St Mary's CatholicCurriculum
At the core of our work lies the Christian values intrinsic to our Catholic faith. We follow the Come and See Programme and plan and deliver opportunities throughout our curriculum for spiritual development and understanding.
The children receive education throughout the year based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, this is through assemblies, workshops and a topic in Come and See.
Religious Education
At St. Mary’s our faith is an integral part of the life of the school. Therefore Religious Education embraces the whole curriculum. The school follows the National Catholic RE scheme “Come and See” which is the Diocesan recommended scheme.
Daily collective worship takes place to enable the children to respond to God’s love. The school’s programme for worship and liturgy follows the Church’s Liturgical cycle. Holy Mass is celebrated in school each term and also on special occasions. Children from the school attend the annual Diocesan Education Mass and special Masses in our parish church.
First Communion Preparation for Year Three children is a parish-based programme with the school supporting the children as they approach this important stage in their faith journey.
Early Years Foundation Stage - EYFS (Ages 2-5 years)
The EYFS makes a crucial contribution to children’s early development and learning. We provide children with a rich variety of teaching and learning experiences that are appropriate to their needs.
The EYFS is about developing key learning skills such as listening, speaking, concentrating, persistence and learning to work and co-operate with others.
The seven areas of learning that make up the EYFS curriculum are:
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Communication and language
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Physical development
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Personal, social and emotional development
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English
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Mathematics
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Understanding the world
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Expressive arts and design
Alongside structured learning, children are actively encouraged to explore learning through their play. Staff observe and engage in play with the children to help them develop key skills and knowledge.
Children are taught phonics using the scheme 'Letters and Sounds'.
National Curriculum - Key Stage 1(Ages 5-7 years) and Key Stage 2 (Ages 7-11 years)
The core curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2 comprises:
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English
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Mathematics
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Science
English and Mathematics takes place on a daily basis and phonics is taught using the scheme 'Letters and Sounds'.
Children also study the following subjects below as part of the National Curriculum. These are called foundation subjects.
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Computing
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Art and Design
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Design Technology (DT)
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History
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Geography
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Music
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Physical Education
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MFL - French
On 'Class Pages' you will find curriculum newsletters which share what is taught in each year on a termly basis.
St. Mary's is very proud of its new Nurture Group which provides a modified curriculum in a small-scale setting for children who, for various reasons, may be struggling with everyday school life.
You can find out more about our Nurture Group here: