Curriculum Design
Intent
At St Barnabas CE Primary School we aim to prepare our children for a positive future, achieved through faith and to give our children the knowledge, skills, self-belief and love of learning to ‘let their light shine:’ to pursue their dreams, be the best they can be and have a happy, successful future.
Our Christian Values and Distinctiveness, alongside our vision of “Preparing for a positive future, achieved through faith,” are at the core of our curriculum and “Let your light shine” is the mantra that runs through all that we do at St. Barnabas.
Our curriculum is designed to deepen knowledge and develop skills, with literacy at the heart, ensuring effective coherence and progression within each subject discipline and across all year groups. In addition, the focus on increasingly complex concepts which link the curriculum together, enables our children to remember more, know more and do more. Our ambition is to develop the ‘whole child’, nurturing children’s talents and celebrating their achievements and successes, both academically and in areas such as the Arts, Sport and character development.
A key theme which runs through all subjects is developing children’s resilience and belief in themselves. Together we make a difference by creating a loving community of purposeful learning. We are respectful, tolerant and considerate of each other, our diverse community, our environment and ourselves. We nurture a safe, caring environment in which everyone is supported to be healthy and happy.
We aim to provide our children with a knowledge rich curriculum, which is broad and balanced and meets the needs of all children in our church community. Literacy and the mastery of the fundamental basic skills of reading, writing and maths are at the heart of our curriculum, we aim to motivate and inspire our pupils and provide them with opportunities to apply these skills in a range of contexts in school and beyond. We believe that reading is the vehicle to academic success and our curriculum promotes rich and diverse opportunities to read within all subject areas.
Our vision is to create helpful, respectful and responsible citizens who can apply their learning in a multitude of different contexts. We will never lose sight of our ultimate aim: to have our children leave St Barnabas with a sense of belonging, and the confidence and independence to be successful life-long learners who “let their light shine.”
Implementation
At St. Barnabas Church of England Primary School, we implement an inclusive curriculum that meets the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum. Our curriculum is well-planned and provides literacy-rich, cross-curricular opportunities.
Each term, all year groups have a ‘focus theme’, which links English and the wider curriculum. Teachers use carefully selected, high-quality focus reading texts, relating to the History, Geography focus themes, alongside Science topics to deliver elements of the English curriculum.
Within the wider curriculum, teachers ensure that there are opportunities planned for children to further develop their literacy skills, including regular cross-curricular writing, ensuring that standards are consistent across the curriculum.
Knowledge and vocabulary are fundamental within our curriculum. Lessons are well-planned to develop and increase children’s knowledge, building on prior experiences and making connections in their learning. Children are immersed in and exposed to a rich diet of vocabulary, which is high-level and subject-specific, to extend their breadth of language.
For each ‘focus theme’, teachers plan an inspiring memorable experience to hook and engage children and make learning purposeful and relevant. Knowledge organiser and low stakes quizzes are provided to enable children’s retention of knowledge into long term memory, to encourage discussion between families and children and deepen their knowledge and breadth of vocabulary.
Our curriculum is delivered through highly effective ‘quality first teaching’, including the use of specialist teachers for Music, RE and MfL. Enrichment opportunities, including outdoor learning, inspirational visitors, exciting educational visits, after school clubs and a wide ranging careers programme provide our children with rich experiences and enhance knowledge, skills and character; thus ensuring they are exceptionally well prepared for the world of work and the next stage of their education. Knowledge and skills are accurately assessed against clearly defined end points.
Our curriculum promotes children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, ensuring that they are reflective and responsible citizens. Fundamental British Values are actively promoted in order to prepare the children for life in Modern Britain.
Our curriculum is continually shaped and developed to meet children’s interests and needs, and is supported by practices based on credible research.
Impact
Our curriculum ensures that children are knowledgeable and skilled, achieve well, and make excellent progress at each stage of their education. Through the breadth and depth that our curriculum offers, children develop strong character traits and a good moral compass, become confident and resilient, and well-equipped for the future. Our curriculum enables children to become articulate and enthusiastic learners, creative and physically competent, with high aspirations and the ambition to “let their light shine” in the next stage of their learning journey and beyond.
If you would like any further information about our curriculum, please contact the school office.