To embed a creative curriculum which also rigorously ensures coverage and progression in key skills. Central to this are the key academic, personal, spiritual and vocational skills which prepare them for the next stage of their lives. At Sacred Heart we want every child to live the Gospel values, learn to aim high, think big and love life. Our curriculum is designed for mastery. It is carefully sequenced to secure knowledge and practise skills. Our learning is tailored to our unique context where every subject is sacred. We believe a focus on creativity, enterprise and diversity will equip our children to achieve spiritual, academic, social and emotional growth.

We are ambitious for our children, our school and our community. We aspire to develop compassionate, accepting people who will contribute willingly to society.

Our curriculum is designed with knowledge at its heart to ensure that children develop a strong vocabulary base and understanding of the world.  The curriculum promotes long-term learning and we believe that progress means knowing more and remembering more.  We have developed a curriculum built on current research regarding how memory works to ensure that children not only have access to ‘the best that has been thought and said’ but are taught this in a way that ensures children can remember the curriculum content in future years.  We make use of knowledge organisers (which are sent home regularly) to ensure children know exactly which information is expected to be learned over the course of their study in a particular subject.

Intent

Rigorous

  • Fulfil and exceed National Curriculum requirements and expectations
  • Challenging for our articulate and engaged pupils
  • Goes beyond National Curriculum expectations
  • Promotes greater depth understanding, critical thinking and oracy skills
  • Above and Beyond
  • Higher achievers are given the support and opportunity to excel and be challenged to further develop their talent

Creativity

  • Our curriculum is creative and personalised
  • Tailored to pupils’ needs and interests
  • Allows for different learning and teaching styles
  • Enrichment opportunities

Diversity

  • Accessible – A curriculum for all groups
  • Accessible for whole school community
  • Celebrates diversity in our community
  • Promotes awareness of global issues
  • Not static – proactive and reactive in response to different pupils and changing needs

Enterprise

  • Students gain insight into the fundamentals of business, creating and modelling their own business ideas
  • Computing and IT ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
  • Children have the opportunity to raise funds for a charitable cause.
  • Y6 students create and lead a ‘mini-enterprise’ project in Term 3.

Implementation

Skills

  • Taken from National Curriculum
  • Each skill broken down and layered for each year group
  • Skills ensure progression from year to year: each year builds on the last without unnecessary duplication
  • Subject leaders/specialists developed and streamlined skills
  • Greater depth skills encourage challenge for more able
  • Teachers scaffold up where necessary to ensure almost all pupils can access main skills
  • Home based projects that encourage independent research skills

Topics

  • Skills can be taught via different topics to allow for flexibility
  • Use of Core texts linked

Monitoring and assessment

  • Coverage monitored through book looks, pupil voice and learning walks
  • Termly Pupil Progress Meetings
  • Assessment and marking to ensure teachers can pick up pupils not meeting expectations and put in appropriate provision to ensure progress in future
  • Interventions have a clear start and end date and impact is measured

Above and beyond

  • Every teacher a leader
  • Opportunities for HAPs to excel in each subject
  • Subject leaders champion their subject
  • Big Questions
  • Sacred Heart CVA Catholic virtues

Impact

  • A clear coherent curriculum
  • Focused learning intentions taken from skills ensure lessons have a clear learning point
  • Pupils have some ownership over learning- encourages engagement
  • Flexible topics – interested pupils continue their learning outside of the classroom
  • Promote transferable skills
  • Clear assessment procedure to ensure teachers are aware of each pupil’s needs
  • An appreciation that each subject is sacred.

What do we want our pupils to know and to be able to do by the time they leave?

The school curriculum reflects the requirements to provide a broad and balanced curriculum as per the Academies Act 2010(opens in new tab), and the National Curriculum programmes of study which we have chosen to follow.

It also reflects requirements for inclusion and equality as set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2014 and Equality Act 2010(opens in new tab), and refers to curriculum-related expectations of governing boards set out in the Department for Education’s Governance Handbook.

Further information on how we achieve this can be found in our statement of equality information and objectives, and in our SEND policy and information report.

Year Groups

Subjects