Curriculum

St. Mary’s School is committed to providing the best possible education for all children and to developing each child’s full potential

- St Mary’s Mission Statement

In order to fulfil our mission, we aim...

to lead the children to a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith
to expect the highest standards of academic achievement from all children
to support parents and the parish community in fulfilling their responsibilities towards the religious and educational development of their children

St Mary’s Curriculum - for Year 1 to Year 6 - is based on the National Curriculum.

As a Catholic School, our faith and the Gospel values permeate all aspects of our curriculum and of our everyday life here at school.

Expectations of achievement and conduct are high at St Mary's. We have a strong ongoing focus on the needs of each individual child and our broad curriculum is relevant to the life experiences of our children and promotes critical, creative and independent thinking.

Our curriculum ensures:

A commitment to Religious Education, collective worship, prayer and developing and supporting each child in their faith and relationship with God
A respect for the learning needs of each child
Teaching strategies and experiences which respond to a range of individual learning styles and needs
Teaching that supports children to develop as independent learners and achieve educational excellence
Purposeful integration across all curriculum areas
Cohesion and progression as children grow and develop through their time at school
Appropriate use of technology, information and communication skills
Opportunities for children to develop their own gifts and talents
An emphasis on the development of social skills and relationships and the ability to relate positively and effectively with each other
Ways for children to express their talents through physical and creative activities

Every child at St Mary’s RC Primary School benefits from our broad, balanced and engaging curriculum. Children with additional needs or particular gifts are supported to access and flourish across the subjects. At St Mary's, we aim to educate the 'whole' child and it is important to us that every child has the opportunity to access all areas of the curriculum so that they can develop their skills and knowledge and be ready for the next stage of their education.

The curriculum at St Mary's has been reviewed and remodelled this year to ensure that it remains relevant and engaging for all our children, whatever their interests and abilities. This new curriculum at St Mary's has been designed to be broad and balanced, inspiring and challenging.

We have ensured that our curriculum is diverse and celebrates a positive view of countries, communities and cultures across our world. We want our pupils, whatever their background, to see themselves reflected positively in what they are taught and what they learn about here at our school.

We ensure that our curriculum is diverse by embedding a wide range of content into the curriculum plan for each phase. For example, in English, teachers choose diverse texts to inspire and excite learners of all backgrounds. In history, children look at the Mayan civilisation and the ancient Kingdom of Benin. Children also look at the lives of significant people across history including those from black and minority ethnic communities. In geography, pupils study the local area and its diverse population, they make comparisons between the UK and other countries around the world including Africa, North and South America. In art, children study a range of art and artists from across the world in a termly focus on World Art.

As a school in the heart of south London, our location is ideally suited to the study of many important events throughout history including the Clapham Sect and their successful lobbying for the abolition of slavery. We are also close to the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton who offer a range of workshops that enhance our curriculum.

At St Mary's, we aim to educate the 'whole' child and it is important to us that every child has the opportunity to access all areas of the curriculum so that they can fully develop their skills and knowledge and be ready for the next stage of their education.

The document below contains the Curriculum Plan for all cohorts from Year 1 to Year 6.

Children in the Early Years (Nursery and Reception) follow the EYFS curriculum, that is expertly linked to the whole school curriclum by our EYFS lead.

The Curriculum Plan includes all the areas of the new National Curriculum that will be taught as well as additional learning in areas such as Religious Education.

Parents, please remember that you can ask your child's class teacher for further explanation or guidance about the curriculum if needed.

If you require any further information about any aspect of our curriculum, please contact the school to speak to a member of the School Leadership Team or Subject Leaders.

St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School

St Mary'sRoman Catholic Primary School

Curriculum

Curriculum by Year Group

Whole School Curriculum

Progression Documents