At Our Lady & St Swithin’s Catholic Primary School, our curriculum is rooted in our Catholic faith and our mission to Love, Live and Learn.
We believe that every child should experience a curriculum that is ambitious, inclusive, engaging and carefully sequenced. Our curriculum is designed to give pupils the knowledge, vocabulary, skills and experiences they need to succeed in school and in later life.
We want our children to become confident learners who are curious about the world, think deeply, communicate effectively and understand their responsibilities to others.
The learner is at the heart of everything we do.
Our curriculum is designed to:
provide a broad, balanced and ambitious education for every pupil;
develop secure knowledge and understanding across all subjects;
ensure children learn more, remember more and can apply their learning;
develop confident readers, writers and mathematicians;
build pupils’ vocabulary and ability to communicate effectively;
provide rich experiences that broaden pupils’ understanding of their local community and the wider world;
promote creativity, curiosity, independence and resilience;
ensure pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are able to access and succeed within the same ambitious curriculum;
develop pupils spiritually, morally, socially and culturally through our Catholic ethos and Gospel values.
The National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage provide the foundations of our curriculum. Subject leaders carefully consider the knowledge and skills pupils need to develop from EYFS through to Year 6 so that learning builds progressively over time.
Subjects are taught discretely so that pupils develop a clear understanding of the knowledge, vocabulary and skills associated with each discipline.
Each subject has a carefully sequenced curriculum which identifies the most important knowledge pupils need to learn. Teachers make purposeful links to previous learning so that pupils can build increasingly secure and connected knowledge.
Lessons regularly include opportunities for pupils to retrieve and revisit prior learning, helping important knowledge move into long-term memory.
Teachers use formative assessment throughout lessons to identify what pupils understand, address misconceptions and adapt teaching where necessary.
Our teaching places particular emphasis on:
clear explanations and modelling;
regular retrieval of previous learning;
carefully selected questioning;
explicit teaching of vocabulary;
opportunities for pupils to talk, explain and reason;
meaningful scaffolding which promotes independence;
appropriate challenge for all pupils;
effective use of additional adults;
ongoing assessment and feedback.
Adaptive teaching is central to our approach. Teachers identify potential barriers to learning and make appropriate adaptations while maintaining high expectations for every child.
Where pupils require additional support, carefully planned interventions are used to complement high-quality classroom teaching.
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum.
Children develop their reading through systematic phonics teaching, structured reading lessons, high-quality texts and regular opportunities to read across the curriculum.
We aim for every child to become a fluent, confident reader who can understand, discuss and enjoy a wide range of texts.
Writing is taught through carefully selected texts and purposeful writing opportunities. Pupils develop their transcription, grammar, sentence construction, composition and editing skills progressively across the school.
Speaking and listening are also an important part of our curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to explain their thinking, discuss ideas and develop confidence in communicating with others.
Our mathematics curriculum aims to develop confident and fluent mathematicians.
Pupils develop secure number knowledge, arithmetic fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills. Teachers use modelling, questioning and appropriate representations to help pupils understand mathematical concepts deeply.
Regular opportunities to revisit key number facts, arithmetic and multiplication knowledge help pupils develop increasing fluency and confidence.
Our wider curriculum includes:
Religious Education
Science
History
Geography
Computing
Art and Design
Design Technology
Music
Physical Education
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Modern Foreign Languages
Each subject has clearly identified curriculum content and progression so that pupils build knowledge and skills systematically as they move through school.
Our curriculum is enriched through educational visits, visitors, performances, workshops, themed events, outdoor learning and opportunities to engage with our local community.
We want pupils to experience learning beyond the classroom and to develop an understanding of Liverpool, Britain and the wider world.
Our Catholic faith underpins the life and curriculum of our school.
Through Religious Education, prayer and liturgy, Catholic Social Teaching and the wider life of the school, pupils learn about faith, dignity, compassion, responsibility and service to others.
We encourage pupils to become respectful, responsible citizens who understand that they can make a positive difference within their school, their community and the wider world.
Pupils are also supported to develop their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing through PE, PSHE, relationships education and wider opportunities within school.
We are proud to be an inclusive school.
We recognise that pupils begin their learning from different starting points and may experience different barriers to success.
Teachers use assessment, adaptive teaching, scaffolding and appropriate support to ensure pupils can access the curriculum while remaining ambitious about what every child can achieve.
Pupils with SEND are supported to participate fully in school life and to develop increasing confidence and independence.
We evaluate the impact of our curriculum through a range of evidence, including:
pupils’ work;
pupil discussions;
lesson visits;
assessment information;
teacher assessment;
retrieval of previous learning;
subject leadership monitoring;
discussions with teachers and subject leaders.
Subject leaders regularly review the quality and impact of their curriculum and use this information to identify strengths and areas for development.
Our aim is that pupils leave Our Lady & St Swithin’s as:
Successful learners who enjoy learning, remember important knowledge and achieve well.
Confident individuals who are resilient, independent and ready for the next stage of their education.
Responsible citizens who understand their responsibilities to others and make a positive contribution to society.
Above all, we want our children to leave us with strong foundations, high aspirations and the knowledge, values and confidence to continue to Love, Live and Learn.