Curriculum Overview

Introduction

The St Botolph’s Curriculum has carefully planned activities and learning which matches our children’s needs, expanding their opportunities and widening their horizons. Learning is carefully connected, interweaving knowledge and skills to make it meaningful, while ensuring that the National Curriculum is followed.

Statement of Intent

Our service to the school community will seek to fulfil Jesus’ promise of ‘life in all its fullness.’ We will provide a committed and consistent approach. The curriculum will expand opportunities and widen horizons for all. Our Christian values of respect, resilience and responsibility will foster a strong sense of belonging.

reading in the nook at st botolphs primary school

Objectives

Pupils’ learning: 

  • Enable our pupils to become independent, confident, well-rounded individuals
  • Experience the National curriculum in full through an exciting, bespoke curriculum
  • Achieve the best they can both academically and socially
  • Regardless of current attainment, develop the desire to explore the world around them becoming assets to their community

Staff: 

  • To be valued and supported, appreciating their self-worth
  • Achieve excellent results for our pupils through dedication and an understanding of the community
  • Impact positively upon the next generation by promoting positive responses to learning, developing pupils’ confidence and lively engagement through a well-thought out, challenging and progressive curriculum
  • Enjoy a healthy work-life balance

Community:      

  • Provide opportunities and experiences which broaden pupils’ perspectives on what is possible for them and the wider community
  • Value contributions to enhance pupils’ education interacting with the wider community
  • Facilitate a Christian, value-led education fostering a strong sense of belonging
  • Foster and strengthen cohesion and respect for difference
  • Raise aspirations by expanding opportunities and widening horizons

Principles for Learning

Our principles shape how we teach the children who attend St Botolph’s School. They explain the pedagogy which underpins our teaching and the reasons behind our actions.

Principles for Learning
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Statement of Implementation

sports posed picture at st botolphs primary school

The National Curriculum is delivered through discrete lessons. The more able are challenged and children who find aspects of their learning more difficult have scaffolds and support, as necessary.

The St Botolph’s Curriculum has been carefully crafted to ensure that all aspects of the National Curriculum are covered and skills embedded. This curriculum also incorporates a wider learning, developing cultural capital and offering enhanced opportunities to the school community. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils and their understanding of the core values of our society are woven through the curriculum. The English curriculum is enhanced using the Power of Reading for writing and Accelerated Reader. The Maths curriculum is delivered using the Maths Mastery planning which enables children to develop their understanding, vocabulary, reasoning and problem-solving skills. We use Understanding Christianity to teach RE using a teaching and learning approach to enable pupils to move from an understanding of the biblical text to an understanding of what this means for Christians. This includes opportunities for pupils to examine and evaluate connections between these ideas and the wider world.

Additionally, the St. Botolph’s curriculum is underpinned by five Cognitive Learning Theories as shown below:

Cognitive Learning Theories
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Statement of Impact

Teachers use assessment for learning to inform planning on a day to day basis as well as plan the future learning. Formal assessments are used to assess and track the knowledge and skills pupils have gained against expectations in English and Maths. Through our bespoke milestone assessments and tracking system, all subjects are assessed and monitored.

All assessments, both summative and formative, are used to identify children who need challenge or support which is monitored regularly. Pupil outcomes, and therefore quality of the curriculum, is evaluated and adaptations and changes are made accordingly. Summative assessments are completed at least three times each year allowing pupils to demonstrate their growing understanding of their subjects and teachers to assess the impact of their teaching. Our formative assessments are designed to support students in achieving fluency in each subject committing learning to long-term memory through retrieval practice.

We are aware of the role that literacy and vocabulary plays in unlocking the whole curriculum. Our teachers explicitly teach the meaning of subject-specific vocabulary. Knowledge organisers provide students with key information in each subject, enabling them to develop their understanding of key concepts outside of their lessons. We also encourage all pupils to read widely and expose them to archaic texts.

If you require any further information about our curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact the school office who will put you in contact with the relevant subject leader.

St. Botolph's Curriculum
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