility to ensure that the curriculum does not discriminate against any of the above characteristics.

The school will have due regard for the Equal Opportunities Policy at all times when planning and implementing the curriculum.

10. Supporting pupils with SEND

Pupils with SEND will receive the additional support they require both academically and with their personal development, in line with the school’s SEND Policy.

Pupils with SEND will work with teachers, TAs and other adults in smaller groups where appropriate to work on topics covered in lesson to ensure they do not fall behind their peers.

Pupils with SEND will not be discriminated against in any way and they will have full access to the curriculum.

The progress of pupils with SEND will be monitored by teachers and reported to the SENCO.

The SENCO will work closely with teachers to help them break down any barriers pupils with SEND have to education.

11. Extra-curricular activities

The school offers pupils a wide range of extra-curricular trips and activities to enhance their academic learning and personal development.

Extra-curricular trips and activities occur outside school hours and can include overnight stays in the UK.

All pupils are able to participate in the activities and trips available. Wherever there is an instance where a pupil cannot participate, the trip or activity will be adapted so that the pupil can take part.

All extra-curricular activities and trips will be planned and executed in accordance with the school’s relevant policies.

12. Monitoring and review

This policy is reviewed annually by the head teacher, members of SLT and the governing body.

Any changes made to this policy will be communicated to all members of staff and relevant stakeholders.

The scheduled review date for this policy is Summer 2022.